Main Idea and Supporting Details

Which sentence is a supporting detail that recycling is important?

• There are many landfills available for waste.

• Recycling paper saves trees from being cut down.

• Clean jars before recycling them.

• Separate your paper, cans, and glass jars before recycling.

What is a main idea? 

• The purpose of the passage

• A minor detail

• It is the same as the topic

• the most important idea about a topic that a particular text or paragraph conveys

Read the following details and determine the main idea of the words.
-theater
-candy
-popcorn
-dark

• Playing at the park.

• Going to school.

• Playing a soccer game.

• Going to the movies.

Please read the following details and determine the main idea of these words.
-ghosts
-October
-costumes
-pumpkins
-haunted houses

• Halloween

• Christmas

• Spring

• Birds

Please read the following details and determine the main idea of these words.
-tall buildings
-taxis
-noise
-lots of people
-billboards

• In a city

• math

• Spring

• Birds

Which sentence is a supporting detail that you should get enough sleep?

• Many people sleep later on the weekends.

• Caffeine keeps some people awake at night.

• Dark rooms are best for sleeping.

• Seven to nine hours keeps you refreshed the next day.

What is the main idea?

• There are many fun things to do at the beach.

• It is also fun to look for shells.

• Some people simply like to sunbathe.

• Going to the beach to swim can be fun.

Many people have not heard giraffes make noises.  Giraffes do not use sounds to “talk” with each other.  When hurt, giraffes make a low moo, something like a cow.  When frightened, they make a short, high sound.
What is the main idea?

• Giraffes do make noises

• Giraffes talk all the time.

• Cows and giraffes talk to each other.

• Lots of people have heard giraffes talk.

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.

Please read the following details and determine the main idea of these words.
-theater
-candy
-popcorn
dark

• Playing at a park

• Going to a movie

• Going to school

• Ghosts