Main Idea Independent Practice

Lorena laughed at the funny joke she heard at school. She laughed so hard she almost fell out of her chair.

Why did Lorena laugh?

• She almost fell out of her chair

• She had been at school

• She heard a funny joke

• She was sitting in a chair

Mandy likes to make her own fruit juice. She uses three different kinds of fruits to make the juice.

The sentences above tell you...

• where you can find good juice

• how Mandy makes fruit juice

• when you should drink fruit juice

• why Mandy likes fruit juice

Lemurs are animals that look like small monkeys. They may weigh up to fifteen pounds. The tiny pygmy mouse lemur, though, weighs much less than one pound. Lemurs can usually be found high in the leafy trees of Madagascar. There is good food to eat on the island. Lemurs like eating insects and plants. There are few other animals, like apes, to steal away the food.

According to this paragraph, hat do lemurs eat?

• leafy trees

• smaller lemurs

• apes and monkeys

• insects and plants

Kevin ran all the way home from the bus stop. He , passed the store, then a tall oak tree, and then a mailbox. Kevin made a sharp turn after a white fence. He ran into his yard. Kevin jumped into the house and asked, "Did I get a letter from grandpa?" His mother held up the letter. Kevin smiled.

When was Kevin when he started to run?

• at the store

• at the bus stop

• in his yard

• near the fence

Frances Slocum was born in 1773. As a young girl, she was taken to live with Native Americans. She became a part of the Lenni Lenape tribe. Later, she entered the Miani tribe. Her family spent many years looking for her. When they found her, she seemed like a different person. She had even taken a new name, Maconaquah. Her new name meant "Little Bear".

• Little Bear

• Maconaquah

• Lenni Lenape

• Miami

Ralph could barely wait for the town carnival to begin. He enjoyed the carnival every year. Each year he had a new favorite thing to do. Last year, he wanted to try some different foods. The year before that, he played many games. This year, Ralph was excited to try some of the rides., but not ones that went in circles- those made him dizzy.

Which of these is not something Ralph enjoys at the carnival?

• rides that go in circles

• rides that go fast

• food

• games

Miguel's family moved into a new house. The new house was bigger than their old house. It was built a long time ago and seemed very interesting to Miguel. He wanted to go on an adventure and explore the basement and the attic. Miguel thought he might even find secret tunnels in the house.

What did Miguel think he might find?

• a new house

• some tunnels

• an old house

• the attic

Most of us don't realize how often we blink our eyes. Many would be surprised to learn that we do it several times every minute of the day! Why do we blink our eyes so many times each day? There are several reasons.

This paragraph is mainly about...

• minutes of the day

• how the eye works

• things people realize

• how much people blink

Why is finding the main idea of a text important?

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