Main ideas of information paragraph

One the most popular musical instruments is the piano. In the traditional musical instrument classification system of string, woodwind, percussion and brass, the piano falls into two categories. It is considered a string instrument because the sound comes from the strings inside the piano. It is also considered a percussion instrument, since the player strikes the keyboard, which signals an internal hammer to strike the strings.
What is the author main point?

• The piano is both a string and percussion instrument.
• The piano is a string instrument.
• The piano is a popular instrument.
• The strings of a piano makes the sound.

If you read an essay explaining why eating healthy foods is good for you, what would the topic be?

• Healthy foods include fruit, vegetables, and lean protein
• Healthy foods
• Eating healthy foods is good for you
• Eating is necessary to sustain life

Soccer is known in some countries as football. It is a popular sport across the world, with over 200 countries playing the sport. It is estimated that over 250 million people, both men and women, play soccer. The sport has been part of the Olympic games from 1900 to 1928 and from 1936 to today.
 What is the main idea?

• Soccer is important at the Olympics.
• Soccer is a worldwide sport.
• Soccer is also called football.
• Soccer is played by men and women.

Weather reporters have to give out a lot of information. That's why they use pictures. The pictures help them tell us about the weather without using so many words. Weather reporters need to know where the cold air is. They need to know where the warm air is. They have to know where it is raining and what types of clouds are in the area. Their reports need to be correct, but they also need to be short. The pictures help weather reporters get the information out in a fast way.
Which sentence best describes the main idea of the paragraph?

• Weather reporters need to know where the cold air is
• Pictures help weather reporters get information out in a fast way
• Their reports need to be correct, but they also need to be short
• They have to know where it is raining and what types of clouds are in the area

A SUPPORTING detail explains the main idea in a paragraph. What does SUPPORT mean?

• to search and find
• to hold up and help
• to end
• to write

What is a main idea?

• the central point of a piece of writing
• the information that supports the topic sentence
• the most interesting detail in a book
• the punctuation used in a paragraph

If you read an essay about how important recycling is to our environment, what is the topic?

• littering
• plastic
• recycling
• paper

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

One dinosaur had a brain that weighed about as much as three pencils.  Its body weighed ten tons and was over twenty feet in length.  As you can guess, this dinosaur did not think too clearly.  It wasn't the world's brightest dinosaur!  What is the main idea of this paragraph?

• How big one dinosaur was
• What one dinosaur's brain was like
• Why one dinosaur had a small brain
• how pretty dinosaurs were

The main idea is supported by what?

• topics
• details
• monkeys
• periods