CCSS.ELA.Content.RI.3.2

Dolphins are very smart animals.  They even have their own language.   They talk to each other with clicks, whistles, and grunts.  Scientists have been studying this dolphin language.  They hope that in the future, people and dolphins will be able to talk to each other. This paragraph mainly tells:

• how dolphins talk to people
• how smart dolphins are 
• how dolpins are different from fish
• which scientists are studying languages

Tags

CCSS.ELA.Content.RI.4.2

CCSS.ELA.Content.RI.3.2

Do you enjoy kites?  If you order right away, we will give you directions for making kites out of all kinds of materials-sticks, straws, socks, and more.  All of this for only $10.95.  Hurry!  Time is limited. 
What is this ad trying to get the reader to do?

• buy information about sticks and straws.
• Buy information about sock puppets.
• Buy information about kite making.
• Buy a read-to-fly kite.

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CCSS.ELA.Content.RI.4.2

CCSS.ELA.Content.RI.3.2

Scientists can measure the intensity of an earthquake. They use an instrument called the Richter scale. The Richter scale compares the strength of different earthquakes. Earthquakes  below 2.0 usually can’t be felt. Earthquakes over 5.0 on the scale can cause damage. A magnitude 7.0 is a major earthquake and can cause tremendous damage.
What is the main idea?

• Scientists can measure the intensity of an earthquake.
• Strong earthquakes can cause lots of damage.
•  Some earthquakes are very small. 
• There is a type of scale called a Richter scale

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CCSS.ELA.Content.RI.3.2

The earth's surface is constantly changing.  All over the world everyday there are earthquakes, floods and volcanoes that quickly change our world. Some changes are too small to see.  Others cause tremendous damage and costs millions of dollars to clean up.
What is the main idea?

• It is expensive to clean up the damage
• Sometimes we can't see the changes. 
• The Earth's surface is always changing.

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CCSS.ELA.Content.RI.6.2

CCSS.ELA.Content.RI.3.2

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.
 What is the main idea?

• Floods can cause a lot of damage.
• Floods cause mudslides.
• Floods damage houses and roads. 

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CCSS.ELA.Content.RI.3.2

What is a statement that tells what a passage is mostly about called?

• Topic

• Claim

• Main Idea

• Transitional sentence

Tags

CCSS.ELA.Content.RI.3.2

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

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CCSS.ELA.Content.RI.3.2

Mary has a new pet.  Her pet is a baby kitten.  It is soft and cuddly.  The kitten likes to sleep a lot.  Mary put a soft blanket in a box for its bed.  Mary plays with her kitten when it is awake.  She never forgets to feed her kitten.
What is the main idea?

• The kitten sleeps a lot.
• Mary plays with her kitten
• Mary’s new pet is a kitten.
• Mary want a new pet.

Tags

CCSS.ELA.Content.RI.4.2

CCSS.ELA.Content.RI.3.2

Sports are activities that children and adults are able to play. There are many types of sports. Some sports involve one piece of equipment, such as soccer using one soccer ball. Other sports require much more equipment, like golf, which requires many clubs, balls, and tees. Another way that sports can be different is the number of people that are in it. Some sports involve one person playing independently, like in bowling. Other sports, such as football and basketball require a large team of many different athletes.

What is a key detail that supports the main topic?

• Basketball requires many people to play

• Bowling is a sport

• Some sports are different because of the equipment that they use

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CCSS.ELA.Content.RI.3.2

Which sentence is most likely the topic sentence of the paragraph?

The best trip my family ever took was to New Orleans, Louisiana. We drove there in two days. I didn't think it would be very interesting, but I was wrong. We saw the Mississippi River, rode a horse carriage in the French Quarter, and visited a cemetery where everyone was buried above the ground. I liked the food best, especially the New Orleans doughnuts called beignets.

• I didn't think it would be very interesting, but I was wrong.

• We drove there in two days.

• The best trip my family ever took was to New Orleans, Louisiana.

• I liked the food best, especially the New Orleans doughnuts called beignets.

Tags

CCSS.ELA.Content.RI.3.2