Main Idea

1. One dinosaur had a brain that weighed about as much as three pencils. Its body weighed ten tons and was over twenty feet in length. As you can guess, this dinosaur did not think too clearly. It wasn't the world's brightest dinosaur! What is the main idea of this paragraph?

• How big one dinosaur was

• Why one dinosaur had a small brain

• What one dinosaur's brain was like

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

2. When we think of seaweed, we usually picture brown or green plants a foot or so in length. Seaweeds are also of other colors. Some are red. Some kinds grow to lengths of a hundred feet! These form giant seaweed forests, where many kinds of fish take shelter. What is the main idea?

• Why some seaweed grows so large

• What seaweed is like

• Why seaweed is red

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

The range of a bird refers to the area over which it flies. some birds are able to fly great distances, and range over almost the whole world. Other birds have a very small range. they travel over areas smaller than one hundred miles. What is the main idea?

• Where to find a bird range

• How bird ranges differ

• Why birds like to travel

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

I can't wait until this weekend! We’re going to my grandparents’ house and my entire family will be there. I will spend most of my time playing games with my cousins. We always have such a good time together! The day goes by so fast, and by the end we are all exhausted... but we still don’t want to leave!

What is the main idea?

• Weekends are times to travel.

• The author's grandparents live far away.

• The author is sad to leave her cousins.

• The author enjoys spending time with her family.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

Great waves that sweep in from the ocean are known as tidal waves. Actually a tidal wave has nothing to do with the tides. It is caused by an undersea earthquake called a seaquake, or by storms far out to sea. A tidal wave may rise over fifty feet high. What is the main idea?

• What tidal waves are like

• How to start a tidal wave

• How high tidal waves may be

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2