CHECKING ON MAIN IDEA

Benjamin Franklin loved to write. When he was twenty-two, he set up his own printing shop and started a newspaper. He also printed a book called Poor Richard’s Almanac. It had funny stories, information about the weather, and wise sayings.

• Benjamin Franklin loved to write stories and books.

• Benjamin Franklin worked very hard when he was young.

• Benjamin Franklin knew a lot about the weather.

• Benjamin Franklin was very poor and funny.

Sharks can lose up to 30,000 teeth in their lifetime. Sharks have teeth arranged in rows inside their mouths. These teeth do not have roots like human teeth do, so they fall out easily. When a shark takes a powerful bite into its food, several teeth are lost. When these teeth are lost, new ones push forward from the back rows to replace them. Luckily, sharks continually grow new teeth to replace the thousands they lose.

• What shark teeth look like

• Sharks need dentists to help them.

• Sharks are carnivorous predators.

• Sharks lose many teeth over their lifetime.

An octopus isn't fast enough to swim after a fish. The octopus must wait for a fish to swim by. When the fish comes within reach, the octopus whips out his long arm to grasp it. Then the octopus has a tasty meal. What is the main idea?

• How much fish an octopus eats

• Why the octopus likes to eat

• How an octopus gets its food

• why an octopus has 8 legs

Have you ever wondered where chalk comes from? Tiny animals called foraminifera live in the sea. Each of these small living animals makes a tiny shell out of lime. When they die, their shells remain. With time, these shells become layers of white rock which we call chalk. Chalk is often found in places that were once underwater.

What is the main idea?

• Chalk is found in the ocean

• Chalk is soft stone that is used on blackboards

• Real chalk is made by a small sea animal.

• Foraminifera is a plant that lives in the ocean

Amanda sat on a chair in her room. She looked out the window at a tree, which was covered with snow. She held a pencil in her hand and a pad of writing paper in her lap. She began to dream of a story she could write. Suddenly, a bird flew onto a snow-covered branch of the tree. The bird’s head was red, and its feather were black with white tips. Amanda thought, “What if the bird were magic?” Now she had an idea for her first story.

What is the main idea?

• Amanda was lazy and spent her time dreaming

• Amanda wants to be a writer and gets an idea for a story.

• Amanda couldn't write.

• Amanda was deciding what she would do today.

IDENTIFY THE MAIN IDEA

Before you put on that skeleton costume and rove door-to-door pandering for candy, take a minute to reflect on this tradition. Halloween is believed to have come from an ancient Celtic festival dating back some 2,000 years. November 1st was the Celtic New Year and marked the end of summer to the Celts. They celebrated on its eve by wearing costumes made of animal skins and dancing around bon fires. Over the next two millennia, this primitive celebration grew to be the candy fueled costume ball that we know today.

• The history of Halloween

• The New Celtic Year was a fun time

• Old traditions of Christmas

• Costumes, candy and parties tell it's time for Halloween

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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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.

• Corn did and still has many uses.

Ranchers may hunt or trap the coyotes because lambs are sometimes eaten by 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.

• what scientists have done to help protect sheep and coyotes.

• why killing coyotes upsets nature's balance.

• what kinds of people don't like coyotes.

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 should be feared because they are mean..

• Gorillas don't like other animals.

• Gorillas communicate well with other animals.