Main Idea and Supporting Detail

Is this a Main Idea / Controlling Idea or a Supporting Detail? Storytelling is an important part of being human.

• Main / Controlling Idea

• Supporting Detail

Is this a Main Idea / Controlling Idea or a Supporting Detail? Stories serve people and communities in positive ways.

• Main / Controlling Idea

• Supporting Detail

Is this a Main Idea / Controlling Idea or a Supporting Detail? Stories are told all around the world.

• Main / Controlling Idea

• Supporting Detail

Is this a Main Idea / Controlling Idea or a Supporting Detail? Storytelling is a way to teach good listening skills.

• Main / Controlling Idea

• Supporting Detail

Which of the following best represents the main idea?

• Specific facts and examples used to support the main idea.

• The central point or message that the author wants to convey.

• A moral or lesson that can be learned from the story.

• A brief summary of the story's events.

Which of the following is a good strategy to find the main idea?

• Guessing before reading

• Focusing on the pictures only

• Reading the first and last sentence

• Asking questions about what is most important in the text

Why is it important to understand the main idea of a text?

• To improve your vocabulary

• To pass the time while reading

• To better understand the author's message

• To learn how to write long paragraphs

What feature of paragraph 6 helps the author support her idea?

• The point of view of the spider story

• The description of the storyteller

• The specific example of how a story can teach leaders

• The suggestion that being greedy is a negative behavior

Which ideas from the selection best emphasize the author’s belief that the most wonderful gift of story is the bonding of a group? Which specific examples support your answer?

• The author suggests that when people listen to a story together, they all fall into a “story trance.” This trance brings warmth and togetherness.

• These qualities help people become communities. In communities, the author explains, stories are used to pass along values and morals.

• Stories also capture shared stories that help people bond.

• The author explains, “A moment in time can be preserved by creating a story and telling it a few times.”

Paragraph 3 is important to the selection because it —

• explains where in the world storytelling can be encountered

• lists examples of the type of people who tell stories

• suggests that stories may have hidden meanings

• gives an idea of how storytelling can be defined