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Main idea

Total questions: 15

Worksheet time: 38mins

Name
Class
Date
1.
Weather reporters have to give out a lot of information. That's why they use pictures. The pictures help them tell us about the weather without using so many words. Weather reporters need to know where the cold air is. They need to know where the warm air is. They have to know where it is raining and what types of clouds are in the area. Their reports need to be correct, but they also need to be short. The pictures help weather reporters get the information out in a fast way.
Which sentence best describes the main idea of the paragraph?
a)
Weather reporters need to know where the cold air is
b)
Pictures help weather reporters get information out in a fast way
c)
Their reports need to be correct, but they also need to be short
d)
They have to know where it is raining and what types of clouds are in the area
2.
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?
a)
King Midas loved gold.
b)
King Midas sold lots of gold.
c)
King Midas had a heart of gold.
d)
King Midas hated gold.
3.
Some people say that the White House has ghosts.  The most famous ghost is Abraham Lincoln.  He is often seen standing in his room looking out the window.  Even Eleanor Roosevelt said that she saw him.  There is a legend that old Abe walks back and forth all night before something terrible is about to happen.  This paragraph mainly tells:
a)
what Lincoln's ghost is like
b)
when Eleanor Roosevelt's ghost walked
c)
hwo many ghosts the White House has
d)
how ghosts show when something will happen
4.
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?
a)
Jenny got sick.
b)
Jenny wants to be a nurse.
c)
Her grandmother was in the hospital.
d)
Jenny was glad the nurses were being kind to her grandmother.
5.
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?
a)
Giraffes do make noises
b)
Giraffes talk all the time.
c)
Cows and giraffes talk to each other.
d)
Lots of people have heard giraffes talk.
6.
Dolphins are very smart animals.  They even have their own language.   They talk to each other with clicks, whistles, and grunts.  Scientists have been studying this dolphin language.  They hope that in the future, people and dolphins will be able to talk to each other.This paragraph mainly tells:
a)
how dolphins talk to people
b)
how smart dolphins are 
c)
how dolpins are different from fish
d)
which scientists are studying languages
7.
Most of the world's volcanoes are part of the "The Ring of Fire." This is a ring of volcanoes that form a circle around the Pacific Ocean. Thousands of volcanoes make up "The Ring of Fire." These volcanoes formed the sea floor and many underwater mountains.
a)
There are thousands of volcanoes in the world.
b)
Most volcanoes are part of the "Ring of Fire."
c)
Some underwater mountains are volcanoes. 
8.
I can't wait until this weekend! We’re going to my grandparents’ house and my entire family will be there. I will spend most of my time playing games with my cousins. We always have such a good time together! The day goes by so fast, and by the end we are all exhausted... but we still don’t want to leave!
What is the main idea?
a)
Weekends are times to travel.
b)
The author enjoys spending time with her family.
c)
The author's grandparents live far away.
d)
The author is sad to leave her cousins.
9.
Do you ever wonder how you taste things? You owe your sense of taste to your taste buds. We have 9,000 taste buds just on the tongue alone. There are also taste buds on the roof of your mouth. You even have taste buds on the back of your throat.
What does the author want you to learn from the passage?
a)
Why we can taste only certain things.
b)
That we taste through our noses
c)
Where taste buds are found
d)
We have taste buds on our tongues
10.
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?
a)
It is expensive to clean up the damage
b)
Sometimes we can't see the changes. 
c)
The Earth's surface is always changing.
11.
What is the best question to ask yourself when you are trying to find the main idea?
a)
Who is the main character?
b)
What is the main event?
c)
What is one important detail?
d)
What point is the author trying to make?
12.

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.

a)

Sometimes clowns can mean serious bussiness.

b)

Rodeo clowns protect cowboys by putting themselves in danger.

c)

Cowboys and Rodeo Clowns are constantly in danger.

d)

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

13.

IDENTIFY THE MAIN IDEA

Sometime in December of 1891, Dr. James Naismith was teaching gym at the YMCA College in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was raining, and Dr. Naismith was trying to keep his students active. He wanted them playing a rough game that would keep them moving. He didn't like a few ideas that were too rough. Then Naismith had his breakthrough. He wrote out the rules for a game with peach baskets fixed to ten-foot elevated tracks. Naismith's students played against one another, passing the ball around and shooting it into the peach baskets. Dribbling wasn't a part of the original game. Also it took a while to realize that the game would run more smoothly if the bottoms of the baskets were removed. But this game grew to be one of the most popular sports in America today. Can you guess which one?

a)

The most popular sport in America

b)

Dr. James Naismith's career in teaching

c)

The invention of Basketball

d)

How to get students active

14.

IDENTIFY THE MAIN IDEA

You might think that all automobile fuels are the same, but they aren't. Automobiles can run on one of three types of fuel: gasoline, diesel, and biodiesel. All these fuels are burned inside of the engine, which creates the heat and energy that is used to power the car. But there are important differences between these fuels. Gasoline and diesel are more common than biodiesel. But each burns differently. Diesel fuel is heavier and less flammable than gasoline, so it has to be compressed before it will burn. Gasoline may be lighter than diesel, but both fuels are made from crude oil. On the other hand, biodiesel fuel is made from vegetables. Both biodiesel and diesel fuels must be burned in diesel engines, which only use diesel fuel. If gasoline is pumped into a diesel engine, it will have to be pumped out. These fuels may look pretty similar at the gas station, but remember that there are important differences between them or it may cost you.

a)

Which fuel is best to use for your car

b)

Gasoline, diesel, and biodiesels area all fuels, but they have important differences in how they are made and used.

c)

The benefits of biodiesel

d)

How fuels change the way we drive

15.
The Isle of the Lost Excerpt
By Melissa de la Cruz
Once upon a time, during a time after all the happily-ever-afters, and perhaps even after the ever-afters after that, all the evil villains of the world were banished from the United Kingdom of Auradon and imprisoned on the Isle of the Lost. There, underneath a protective dome that kept all manner of enchantment out of their clutches, the terrible, the treacherous, the truly awful, and the severely sinister were cursed to live without the power of magic. King Beast declared the villains exiled forever. Forever, as it turns out,is quite a long time. Longer than an enchanted princess can sleep. Longer,even, then an imprisoned maiden’s tower of golden hair. Longer than a week of being turned into a frog, and certainly much longer than waiting for a prince to finally get around to placing that glass slipper on your foot already.Yes, forever is a long, long, long time. Ten years, to be specific. Ten years that these legendary villains have been trapped on a floating prison of rock and rubble. Okay, so you might say ten years isn’t such a long time, considering;but for these conjurers and witches, viziers and sorcerers, evil queens and dark fairies, to live without magic was a sentence worse than death. (And some of them were brought back from death, only to be placed on this island—so, um, they should know.) Without their awesome powers to dominate and hypnotize, terrorize and threaten, create thunderclouds and lightning storms, transform and disguise their features or lie and manipulate their way into getting exactly what they wanted, they were reduced to hardscrabble lives, eking a living selling and eating slop, scaring no one but their own minions, and stealing from each other. It was hard even for them to imagine they once had been great and powerful, these poisoners of forest apples and thieves of undersea voices, these usurpers of royal powers and owners of petulant mirrors. Now their lives were anything but powerful. Now they were ordinary. Everyday.
What is the main idea?
a)
Without their awesome powers, the villains were reduced to hardscrabble lives.
b)
The United Kingdom of Auradon imprisoned all the villains on the Isle of the Lost.
c)
Forever is a very long time, longer than an enchanted princess can sleep.
d)
All the villains of the world were forced to live ordinary lives without their magic and powers.