Main Idea and Key Supporting Details in Standard 3.2.R.1

What is the main focus of the Oklahoma academic standards for third grade English language arts?

• Writing essays

• Locating the main idea and key supporting details

• Learning new vocabulary

• Practicing grammar rules

Which of the following is NOT a way to identify the main idea of a paragraph?

• The main problem in the text

• The lesson an important character learns

• The most important thought about the topic

• The number of paragraphs in the text

Supporting details can help to understand the main idea by:

• Repeating the main idea

• Answering questions like who, what, when, why, and how

• Providing unrelated anecdotes

• Introducing new topics

Which of the following is a type of supporting detail?

• Statistics and graphs

• Unrelated stories

• Personal opinions

• Random facts

What should you do if you are still unsure about the main idea after reading a paragraph?

• Skip the paragraph

• Ask yourself questions about the paragraph

• Rewrite the paragraph

• Guess the main idea

In the example paragraph about pets, what is the main idea?

• My neighbor has a parrot named Sam

• Many people I know are pet owners

• My friend has a snake named Spike

• My grandmother has two cats

In the example paragraph about winter activities, what is the main idea?

• My friends like to sled down the long hill at the park

• Snowball fights are a favorite activity for my two brothers

• My favorite is snow angels

• There are lots of activities to do outdoors when it snows

Which detail does NOT fit with the main idea: 'Our family raised a big garden last summer'?

• We harvested tomatoes in the fall

• I weeded the green bean plants every week

• My sister planted three rows of squash

• My mother works at the local grocery store

Which detail does NOT fit with the main idea: 'It has been a busy summer at our house'?

• We had a family barbecue every weekend

• Our dad built a new wooden deck during the summer

• We visited our grandparents in Maine at Christmas

• The children swam in the pool almost every day

What ties all the facts and details together in a paragraph?

• The title

• The last sentence

• The main idea

• The first sentence