Mulvey-Reading- Main Idea

The Marines had a problem in World War II. Orders were sent in code, but the enemy kept learning the code. Nothing could be kept secret. Then someone thought that Navajo soldiers could help the Marines. Since very few other people could speak Navajo, this language was used as a code. No one on the enemy side knew Navajo, so the messages stayed secret.

The story mainly tells...

• how Navajo people kept secrets

• when the secret code was used

• how the Marines used Navajo as a code

• why the original code had to be changed

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Dogs have been called our best friends, but they are also good helpers. They can be used in many ways. Some dogs hunt while the others guard animals and property. Boxers and German shepherds are trained to lead people who are blind. A dog name Laika was the first animal in space.

The story mainly tells...

• how many types of dogs there are

• what the name of the space dog was

• what kind of dogs can lead people who are blind

• how dogs are useful

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Doctors think that wearing red-tinted glasses can relieve sadness. Some people get very moody and sad in the winter. They may be affected by the brief days. Bright lights help some people but not everyone. The reddish light coming through rose-colored glasses seems to make people feel happy.

The story mainly tells...

• why happy people wear rose-colored glasses

• when some people get sad

• how short the daylight is in the winter

• how colored glasses may help people feel better

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Trousers are a recent style in the history of fashion. Men wore tights under short, loose pants until the early 1800s when the first real pants for men appeared. Until the 1940s few women wore long pants. During World War II, women factory workers started wearing long pants. The fashion caught on.

The story mainly tells...

• that long pants are a somewhat new fashion

• when men stopped wearing pantaloons

• who wore tights

• why women don't wear trousers

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

When you take a multiple-choice test, do you ever change your answers? Some scientists think that it is a smart thing to do. They found out that most students who change their answers make the right decision and make better scores on their tests.

The story mainly tells...

• how to study for tests

• what scientists think about answers

• how to score better on a multiple-choice test

• which answers to change on tests

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

Tap dancing started in America. It began as folk dancing that had much kicking and stamping. Over time two kinds of dancing developed. In one kind the dancers wore hard shoes that danced very fast. In the other they wore soft shoes and danced slowly and easily. There wasn't really any tap in tap dancing until 1925. That's when someone put metal pieces on the toes and heels of tap shoes.

The story mainly tells...

• how there are two kinds of tap dancing

• how tap shoes are made

• whee some folk dances came from

• how tap dancing developed

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

It takes more than food to make babies grow up to be healthy and happy. If babies are not patted and hugged, they grow more slowly and are less healthy. Also, they will not be as smart or as happy when they become adults. Many studies show that love is the most important thing in children's lives.

The story mainly tells...

• why good food is important to babies

• what makes babies grow up

• that children need love to grow up healthy

• how to have smart children

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Probably the best-known rodeo cowboy in the world is Larry Mahan. Mahan was the national champion six times before he was 30. He was good at every event and was so successful that the had his own plane. When he got too old to be in the rodeo, he didn't stop doing rodeo work. He started a rodeo school.

The story mainly tells...

• where to ride bulls and rope calves

• about the most famous rodeo cowboy in the world

• how to get rich in the rodeo

• where to go to rodeo school

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

"The War of the Worlds," a radio story, once started a panic. Because many people didn't hear that it was just a story about monsters from space, they thought the fake news bulletins were true. People were frantic. It took hours to calm them down and convince them that it was only a radio play.

The story mainly tells...

• what people thought about new stories

• why people were afraid of the monsters

• how a radio play fooled many people

• where the monsters in the story came from

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

The lack of gravity in space makes even a simple tasks a challenge. Astronauts have to wear boots that hold their feet to the floor so that they can walk around. Eating is a real chore. Dried and frozen foods are stored in plastic bags. To eat chicken soup, the astronauts cut a hole in one end of the bag and squeeze the soup into their mouths.

The story mainly tells...

• why there is little gravity in space

• why easy tasks are challenging in space

• why space food is stored in plastic bags

• how to eat chicken soup

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2