Main Idea & Details

What is the main idea of a story?

• The beginning, middle, and end of a story

• what the text is mainly about (topic)

• tells us where the story takes place

What is the best question to ask yourself when you are trying to find the main idea?

• Who is the main character?

• What is the main event?

• What is one important detail?

• What point is the author trying to make?

What text features can give you a clue of what the main idea is?

• Title

• Headings

• Pictures

• All of the above

Benjamin Franklin loved the city of Philadelphia. He started the city’s first hospital and fire department. Ben also started Philadelphia’s first public library. Benjamin Franklin worked very hard to make Philadelphia a better place to live.

• Benjamin Franklin worked hard to make his city a great

  place to live.

• Benjamin Franklin worked for the fire department.

• Benjamin Franklin knew a lot about books.

• Benjamin Franklin went to school in Philedelphia.

Floods can cause tremendous damage. They can ruin houses, roads and buildings. Floods can take down trees and cause mudslides. It often leaves mud, sand and debris behind. It can take months to clean up after a flood.

• Floods cause mudslides.

• Floods can cause a lot of damage.

• Floods damage houses and roads.

Read the following details and determine the main idea of the words.

-theater

-candy

-popcorn

-dark

• How to make popcorn.

• Halloween is here.

• Going to the movies.

Which supporting detail best supports this topic sentence?

It takes a lot of hard work to become a professional athlete.

• All of us can be professional athletes.

• People like professional football players make a lot of money.

• Professional athletes spend countless hours practicing their sports.

What is the main idea of these sentences?

There can be wild animals in the woods.

It is easy to get lost in the woods.

There are pointy sticks in the woods.

• The woods are usually a safe place.

• There are lots of animals in the woods.

• The woods can be a dangerous place.

What is the main idea of this passage?

When you are baking cookies, you have to get your supplies and ingredients. These include bowls, butter, brown sugar, and eggs. Then you carefully add and mix them. Once you do that, you put the batter in the pan and carefully place the pan in the oven. When the cookies are golden brown you take them out and let them cool off. Yum!

• You have to get supplies to bake cookies

• How to bake cookies

• All about cookies

Read the following details and determine the main idea:

-Xbox

-online

-Fortnite

• watching TV

• playing Fortnite

• winning video games