Theme and Main Idea

What does the MAIN IDEA of a story tell the reader?

• The point of view
• The conflict of the story
• What the story is about 
• The universal truth, moral, or idea the author wants to express

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What is the best question to ask yourself when you are trying to find the main idea?

• Who is the main character?
• What is the climax?
• What is one important detail?
• What point is the author trying to make?

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Sir Isaac Newton was contemplating the universe in his garden one day in 1665 when he noticed an apple fall from a tree. Newton wondered to himself, “Why should the apple always fall to the ground? Why does it not go sideways or upwards but directly toward the Earth’s center?” After much contemplation Newton concluded that objects are pulled to the Earth through a force that he called gravity, which means heaviness in Latin. On July 5^th, 1687 Newton formally expressed his law of universal gravitation in series of books called The Principia.
What is the MAIN IDEA?

• A falling apple inspired Newton to think about gravity.
• Newton had an apple orchard.
• Newton concluded that objects are pulled to the earth. 
• Sitting under apple trees is not the smartest decision.

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In the summer of 1939, a few months before World War II started, Albert Einstein and a group of Hungarian scientists wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In this letter they warned Roosevelt that the Nazi’s were conducting atomic research and that the consequences would be dire if the Nazis were to win the race to build an atom bomb. They recommended that U.S. become involved in uranium research. As a result of this letter, the U.S. joined the atomic race and poured billions of dollars into the development of weaponry. The U.S. won the race and became the first country to build an atomic bomb. The bomb was then used in Japan, killing hundreds of thousands of civilians. In 1954, a year before his death, Einstein would refer to the moment that he signed the letter to President Roosevelt as the greatest mistake of his life. 
What is the MAIN IDEA?

• Albert Einstein wrote a letter.
• Albert Einstein lived to regret recommending that the U.S. develop atomic bombs.
• A bomb killed many Japanese.
• Roosevelt was the president during WWII.

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For most of human history, people thought that the Earth was the center of the universe. Nicolaus Copernicus changed how people understood the universe when he theorized that it was heliocentric, or sun-centered. Interestingly, Copernicus had most of this theory worked out some time before 1514, and his work was fully articulated by 1532, yet publication of this text was not completed until 1543 as he lay dying. Some scholars believe that Copernicus delayed publishing this work because it contradicted the Catholic Church’s view that the Earth was at the center of the universe. Copernicus’s may have been smart in doing so because the Church did not formally accept his view of the universe until 1822, almost 300 years later.
What is the main idea?

• Copernicus had a theory.
• Copernicus figured out that the Earth revolved around the sun but was too scared to talk about it
• Copernicus was smart.
• Copernicus thought the center of the universe was Earth.

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Galileo Galilei was an influential scientist and one of the early developers of the refracting telescope. In 1632 Galileo published a book called Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, in which he compared the Copernican view of a heliocentric universe, one where the sun is at the center, with the geocentric view, one in which the Earth is at the center. The Church took offense as to how Galileo portrayed the geocentric view using a character named Simplicio, which has undertones of simpleton in the Italian language, and he was put on trial before the Roman Inquisition. The Inquisition ordered Galileo to recant his ideas, his book was banned, he was forbidden from publishing anything else, and he was sentenced to house arrest for the rest of his life. I guess it’s not just what you say that’s important but how you say it.
What is the main idea?

• Galileo published a book called Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems
• The Church took offense as to how Galileo portrayed the geocentric view using a character named Simplicio,
• Galileo Galilei was an influential scientist 
• Galileo was punished severely by the Church for the tone that he took in a book

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Marie Curie not only the first woman to have won a Nobel Prize, she is also the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two different sciences. Most notably, however, Marie Curie discovered radiation. She was also the first person to use radiation to treat tumors. Curie experimented extensively with radioactivity during her scientific career. Unfortunately the damaging effects of radiation were not known then. Her exposure to radiation most likely was the cause of her blindness and early death. Still today her scientific papers are considered too dangerous to handle without protective equipment. These documents are stored in lead-lined boxes. Even her cookbook is radioactive. She must have made some really hot food in her lifetime.  
WHAT IS THE CENTRAL IDEA OF THIS PASSAGE?

• Marie Curie's cookbook is radioactive.
• Overexposure to radiation is lethal. 
• Marie Curie should have used precautions when experimenting with radiation. 
• Marie Curie did amazing work with radiation that caused her health problems later.

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Nikola Tesla was an inventor and physicist who is best remembered for his contributions to the AC power system and radio, but he may have also built a death ray. At a 1937 luncheon in his honor, Tesla claimed to have created a weapon that could shoot a concentrated beam of energy capable of bringing down fleets of airplanes. He further claimed to have built, demonstrated, and used this weapon. When Tesla entered negotiations with the U.S., the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to sell his device, Tesla claimed that one of these parties had sent people to break into his room and steal his invention, but that this theft was impossible since the blueprint for the weapon was entirely in his mind. Unfortunately, Tesla died with the blueprint in his mind before anyone could get one. On second thought, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
What is the main idea?

• Nikola Tesla was an inventor and physicist who is best remembered for his contributions to the AC power system and radio.
• Nikola Tesla claimed to have built, demonstrated, and used this weapon. 
• Nikola Tesla may have built a death ray but he died before it could be completed.
• Nikola Tesla died with the blueprint in his mind before anyone could get one.

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It is estimated that over twenty million pounds of candy corn are sold in the US each year.  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 Tootsie Roll production.  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 in the United States each year.  Now that’s a mouthful!
WHAT IS THE MAIN IDEA?

• Brach is the top manufacturer of candy.
• Tootsie Roll production is more than the production of candy corn.
• The amount of popular candy produced each year
• Candy is bad for children

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The peanut is a humble plant with hundreds of functions. Most peanuts are roasted in their shells and lightly salted. About half the peanuts eaten in the United States are ground into a thick paste called peanut butter. The rich oil made from peanuts is good for frying foods and is used for oiling machines and making soaps and paint. Even peanut shells are used to make plastics and to fertilize soil. 
WHAT IS THE MAIN IDEA?

• why peanut oil is used for frying
• how much peanut butter is eaten in the United States
• about the many uses of the peanut
• why peanut shells make good fertilizer

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