Main Idea

The Outsiders Excerpt
By S. E. Hinton
When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home. I was wishing I looked like Paul Newman---he looks tough and I don't--- but I guess my own looks aren't so bad. I have light-brown, almost-red hair and greenish-gray eyes. I wish they were more gray, because I hate most guys that have green eyes, but I have to be content with what I have.My hair is longer than a lot of boys wear theirs,squared off in back and long at the front and sides, but I am a greaser and most of my neighborhood rarely bothers to get a haircut.Besides, I look better with long hair.
What is the main idea?

• The narrator likes movies.
• The narrator wishes he was Paul Newman.
• The narrator is content with his appearance.
• The narrator looks better with long hair.

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

Matilda Excerpt
By Roald Dahl
By the time she was three, Matilda had taught herself to read by studying newspapers and magazines that lay around the house. At the age of four, she could read fast and well and she naturally began hankering after books. The only book in the whole of this enlightened household was something called Easy Cooking belonging to her mother, and when she had read this from cover to cover and had learnt all the recipes by heart, she decided she wanted something more interesting. "Daddy," she said, "do you think you could buy me a book?" "A book,” he said. "Whatd' you want a flaming book for?" "To read, Daddy." "What's wrong with the telly, for heaven's sake? We've got a lovely telly with a twelve-inch screen and now you come asking for a book! You're getting spoiled, my girl!"
What is the main idea?

• Matilda can read fast.
• Matilda is eager to learn and read more.
• Matilda is interested in cookbooks.
• Matilda’s dad won’t buy her a new book.

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.1

CCSS.RL.6.2

Matilda Excerpt 
By Roald Dahl
By the time she was three, Matilda had taught herself to read by studying newspapers and magazines that lay around the house. At the age of four, she could read fast and well and she naturally began hankering after books. The only book in the whole of this enlightened household was something called Easy Cooking belonging to her mother, and when she had read this from cover to cover and had learnt all the recipes by heart, she decided she wanted something more interesting. "Daddy," she said, "do you think you could buy me a book?" "A book,” he said. "Whatd' you want a flaming book for?" "To read, Daddy.""What's wrong with the telly, for heaven's sake?We've got a lovely telly with a twelve-inch screen and now you come asking for a book! You're getting spoiled, my girl!"
The dialogue, in the end, is mainly about…

• her father thinking she is spoiled
• she wants a new book from her father
• her father likes television and she does not
• her father does not understand her need for a book

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.2.6

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Excerpt
By Roald Dahl
Charlie Bucket stared around the gigantic room in which he now found himself. The place was like a witch’s kitchen! All about him black metal pots were boiling and bubbling on huge stoves, and kettles were hissing and pans were sizzling,and strange iron machines were clanking and spluttering, and there were pipes running all over the ceiling and walls, and the whole place was filled with smoke and steam and delicious rich smells. Mr. Wonka himself had suddenly become even more excited than usual, and anyone could see that this was the room he loved best of all. He was hopping about among the saucepans and the machines like a child among his Christmas presents, not knowing which thing to look at first. He lifted the lid from a huge pot and took a sniff; then he rushed over and dipped a finger into a barrel of sticky yellow stuff and had a taste; then he skipped across to one of the machine sand turned half a dozen knobs this way and that; then he peered anxiously through the glass door of a gigantic oven,rubbing his hands and cackling with delight at what he saw inside. Then he ran over to another machine, a small shiny affair that kept going phut-phut-phut-phut-phut, and every time it went phut, a large green marble dropped out of it into a basket on the floor.
What is the main idea?

• Charlie’s discovery of the gigantic room
• the boiling pots and kettles
• seeing the machine that makes green candy
• to learn about the room through Mr.Wonka’s excitement and discoveries

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Excerpt
By Roald Dahl
Charlie Bucket stared around the gigantic room in which he now found himself. The place was like a witch’s kitchen! All about him black metal pots were boiling and bubbling on huge stoves, and kettles were hissing and pans were sizzling,and strange iron machines were clanking and spluttering, and there were pipes running all over the ceiling and walls, and the whole place was filled with smoke and steam and delicious rich smells. Mr. Wonka himself had suddenly become even more excited than usual, and anyone could see that this was the room he loved best of all. He was hopping about among the saucepans and the machines like a child among his Christmas presents, not knowing which thing to look at first. He lifted the lid from a huge pot and took a sniff; then he rushed over and dipped a finger into a barrel of sticky yellow stuff and had a taste; then he skipped across to one of the machine sand turned half a dozen knobs this way and that; then he peered anxiously through the glass door of a gigantic oven,rubbing his hands and cackling with delight at what he saw inside. Then he ran over to another machine, a small shiny affair that kept going phut-phut-phut-phut-phut, and every time it went phut, a large green marble dropped out of it into a basket on the floor.
Which of the following best supports theidea of Mr. Wonka’s excitement?

• “rubbing his hands and cackling with delight”
• “He was hopping about”
• “like a child among his Christmas presents”
• “he peered anxiously through the glass door”

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.5.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

CCSS.RI.4.5

Sister Hood of the Traveling Pants Excerpt
By Ann Brashares
Once there were four girls who shared a pair of pants.The girls were all different sizes and shapes, and yet the pants fit each of them. You may think this is a suburban myth. But I know it's true, because I am one of them —one of the sisters of the Traveling Pants.We discovered their magic last summer, purely by accident. The four of us were splitting up for the first time in our lives. Carmen had gotten them from a secondhand place without even bothering to try them on. She was going to throw them away, but by chance,Tibby spotted them. First Tibby tried them; then me,Lena; then Bridget; then Carmen.By the time Carmen pulled them on, we knew something extraordinary was happening. If the same pants fit — and I mean really fit — the four of us, they aren't ordinary. They don't belong completely to the world of things you can see and touch. My sister, Effie,claims I don't believe in magic, and maybe I didn't then.But after the first summer of the Traveling Pants, I do.
What is the main idea?

• Four friends were connected through a special pair of pants.
• A pair of pants called the Traveling pants.
• Carmen finding a pair of pants from a second-hand shop.
• The girls believing in magic.

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

Sister Hood of the Traveling Pants Excerpt
By Ann Brashares
Once there were four girls who shared a pair of pants.The girls were all different sizes and shapes, and yet the pants fit each of them. You may think this is a suburban myth. But I know it's true, because I am one of them —one of the sisters of the Traveling Pants.We discovered their magic last summer, purely by accident. The four of us were splitting up for the first time in our lives. Carmen had gotten them from a secondhand place without even bothering to try them on. She was going to throw them away, but by chance,Tibby spotted them. First Tibby tried them; then me,Lena; then Bridget; then Carmen.By the time Carmen pulled them on, we knew something extraordinary was happening. If the same pants fit — and I mean really fit — the four of us, they aren't ordinary. They don't belong completely to the world of things you can see and touch. My sister, Effie,claims I don't believe in magic, and maybe I didn't then.But after the first summer of the Traveling Pants, I do.
The narrator included that the pants fitall of them to emphasize…

• how the girls become friends
• the girls are difference sizes
• why the pants are special
• where the pants came from

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

CCSS.RL.1.6

Pretty Little Liars Excerpt
By Sara Shepard
Imagine it's a couple of years ago, the summer between seventh and eighth grade. You're tan from lying out next to your rock-lined pool, you've got on your new Juicy sweats (remember when everybody wore those?), and your mind's on your crush, the boy who goes to that other prep school whose name we won't mention and who folds jeans at Abercrombie in the mall. You're eating your Cocoa Krispies just how you like 'em --- doused in skim milk --- and you see this girl's face on the side of the milk carton. Missing. She's cute --- probably cuter than you --- and has a feisty look in her eyes. You think, Hmm, maybe she likes soggy Cocoa Krispies too. And you bet she'd think Abercrombie boy was a hottie as well. You wonder how someone so . . . well, so much like you went missing. You thought only girls who entered beauty pageants ended up on the sides of milk cartons. Well,think again.
What is the main idea?

• The narrator enjoying her summer break by the pool.
• The importance of a middle school crush.
• A middle school girl wondering how an ordinary looking girl, like her, could go missing.
• The girl’s picture on the side of a milk carton to announce she is missing.

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

Pretty Little Liars Excerpt
By Sara Shepard
Imagine it's a couple of years ago, the summer between seventh and eighth grade. You're tan from lying out next to your rock-lined pool, you've got on your new Juicy sweats (remember when everybody wore those?), and your mind's on your crush, the boy who goes to that other prep school whose name we won't mention and who folds jeans at Abercrombie in the mall. You're eating your Cocoa Krispies just how you like 'em --- doused in skim milk --- and you see this girl's face on the side of the milk carton. Missing. She's cute --- probably cuter than you --- and has a feisty look in her eyes. You think, Hmm, maybe she likes soggy Cocoa Krispies too. And you bet she'd think Abercrombie boy was a hottie as well. You wonder how someone so . . . well, so much like you went missing. You thought only girls who entered beauty pageants ended up on the sides of milk cartons. Well,think again.
What is the importance of all the detailsabout the narrator’s day by the pool?

• to emphasize what she likes to do
• to show she is ordinary like the reader
• to remind the reader they were once in middle school
• to scare the reader about missing people

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.5.6

The Isle of the Lost Excerpt
By Melissa de la Cruz
Once upon a time, during a time after all the happily-ever-afters, and perhaps even after the ever-afters after that, all the evil villains of the world were banished from the United Kingdom of Auradon and imprisoned on the Isle of the Lost. There, underneath a protective dome that kept all manner of enchantment out of their clutches, the terrible, the treacherous, the truly awful, and the severely sinister were cursed to live without the power of magic. King Beast declared the villains exiled forever. Forever, as it turns out,is quite a long time. Longer than an enchanted princess can sleep. Longer,even, then an imprisoned maiden’s tower of golden hair. Longer than a week of being turned into a frog, and certainly much longer than waiting for a prince to finally get around to placing that glass slipper on your foot already.Yes, forever is a long, long, long time. Ten years, to be specific. Ten years that these legendary villains have been trapped on a floating prison of rock and rubble. Okay, so you might say ten years isn’t such a long time, considering;but for these conjurers and witches, viziers and sorcerers, evil queens and dark fairies, to live without magic was a sentence worse than death. (And some of them were brought back from death, only to be placed on this island—so, um, they should know.) Without their awesome powers to dominate and hypnotize, terrorize and threaten, create thunderclouds and lightning storms, transform and disguise their features or lie and manipulate their way into getting exactly what they wanted, they were reduced to hardscrabble lives, eking a living selling and eating slop, scaring no one but their own minions, and stealing from each other. It was hard even for them to imagine they once had been great and powerful, these poisoners of forest apples and thieves of undersea voices, these usurpers of royal powers and owners of petulant mirrors. Now their lives were anything but powerful. Now they were ordinary. Everyday.
What is the main idea?

• Without their awesome powers, the villains were reduced to hardscrabble lives.
• The United Kingdom of Auradon imprisoned all the villains on the Isle of the Lost.
• Forever is a very long time, longer than an enchanted princess can sleep.
• All the villains of the world were forced to live ordinary lives without their magic and powers.

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.6.2