Main Idea And Supporting Details

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. 

What is the main idea?

• Pennies are worth a lot of money.

• Pennies are worth more than 1 cent.

• Some pennies are worth more than 1 cent.

• Pennies are rare.

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. 

What is the maid idea?

• The history of Halloween.

• It is not a good idea to be a skeleton.

• Its a tradition.

• Halloween was created by the candy company.

Being a clown isn't all fun and games. Rodeo clowns expose themselves to great danger every time they perform. When cowboys dismount or bulls buck them off, 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. Of course, this is a very dangerous thing to do. So you see, sometimes clowning around can be serious business.

What is the main idea?

• Clowns are meant to be funny.

• Not all clowns are meant to be funny.

• Clowns have many jobs.

• Some clown jobs are not meant to be funny all the time.

Wolverines are medium sized mammals. They weigh no more than 50 lbs. Yet they have earned their reputation for ferocity by killing prey many times their size. But why do they get in so many fights? The reason why wolverines have so many conflicts with other animals (including wolves, cougars, and even bears) is probably because of the wolverine's preferred hunting style. Rather than chasing down or tricking its prey like most hunters, the wolverine prefers to take its meals directly from other hunters. So while a polar bear or a lone wolf might be enjoying a hard earned carcass, a hungry wolverine may try to take his lunch. As you might imagine, this style of hunting get the wolverine in plenty of fights.

What is the main idea?

• Wolverines are medium sized mammals.

• Wolverines are ferocious animals.

• Why wolverines fight so much.

• How wolverines hunt.

What's that humming sound? Could it be the 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. They can also fly upside down and move about very rapidly.  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. Once you've seen a hummingbird in flight, it's unlikely that you'll mistake them for another bird. 

 What is the main idea?

• Hummingbirds make humming sounds when they fly.

• Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backward.

• Hummingbirds have unique flight habits.

• Hummingbirds can fly upside down.

.  You might think that all automobile fuels are the same, but they aren't. Automobiles can run on one of three types of fuel: gasoline, diesel, and biodiesel. All these fuels are burned inside of the engine, which creates the heat and energy that is used to power the car. But there are important differences between these fuels. Gasoline and diesel are more common than biodiesel. But each burns differently. Diesel fuel is heavier and less flammable than gasoline, so it has to be compressed before it will burn. Gasoline may be lighter than diesel, but both fuels are made from crude oil. On the other hand, biodiesel fuel is made from vegetables. Both biodiesel and diesel fuels must be burned in diesel engines, which only use diesel fuel. If gasoline is pumped into a diesel engine, it will have to be pumped out. These fuels may look pretty similar at the gas station, but remember that there are important differences between them or it may cost you.

 What is the main idea?

• Diesel is the heavier and less flammab;e gas,

• Gasoline is the most common form of gas.

• There are 3 types of automobile fuels.

• Biodiesel is the least common fuel.

It's hard to imagine what things were like before there was money, but such a time did exist. During these times people exchanged goods using the barter system. The word barter means to trade. People using the barter system traded things instead of buying and selling them. So if you were a rice farmer, you would trade your rice with many people to get all the things that you wanted or needed. Unfortunately, the people from whom you needed things might not want your rice. Isn't it nice to just go to the store and buy candy instead of having to trade rice for it?

What is the main idea?

• What people did/used before money existed.

• Life before money was hard.

• Barter means to trade.

• It is easier with money.

Counterfeiting is the act of making phony money that looks official. It is a very old crime but recent advances in printing have made it possible for even amateurs to produce decent counterfeits. Fortunately, there are some ways that you can detect counterfeits. The first and most telling inspection is to pay attention to how the money feels. It is difficult to reproduce the texture of real money. If the money feels suspect, look carefully at the microprinting on the bill. Many features along the portrait and border of a genuine bill contain writing that is too small to reproduce in most printers. If you are still suspicious, hold the bill up to the light and look for the strip that says the value of the bill. With a little diligence, you can keep yourself from becoming a victim of this rising trend. 

What is the main idea?

• Money is easy to make.

• Counterfeiting is act of making phony money.

• You can get in trouble is you make phony money.

• Ways to tell if money is real or not.

Sir Isaac Newton was contemplating the universe in his garden one day in 1665 when he noticed an apple fall from a tree. Newton wondered to himself, “Why should the apple always fall to the ground? Why does it not go sideways or upwards but directly toward the Earth’s center?” After much contemplation Newton concluded that objects are pulled to the Earth through a force that he called gravity, which means heaviness in Latin. On July 5^th, 1687 Newton formally expressed his law of universal gravitation in series of books called The Principia.

What is the main idea?

• How Newton came up with gravity.

• The Principia.

• Sir Isaac Newton was a very smart man.

• Newton contemplated the universe.

Yellowstone National Park is mainly located in Wyoming, although three percent is located in the state of Montana.  The Continental Divide of North America runs diagonally through the southwestern part of the park.  The park sits on the Yellowstone Plateau, which is an average elevation of 8,000 feet above sea level.  This plateau is bounded on nearly all sides by mountain ranges.  There are 290 waterfalls that are at least fifteen feet in the park, the highest being the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River, which falls 308 feet.  

What is the main idea?

• Yellowstone National Park is located in Wyoming.

• The Yellowstone Plateau gives Yellowstone many cool features.

• Yellowstone has many waterfalls.

• Yellowstone has 3% located in the state of Montana.