Main Ideas

Landon wanted to be a great skater. But he didn't want to spend the hours practicing. He wished he could just do the tricks easily. Landon's dream was to have everyone stop and stare when he entered the skate park. He wanted them to say, "Landon is the best skater in the whole world."

What is the main idea?

• Landon wants everyone to think he's a great skater without doing the hard work.

• Landon practices very hard to become a great skater.

• Landon is the best skater at the park.

• Landon wants to learn how to skate so he can compete.

What does the MAIN IDEA of a story tell the reader?

• The lesson or moral 

• The conflict of the story

• What the story is about 

• The beginning, middle, or end

IDENTIFY THE MAIN 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 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.

• Sometimes clowns can mean serious bussiness.

• Rodeo clowns protect cowboys by putting themselves in danger.

• Cowboys and Rodeo Clowns are constantly in danger.

• A Rodeo bull's attention is easily caught by Rodeo clowns.

If you can't figure out the main idea of a passage, what should you do?

• Try to recall every specific detail from the passage

• Ask yourself general questions about the passage

• Read the passage over and over until you have it memorized

• Read the passage once and don't look at it again.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Excerpt
By Roald Dahl
Charlie Bucket stared around the gigantic room in which he now found himself. The place was like a witch’s kitchen! All about him black metal pots were boiling and bubbling on huge stoves, and kettles were hissing and pans were sizzling,and strange iron machines were clanking and spluttering, and there were pipes running all over the ceiling and walls, and the whole place was filled with smoke and steam and delicious rich smells. Mr. Wonka himself had suddenly become even more excited than usual, and anyone could see that this was the room he loved best of all. He was hopping about among the saucepans and the machines like a child among his Christmas presents, not knowing which thing to look at first. He lifted the lid from a huge pot and took a sniff; then he rushed over and dipped a finger into a barrel of sticky yellow stuff and had a taste; then he skipped across to one of the machine sand turned half a dozen knobs this way and that; then he peered anxiously through the glass door of a gigantic oven,rubbing his hands and cackling with delight at what he saw inside. Then he ran over to another machine, a small shiny affair that kept going phut-phut-phut-phut-phut, and every time it went phut, a large green marble dropped out of it into a basket on the floor.
What is the main idea?

• Charlie’s discovery of the gigantic room

• the boiling pots and kettles

• seeing the machine that makes green candy

• to learn about the room through Mr.Wonka’s excitement and discoveries

Seated on his throne, King Midas wore a golden crown. He had golden rings on each finger and held a golden scepter. His vest was embroidered with golden thread and even his shoes had golden ornaments. He had a golden box filled with gold coins. He named his daughter Marigold.
What is the main idea of this paragraph?

• King Midas loved gold.

• King Midas sold lots of gold.

• King Midas had a heart of gold.

• King Midas hated gold.

Jenny visited her grandmother in the hospital.  She saw how kind and helpful the nurses were to her grandmother.  Now she wants to be a nurse when she grows up.  She wants to help sick people get well. 
What is the main idea?

• Jenny got sick.

• Jenny wants to be a nurse.

• Her grandmother was in the hospital.

• Jenny was glad the nurses were being kind to her grandmother.

Mount Rushmore is a huge carving in a stone cliff. The carving shows the faces of four U.S. presidents. They are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Mount Rushmore is in South Dakota. Each year many people visit this amazing sight.

What is the main idea?

• what Mount Rushmore is

• where Mount Rushmore is

• the names of the presidents

Key details give important information to support the main idea.

• True

• False

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.