Tutoring- Main Idea 11/18

Main Idea

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What is the main idea of a paragraph?

• Tells us what the paragraph is mostly about

• Use the anchor chart below to learn some important clues to discovering main ideas

Multiple Choice

Which tells the definition of the main idea?

• Setting, Plot, Characters

• The Beginning. middle, and ending

• What a paragraph or text is mostly about

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of this picture?

• Insects

• Sports

• Fruit

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of this picture?

• A few students read alone,

• A student gives an important speech.

• A teacher is leading a small group activity.

Clues for Main Idea

• Look for a topic sentence (usually the first or last sentence)
• Look for repeated words, illustrations, or headings.
• Ask yourself if it was even discussed?
• Read all of your answer choices.

Multiple Choice

What kind of sentence tells the main idea of a paragraph?

• supporting detail

• example sentence

• topic sentence

Multiple Choice

If you wanted to find the main idea of an article, where should would you look first?

• In the first sentence

• in the second paragraph

• there is no place to look

Multiple Choice

If you can't figure out the main idea of a passage, what should you do?

• Try to recall every specific detail from the passage

• Read the passage over and over until you have it memorized

• Ask yourself general questions about the passage

Titles and Subtitles

• Always tell us the topic of the paragraph or section
• Details in the paragraph or section will match the title
• For examply

Use titles and headings to help you guess what the section is about,

• What is the name of the newspaper?
• What is the title of this section?
• What is the subheading?
• What do you think the article is about?

Multiple Choice

What might be the main idea of a book titled "Eat Your Fruits and Vegetables?"

• Tomatoes are hard to grow.

• It is important to eat vegetables and fruit.

• Spinach is good for your bones.

Multiple Choice

Which chapter would have information about lions, tigers, and snow leopards?

• Big Cats of the World

• Lion, King of the Jungle

• Save the Snow Leporards

Multiple Choice

If you read an essay about how important recycling is to our environment, what is the topic?

• littering

• recycling

• paper

Practice Text #1

There are many fun things to do at the beach. Swimming is one thing that can be done at the beach. Snorkeling is another thing that can be enjoyed. Playing beach volleyball can be a lot of fun. It is also fun to look for shells. Some people simply like to sunbathe.

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea?

• There are many fun things to do at the beach.

• It is also fun to look for shells.

• Some people simply like to sunbathe.

Multiple Choice

What would be a good title for this short passage?

• At the Beach with Dad

• Fun Things to Do at the Beach

• Sleeping in the Moonlight

Multiple Select

What supporting details did the author use to describe fun things at the beach?

Hint: Choose more than two, but less than four

• sleeping

• volleyball

• swimming

• playing in the sand

• snorkeling

Practice Text #2

Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Brown are bakers. They work at a store called Baked Goods to Go. Mrs. Jones works nights. She bakes cakes, cookies, and pies. Mrs. Brown works in the daytime. She bakes bread and rolls. Both Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Brown are very good bakers.

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea?

• Mrs. Jones bakes pies.

• Mrs. Brown bakes rolls.

• Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Brown are bakers.

Multiple Choice

What would be a good title for this short text?

• Meet the Women

• Meet the Bakers

• Meet the Teachers

Multiple Select

What characters were in the story? Hint: Pick more than 1, but less than three

• Mrs. Smith

• Mrs. Jones

• Mrs. Brown

• Mrs. Gray

Spots The Cat

Spots was a large grey and white cat. Spots lived in a barn on a farm. Spots liked living in the barn. It was warm in the winter and cool in the summer. There were many mice for Spots to chase. Best of all Spots had a nice place to sleep in the corner of the barn.

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of the story "Spots the Cat"

• The barn was dirty.

• Spots was grey and white.

• The barn was a great place for Spots to live.

• Spots loved to chase mice.

Jaws

You probably know sharks have very sharp teeth, but did you know they never run out of them. If a shark loses a tooth, another moves forward from within the shark's jaw, where it keeps a nearly unlimited supply of replacement teeth. This way, it's almost impossible for a shark to end up without a full set of teeth. This is a phenomenon unique to the shark. No other animal in the world has teeth quite like the shark's. A shark can go through as many as 20,000 teeth in its lifetime.

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of the story "Jaws"?

• A shark can go through 20,000 teeth in its lifetime.

• A shark's teeth is very sharp.

• When a shark loses a tooth, a replacement tooth moves forward.

• No other animal in the world has teeth as unique as the shark.

A Penny For Your Thoughts

A penny for your thoughts? If it’s a 1943 copper penny, it could be worth as much as fifty thousand dollars. In 1943, most pennies were made out of steel since copper was needed for World War II, so the 1943 copper penny is ultra-rare. Another rarity is the 1955 double die penny. These pennies were mistakenly double stamped, so they have overlapping dates and letters. If it’s uncirculated, it’d easily fetch $25,000 at an auction. Now that’s a pretty penny. 

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea for the story "A Penny For Your Thoughts"?

• Some pennies are rare and valuable.

• In 1943, pennies were made from steel instead of copper.

• In 1955, some pennies were double-stamped.

• Pretty pennies are uncirulated.

Butterflies

You know that butterflies are insects that glide through the air on colorful wings. Did you know they are also masters of disguise? For example, the viceroy butterfly has evolved to look almost exactly like the monarch, a poisonous butterfly that predators know to avoid. Though the viceroy itself is not poisonous, birds and other predators steer clear, mistaking it for the monarch. Another master of disguise is the buckeye butterfly. The buckeye sports “eyespots,” target-shaped spots resembling eyes, on the tips of its wings. Predators will aim for an eyespot, believing it to be the head of the buckeye, but will instead end up with just a wing tip, allowing the buckeye to escape.

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of the story "Butterflies"?

• Butterflies are insects that glide through the air on colorful wings.

• The Viceroy Butterfly looks poisonous to predators but it actually is not.

• The Buckeye Butterfly uses "eyespots" to escape predators

• Butterflies are masters of disguise.

Trick-Or-Treat

Before you put on that skeleton costume and rove door-to-door pandering for candy, take a minute to reflect on this tradition. Halloween is believed to have come from an ancient Celtic festival dating back some 2,000 years. November 1st was the Celtic New Year and marked the end of summer to the Celts. They celebrated on its eve by wearing costumes made of animal skins and dancing around bon fires. Over the next two millennia, this primitive celebration grew to be the candy fueled costume ball that we know today. 

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of the story "Trick-Or-Treat"?

• Candy is delicious.

• Trick-or-treating is primitive.

• Halloween started almost 2,000 years ago.

• Early Halloween costumes were animal skins.