Main Idea

The topic that a book is about is called:

• key detail

• main idea

• plot

• subject

Which of the following is an example of a main idea of a book?

• Sparky, a dog who fights fires

• I read a story about Duke, a police dog

• Slap Jake is my favorite comic book hero

• Superpup is a brave beagle that fights crime in New York

Which is an example of a subject of a book?

• Dolphins can communicate with one another

• Dolphins

• Whistling is one way dolphins talk to one another

• Have you ever heard a dolphin?

Which question would be most helpful for figuring out the main idea of a book?

• What is the main thing that an author wants to say?

• Who is the author?

• What is my opinion?

• What else do I know about the subject?

The main idea of a book is "plants need sunlight to grow." Which of these is a detail that supports the main idea?

• My favorite kind of plant is the Venus Fly Trap.

• There are many different species of plants on the Earth.

• Plants that get more sunlight grow taller than plants that sit in the dark.

• Jessica sat in the sun and looked at her garden.

Descriptions of people, places, or things that support the main idea are called:

• main ideas

• details

• subjects

• opinions

Which sentence gives you the main idea of this paragraph?

Insects are called "bugs" because they bother people. Some bugs are very helpful to farmers and other people, like the ladybug. Ladybugs eat other insects that eat crops. Farmers want the crops to grow. Some spiders also eat bugs that eat plants. Another bug that helps people is the honeybee. They don't eat plant-eating bugs, but bees pollinate flowers so that they grow. They also make honey, a natural sugar that many people love to eat.

• Insects are called "bugs" because they bother people

• Some bugs are very helpful to farmers and other people

• Another bug that helps people is the honeybee

What is the subject of this paragraph?

I've know Lauren my whole life, but before third grade, I never talked to her. Lauren got on the bus on the stop after mine. I sometimes caught her eye as she passed by my seat. She sat in the back with her friends. She sometimes nodded, but she never said hello. That is, until the day she got crutches. Getting to the back was a problem with crutches, so Lauren sat with me. We started talking, and have been friends ever since.

• getting to school on the bus

• friendship with Lauren

• what third grade was like

• all the friends someone has in school

Which sentence best describes the main idea?

July 20, 1969 was an exciting day. This way the day the first astronauts stepped onto the moon. As the Apollo rocket circled the moon, a craft called the Eagle landed. The world watched on TV as the doors opened. Astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped down the ladder onto the dusty surface of the moon. "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind," he said. With these famous words, the first man took the first steps on the surface of the moon.

• The surface of the moon is dusty.

• The Apollo rocket circled the moon.

• Armstrong became the first man on the moon in 1969.

• The world likes to watch astronauts on television.

All of the following are synonyms for main idea except:

• central idea

• controlling idea

• supporting detail