Determine Theme or Central Idea

Apples can be used to make many delicious treats. Some people like to slice apples and dip them in caramel. Others like to cook apples and make them into applesauce. Maybe you enjoy making apples into a pie. Or maybe you just like to pick them off the tree and take a big bite! There are many ways to enjoy this fruit! What is the CENTRAL IDEA of this passage?

• Apples are tasty

• There are many ways to eat an apple

• Apples come in all different forms

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

What is this passage mainly about?

Native Americans dried strips of meat, pounded it into a paste, and then mixed it with fat. Sometimes they added berries and sugar. Then they pressed it into small cakes. They called these cakes pemmican. Pemmican didn't spoil, and it provided lots of energy for people traveling or going hunting. 

• Who uses pemmican today.

• What can be put in pemmican.

• How pemmican was made by Native Americans.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

What are the most important pieces of information that explains a central idea?

• topic

• theme

• key details

• minor details

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.5.2

Main Idea:
Frogs are amazing jumpers.

What supporting detail would go with this main idea?

• Frogs use their tongue to catch flies.
• A tadpole is the name of a young frog.
• Frogs have long, powerful legs which help them leaplong distances.
• The Fire-belly Toad has slightly warty skin.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.5.2

What is a supporting detail?

• A supporting detail is the author's opinion

• Supporting details can also be called the main idea

• Supporting details are facts, quotes, paraphrases that back up the central idea

• Supporting details offer a different idea from the one's presented

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.5.2

There are many strange but beautiful creatures that live in the coral reef. They are warm and shallow habitats that are home to corals, clams, jellyfish, crabs, and so much more! Even sharks and sea cows can call the reefs their homes. They provide so much for so many creatures, that it’s important to keep our oceans clean, so these animals have a place to live! What is this passage’s CENTRAL IDEA?

• Oceans need to be cleaned up

• Different sea life in the coral reefs

• Sharks that live in coral reefs

• What habitats are

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

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.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

We often let others know what we are thinking without using words. The name that we give for this kind of communication is body language. Body language includes gestures, facial expressions, and posture. Body language does not always mean the same thing to everyone.

What is the CENTRAL IDEA of the above paragraph?

• We sometimes use words to express ourselves.

• We use body language to communicate with others.

• Body language may not mean the same thing to everyone.

• Body language includes gestures, facial expression, and posture.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.2