Main Idea Practice

Multiple Choice

What question should you ask to figure out the subject?

• Who wrote the text?

• What is this book/passage about?

• What is the main conflict?

• Which events are most important?

Open Ended

Hurricanes are large, intense storms that begin over the ocean, where they gather heat and energy from the water. Hurricanes move slowly toward land, usually moving 10-20 miles per hour for more than one week. The most dangerous part of the hurricane is the storm surge, when it reaches land and causes flooding. Wind and waves also contribute to the damage caused by these surges.

What is the subject of this passage?

Multiple Choice

What's another name for the main idea?

• plot

• subject

• central idea

• conflict

Multiple Select

Quick Check: Choose the examples of nonfiction texts. Hint: there are more than one

• news article on Covid 19

• Harry Potter book

• instructions for how to put together a shelf

• Thank You Ma'am

• Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.

Open Ended

Hurricanes are large, intense storms that begin over the ocean, where they gather heat and energy from the water. Hurricanes move slowly toward land, usually moving 10-20 miles per hour for more than one week. The most dangerous part of the hurricane is the storm surge, when it reaches land and causes flooding. Wind and waves also contribute to the damage caused by these surges.

What is the main (central) idea?

As you read the answer choices provided, look for one that matches what you thought the main idea would be about.

If there is not a similar answer choice, go back and reread the passage and try again!

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of the previous passage?

• Hurricanes are dangerous storms

• Hurricanes begin over the ocean

• One type of storm is called a hurricane

• Hurricanes are different from other storms

Sometimes, questions ask you to come up with a title for a passage. Think about what the author wants the reader to know.

Multiple Choice

Which would be the best title for the previous passage?

• A Dangerous Storm: Hurricanes

• All About Hurricanes

• Hurricanes vs. Tornadoes

• Hurricanes Form Over the Ocean

Multiple Choice

Wilbur and Orville Wright were brothers who were inventors, even from a young age when they built kites and bicycles. Many people credit the Wright Brothers with designing and building the first successful airplane. In 1903, their first flight only lasted 12 seconds, but it continues to inspire people all over the world to learn about science and math, to work hard to realize their dreams, and to use imagination to achieve success.

What is the main idea?

• The Wright Brothers worked hard

• The Wright brothers were inventors who have inspired many people.

• Inventors build kites and bicycles.

• The first flight was in 1903.

Multiple Choice

Homemade pizza is delicious. First, make the dough from flour, water, and yeast. After that, begin making the tomato sauce. Next, add any vegetables you like. Then, bake it in the oven. After a short time, the kitchen begins to smell delicious. Soon, it’s ready to eat!

What is the main idea?

• Pizza is made from flour

• How to make homemade pizza

• Pizza is easy to make

• Pizza makes the kitchen smell good

Multiple Choice

Did you know that giraffes are the tallest animals in the world? They are unique in other ways, too. For one thing, they sleep only about 20 minutes each day, and usually not more than five minutes at a time. (They have to remain alert for predators.) Also, every giraffe’s coat is unique, and varies in color from white to nearly black, depending on what they eat and where they live.

What is the main idea?

• Giraffes don't sleep very much

• Giraffes are unique animals

• There are many animals in the world

• No animal is taller than a giraffe

Multiple Choice

What is your favorite way to eat a potato? Potatoes are one of the most versatile foods in the world. You can bake a potato and eat it whole, or you can cut it up and roast it in the oven. Many people boil potatoes and then beat them until they are smooth, creating mashed potatoes that can be covered with gravy. Potatoes can also be fried to form french fries or chips. No one can accuse the potato of being useless!

WHAT IS THE MAIN IDEA?

• Cooking

• Potatoes can be cooked in different ways.

• You can boil and beat potatoes to make them mashed.

• Potato

Multiple Select

What is your favorite way to eat a potato? Potatoes are one of the most versatile foods in the world. You can bake a potato and eat it whole, or you can cut it up and roast it in the oven. Many people boil potatoes and then beat them until they are smooth, creating mashed potatoes that can be covered with gravy. Potatoes can also be fried to form french fries or chips. No one can accuse the potato of being useless!

Which two (2) statements below are supporting details?

• No one can accuse the potato of being useless.

• You can cut it up and roast it.

• What is your favorite way to eat a potato?

• You can bake a potato and eat it whole.

Multiple Choice

An average beehive consists of about 20,000 bees. Within the colony there are three types of bees, each with its own important job. One queen lives in a hive and her only job is to fill the hive with eggs. In fact, a queen will lay about 1,500 eggs in just one day! Male bees are called drones. Their only job is to mate with the queen. Worker bees, on the other hand, are extremely busy. They are female bees that lay no eggs. Their many jobs include cleaning, gathering pollen, and taking care of the larvae.

Which option below is the correct main idea?

• Bees

• The queen lives in the hive and her only job is to fill the hive with eggs.

• Three (3) types of bees

• There are different types of bees each with their own jobs.

Multiple Choice

When one hears the term "reality" applied to a show, one might expect that the events portrayed occurred naturally or, at the least, were not scripted. This is not always the case. Many reality shows occur in unreal environments, like rented mansions occupied by film crews. Such living environments do not reflect what most people understand to be "reality." Worse, there have been accusations that events not captured on film were later restaged by producers. Worse still, some involved in "reality" television production claim that the participants were urged to act out storylines premeditated by producers. With such accusations floating around, it's no wonder many people take reality TV to be about as real as the sitcom.

What is the main idea of the passage?

• The everyday work on a set of a reality TV show.

• How important is to watch reality TV shows

• The similarities of reality TV with sitcoms.

• Reality TV is not as real as they show you to be.

Multiple Choice

Yellowstone National Park is mainly located in Wyoming, although three percent is in Montana. The Continental Divide of North America runs diagonally through the southwestern part of the park. The park sits on the Yellowstone Plateau, which is an average elevation of 8,000 feet above sea level. This plateau is bounded on nearly all sides by mountain ranges. There are 290 waterfalls that are at least fifteen feet in the park, the highest being the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River, which falls 308 feet.

What is the main idea of the passage?

• Why to visit Wyoming

• Yellowstone Park's beautiful water falls

• The continental Divide of North America

• Physical features of the Yellowstone Park

Multiple Select

Soccer players learn many skills when playing soccer. Soccer players learn how to dribble and pass the ball. They also learn how to control the ball so they can eventually score. Most importantly, soccer players learn how to work together with their teammates.

What are the supporting details in the passage?

• They also learn how to control the ball so they can eventually score.

• Soccer players learn how to dribble.

• They learn how to work together as teammates.

• Soccer players learn many skills when playing soccer.

Multiple Choice

It is estimated that over twenty million pounds of candy corn are sold annually in the US. Brach's, the top manufacturer, sells enough candy corn to circle the earth 4.25 times if each piece were laid end to end. That's a lot of candy corn, but that's nothing compared to the production of Tootsie Rolls. Over 64 million Tootsie Rolls are produced every day! But even Tootsie Rolls have got nothing on the candy industry's staple product: chocolate. Confectioners manufacture over twenty billion pounds of chocolate annually in the United States. Now that's a mouthful!

What is the main idea of the passage?

• How much of popular candies are sold each year.

• The overpowering candy industry

• Tootsie Rolls are delicious

• Candy corn, the world's most abundant candy piece.

Multiple Choice

"Are you already done, son?" his father asked. "It seems like you just got in the water." Jacob was finished with his bath in less than two minutes. He got his body and hair wet, rubbed some grape flavored shampoo on his hair, washed his body with soap, and quickly rinsed it off. He liked to take fast baths so he would have more time to play. In fact, Jacob never took a long bath. To him, the faster the bath, the better.

What is the main idea of the passage?

• Jacob is very clean.

• Jacob uses grape flavored shampoo.

• Jacob likes to take fast baths.

• Jacob never took showers.