"Are you already done?" his father asked. "It seems like you just got in the water." Jacob was finished with his bath in two minutes. He got his body and hair wet, rubbed  shampoo on his hair, washed his body with soap, and rinsed off. He liked fast baths so to have more time to play. In fact, Jacob never took a long bath. To him, the faster the bath, the better.
What is the central idea of the passage?

• Jacob is very clean
• Jacob never too showers
• Jacob likes to take fast baths

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Though forks were first used in China thousands of years ago, it took a long time for them to make their way to what is now the United States.  Ancient Greeks began using forks after the Chinese. However, they did not use forks for eating. They used them for serving food. From Greece, forks moved to the Roman Empire. Romans first used long forks for cooking and serving. By the 300s, they began using table forks to feed themselves.  The table fork spread from there to what is now the Middle East and Turkey, before arriving in Italy and becoming popular in the 1000s. It stayed popular in southern Europe, but was not used much in northern Europe until it first became popular in France and Spain in the 1700s.  The table fork arrived in England from France before making its way to the North American colonies, where it first became popular shortly before the American Revolution.

What is the central idea of this passage?

• The fork changed after arriving in the Roman Empire.
• Roman forks were longer than Greek and Chinese forks.

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Soccer players learn many skills when playing soccer. Soccer players learn how to dribble and pass the ball. They also learn how to control the ball so they can eventually score. Most importantly, soccer players learn how to work together with their teammates.
What is the central idea?

• They also learn how to control the ball so they can eventually score.
• Soccer players learn how to dribble.
• Soccer players learn many skills when playing soccer.

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What is the Central Idea of the passage?
What's that humming sound?  Could it be hummingbird, the only bird capable of backward flight?  Hummingbirds have many unique flight habits that distinguish them from other birds.  Most birds flap their wings up and down to fly, but the hummingbird moves its wings forward and backward very rapidly in a figure eight pattern.  This allows the hummingbird to hover in position, fly upside down, and move about very rapidly.  And while other birds have to push off with their feet to begin flying, and work their ways up to their top speeds, the hummingbird can both start flying at maximum speed and stop flying instantaneously.  After you've seen a hummingbird in flight, it's unlikely that you'll mistake them for another bird.

• Birds and hummingbirds are very different.
• Hummingbirds make a humming sound.
• Hummingbirds wings fly in figure eight patterns.
• The hummingbird flys in a totally unique and unusual way.

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What is the central idea here
A penny for your thoughts?  If it's a 1943 copper penny, it could be worth as much as fifty thousand dollars.  In 1943, most pennies were made out of steel since copper was needed for World War II, so the 1943 copper penny is ultra-rare.  Another rarity is the 1955 double die penny.  These pennies were mistakenly double stamped, so they have overlapping dates and letters.  If it's uncirculated, it'd easily fetch $25,000 at an auction.  Now that's a pretty penny.  

• The 1943 penny is worth 50 thousand dollars.
• the 1943 penny is more rare than the 1955 penny.
• Some pennies are rare and worth a lot of money.
• None of these options

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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?

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Find the central idea
 Being a clown isn't all fun and games.  Rodeo clowns expose themselves to great danger every time they perform.  When cowboys dismount or are bucked off of bulls at riding competitions, rodeo clowns jump in front of the bulls and motion wildly to get their attention.  In this way rodeo clowns provide an alternate target, and in doing so protect the rider.  So you see, sometimes clowning around can be serious business

• Being a clown isn't all fun and games.
• Rodeo clowns protect cowboys by putting themselves in danger.
• Rodeos are exciting.
• Clowns are good at riding bulls.

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The central idea is...

• the focused idea of the text.

• a detail from the text.

• the first sentence of a paragraph.

• a quote you provide from the text.

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True or False: The central idea is directly tied to the author's main point or argument.

• False

• True

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Being able to identify the central idea of a text shows...

• that you can cite evidence from the text.

• that you know how to write.

• that you understand the text.

• that you like what you are reading.

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