Main Idea

Mrs. Gonzales likes to paint. She likes the pretty colors. She draws a picture first. Then she uses her paints. She gives her pictures to her son.

• Mrs. Gonzales does not paint well.

• Painting is fun.

• Mrs. Gonzales paints pictures.

Aaron and Angel are friends. They look alike. They talk alike. Sometimes the dress alike. People think Aaron is Angel. People think Angel is Aaron. The boys think it is funny.

• Aaron and Angel are alike in many ways.

• Aaron is older than Angel.

• Angel is bigger than Aaron.

When we think of seaweed, we usually picture brown or green plants a foot or so in length. Seaweeds are also of other colors. Some are red. Some kinds grow to lengths of a hundred feet! These form giant seaweed forests, where many kinds of fish take shelter. What is the main idea?

• Why some seaweed grows so large

• What seaweed is like

• Why seaweed is red

The frog sat on the side of the pond.  He was very still.  His green color made him hard to see.  A bug flew near him.  His tongue zipped out, and he gobbled it up.  Then the frog was still again.  He waited for the next bug.
What is the main idea?

• Frogs are green .

• Frogs eat bugs.

• Frogs do not move.

• Frogs live in ponds.

It was backward day at school.  The students had to do things backward.  Some of them wore their T-shirts backward.  They took a test before they studied the lesson.  Dessert was served first instead of last.  They tried to walk home backward, but they bumped into each other and fell down. 
What is the main idea?

• Dessert is supposed to come last.

• The students had a backward day.

• It is hard to do things backward.

• Students failed their tests.

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.

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.

The main idea can be implied or stated.

• True

• False

Training a dog to be a watchdog often reduces unexpected results.  Some dogs quickly learn the difference between unwanted people and friends.  This is because their masters welcome friends into their houses.  However, some dogs will always attack the postman who comes to deliver letters.  One explanation for this behavior is that, although the postman comes to the house often, he never enters the house.  Therefore, the dog thinks the postman is someone not wanted, but keeps coming back anyway. Which sentence is the main idea?

• sentence 1 

• sentence 2

• sentence 3 

• sentence 5

Someday we will all have robots that will be our personal servants. They will look and behave much like real humans. We will be able to talk to these mechanical helpers and they will be able to respond in kind! Amazingly, the robots of the future will be able to learn from experience. They will be smart, strong, and untiring workers whose only goal will be to make our lives easier.
What is this selection mainly about?

• Someday we will have robots that will be our personal servants.

• We will be able to talk to robots and they will be able to respond.

• You should give up if you are the Robots will look and behave much like real humans.

• Amazingly, the robots of the future will be able to learn from experience.