Identifying Central (Main) Idea

 Hummingbirds will entertain for food. They will put on an aerial show by soaring, diving, then hovering in midair before retreating temporarily to nearby trees and shrubs. Other tiny performers perch in nearby trees and shrubs or sip nectar from flowers while waiting their turn to go onstage. Several years ago we thought it would be nice to invite a few hummingbirds to our back yard. We put up a feeder and a few birds showed up for dinner. Little did we know they would invite all their friends. More of the feisty little birds show up each year. The birds earn their keep by entertaining us and our guests. Children and adults love to see their shows. The aerobatics start early each morning and continue until nightfall, so the entertainment is available most any time of the day.
Which sentence from the passage best describes the main idea?

• Other tiny performers perch in nearby trees
• Hummingbirds will entertain for food.
• More of the feisty little birds show up each year.
• Children and adults love to see their shows

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

Flush toilets were first used in India and Pakistan over 2,700 years ago. There were also toilets in ancient Egypt and China. In the Roman Empire, toilets were part of some public bath houses for men and women. Then, in 1775, Alexander Cummings invented part of the flush toilet called the S-trap. This part used standing water to seal the outlet of the bowl. This kept the smell from the sewer from escaping. The S-trap is still used today.
What is the main idea of this story?

• Ancient Egypt and China had flush toilets.
• The Roman Empire had public bath houses.
• Alexander Cummings invented the flush toilet.
• Flush toilets have been around for a long time.

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

We often let others know what we are thinking without using words. The name that we give for this kind of communication is body language. Body language includes gestures, facial expressions, and posture. Body language does not always mean the same thing to everyone.
What is the main idea of the paragraph?

• We sometimes use words to express ourselves.
• Body language may not mean the same thing to everyone.
• We use body language to communicate with others.
• Body language includes gestures, facial expression, and posture.

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Number One Observatory Circle is the home of the U.S. vice president. The house is located on land for the U.S. Naval Observatory. The home was built in 1893. It was first the home for the head of the observatory. In 1923, it became the home for the Chief of Naval Operations. Congress made it the vice president's home in 1974. Before this, the vice president lived in his own home. The first vice president to live in the home full time was Walter Mondale. He was Vice President to Jimmy Carter.
This passage is mainly about

• the U.S. Naval Observatory.
• President Jimmy Carter.
• the Chief of Naval Operations.
• the vice president's home.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

 Stingrays are fish, closely related to sharks. They can be found in salt water oceans and seas throughout the world. There are some fresh water species in Asia, Africa, and Florida. Stingrays swim with a "flying" motion. Instead of fins, they have wings on their sides. The wings' movement allows the stingrays to "fly" through the water. Their stinger is a spine that grows from the tail. It can grow to be over 14 inches long. The spine is poisonous.
What is this paragraph mainly about?

• stingers
• flying fish
• sharks 
• stingrays

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

Nutrias are causing major problems in Louisiana. Someone brought the rodents to the state 40 years ago, hoping to make a fortune from the furs. Nobody wanted to buy the furs, and now the animals roam freely. They're destroying the wetlands. They eat the roots of the water plants along the canals. The plants die, and the banks of the canals begin to erode. The animals are costing the state millions of dollars, and no one seems to know what to do with them.
What sentence from the passage best describes the main idea?

• Someone brought the rodents to the state 40 years ago.
• No one seems to know what to do with them
• They eat the roots of the water plants along the canals.
• Nutrias are causing major problems in Louisiana.

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

President Barack Obama did not have an easy trail to the White House. One year before Obama was elected president, most people did not think he had any chance of being the Democratic Party's candidate for president. Barack Obama, however, worked hard to prove them wrong.
 Obama got people who were not used to voting to volunteer to work for him. These people became a part of the huge team of Obama supporters that stretched across the country. They made millions of phone calls and explained why Obama would make a good president. They convinced people to vote for him. In early 2008, Obama won his first small election contest. He proved that Hillary Clinton and the other candidates had to take him seriously. His volunteers were making a difference.
 During the entire campaign, Obama's supporters never stopped making phone calls. They constantly told people why they should vote for him. Those millions and millions of people helped get Obama elected, and Obama told them all that he couldn't have become president without them.
What is the main idea of the first paragraph?

• People thought Obama would lose to Hillary Clinton.
• It was not easy for Obama to get elected president.
• Obama would not have become president without others' help.
• People who were not used to voting volunteered for Obama.

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

Some people think that English is a hard language to learn, but experts disagree. They say that no human language is more or less difficult than any other. All babies learn to speak the language of their parents very quickly. Most babies learn to walk by the time they are a year old. They learn that it's easier for them to get what they want if they can speak. A baby born to parents who speak English will learn English as quickly as a Japanese child whose parents speak Japanese. Of course, experts agree that learning a second language can be much harder. 
What is this passage mostly about?

• how no human language is more difficult to learn than any other
• how English is a harder language to learn than Japanese
• how babies can learn the language of their parents very quickly
• how learning a second language is incredibly hard to do

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

President Barack Obama did not have an easy trail to the White House. One year before Obama was elected president, most people did not think he had any chance of being the Democratic Party's candidate for president. Barack Obama, however, worked hard to prove them wrong.
 Obama got people who were not used to voting to volunteer to work for him. These people became a part of the huge team of Obama supporters that stretched across the country. They made millions of phone calls and explained why Obama would make a good president. They convinced people to vote for him. In early 2008, Obama won his first small election contest. He proved that Hillary Clinton and the other candidates had to take him seriously. His volunteers were making a difference.
 During the entire campaign, Obama's supporters never stopped making phone calls. They constantly told people why they should vote for him. Those millions and millions of people helped get Obama elected, and Obama told them all that he couldn't have become president without them.
What is the main idea of this selection?

• Hillary Clinton and the other Democratic Party's candidates did not think Obama had a chance of winning
• Barack Obama got millions of people to volunteer to work for him after he became president.
• Many people were surprised when Obama won his first small election contest in early 2008.
• President Obama and his supporters worked hard to get him elected when others thought it was impossible

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

Most people think that Johann Sebastian Bach played the piano, but this is not true. The piano was not invented until just two years before he died. Bach's main instrument was the organ. He was a great organist. He wrote a lot of wonderful music for that instrument. He also played other keyboard instruments that were ancestors of the piano. Among these instruments was the harpsichord. Along with Mozart, Bach is considered to be one of the all-time great composers
What is the main idea of this paragraph?

• Mozart and Bach did not compose music for the piano.
• Johann Sebastian Bach was a great organist and writer.
• The piano had not been invented three hundred years ago.
• The harpsichord was a keyboard instrument before the piano.

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2