Main Idea

When Americans think of earthquakes, they tend to think of California, a state known for its frequent seismic activity. In recent years, however, people in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas have been feeling the ground shake more often. An increase in oil and gas drilling in these states has led to "human-induced" earthquakes—those resulting from human activity. When wastewater is disposed of during gas and oil drilling, the water is forced deep underground. The resulting buildup of pressure can cause fault lines (cracks in the earth's crust) to shift. According to Mark Petersen, head of the U.S. Geological Survey's earthquake hazard mapping project, "In the past five years, the USGS has documented high shaking and damage in areas of these six states, mostly from induced earthquakes."

• An increase in oil and gas drilling has caused a corresponding increase in earth quakes in six states

• Residents of six U.S. states have experienced an increase in earth quake activity in recent years

• The resulting buildup of pressure can cause fault lines to shift

• Earth quakes in America happen primarily in the state of California, but can also happen in a few others

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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 would be a good title for this passage?

• An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away!

• Universal Oddities.

• Look out below!

• What Newton Knew.

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CCSS.RL.7.2

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The Masai of East Africa raise cattle for a living. Very little grain is raised in the area, so the people depend on the cattle for food. Most people drink a gallon of milk a day, and beef is a popular meat. Cow's blood is also used as food. It doesn't spoil, it provides protein and minerals, and it can be taken from cows while traveling.

What is this passage mostly about?

• There is much grain raised in the world.

• People in different areas of the world eat odd foods.

• Cows provide food for the Masai.

• There are many different kinds of cattle raised by the Masai.

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CCSS.RL.7.2

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Corn was first grown by Native Americans. They showed the pilgrims how to grow corn as food. At one time, corn was used as money by pioneers. Corn is used as feed for farm animals. People also eat it as a vegetable. Oil, starch, and sugar can be made from corn. Corn is also important in industry. Medicine, paper, fertilizer, and glue can be made from corn and corn products.

Choose an appropriate topic sentence for this paragraph.

• Native Americans were the first to grow corn.

• Corn was used as money.

• Many kinds of animals eat corn.

• Do you know how important corn is?

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Native Americans dried strips of meat, pounded it into a paste, and then mixed it with fat. Sometimes they added berries and sugar. Then they pressed it into small cakes. They called these cakes pemmican. Pemmican didn't spoil, and it provided lots of energy for people traveling or going hunting. Today explorers still carry and eat this food.

What is this passage mainly about?

• who uses pemmican today

• what can be put into pemmican

• how pemmican is prepared and used

• why people eat and store pemmican today

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Because lambs are sometimes eaten by coyotes, ranchers may hunt or trap the coyotes. However, killing coyotes may upset nature's balance. Scientists have found a way to protect sheep without killing coyotes. Coyotes are fed lamb meat treated with a drug. When they eat the meat, they get sick. Later, coyotes won't even go near lambs. They'll hunt rabbits instead.

This story mainly tells...

• why coyotes prefer rabbits to lambs.

• how scientists help protect sheep and coyotes.

• why killing coyotes upsets nature's balance.

• what kinds of people don't like coyotes.

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"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.

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Most people think that gorillas are mean, but actually they are shy. It seems that such a huge animal with very large teeth would be aggressive. Hollywood movies help convey this image of the scary, ferocious gorilla. In fact, gorillas only attack if they are provoked. However, gorillas usually don't have to fight other animals because of their impressive size.

The author believes that:

• Gorillas are misunderstood as vicious animals.

• Gorillas are mean animals.

• Gorillas don't like other animals.

• Gorillas communicate well with other animals.

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This was Kathy's first babysitting job. She was so excited, but she was really nervous. Kathy's parents made her attend a babysitting workshop before she could babysit her neighbor's five-year-old son, Matthew. Kathy knew this was a lot of responsibility, but she thought she was ready. Kathy marched confidently to Matthew's house and waved goodbye to Matthew's parents. It seemed as soon as his parents left, Matthew fell and hit his chin on the coffee table. Without panicking, she remembered what she learned in her babysitting class and applied first-aid.

The author wants to show that:

• Matthew should not run in the house.

• Kathy needs to attend more babysitting workshops.

• Coffee tables can be dangerous.

• Kathy is ready to babysit.

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North Carolina police may use germs to catch bank thieves. Important papers can be sprayed with harmless germs that will stick to the hands of anyone who touches the paper. If a dishonest employee steals the papers, things that he or she touches later will have the germs on them. A scientist can show that the person leaving the germs got them when stealing the treated papers.

What is this story mainly about?

• How some germs are harmless to people

• How dishonest employees steal important papers

• How police use germs to solve crimes

• How important papers are treated

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