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WorksheetsMain Idea & Details
Total questions: 50
Worksheet time: 2hrs 40mins
Benjamin Franklin loved to write. When he was twenty-two, he set up his own printing shop and started a newspaper. He also printed a book called Poor Richard’s Almanac. It had funny stories, information about the weather, and wise sayings. What is the main idea?
Benjamin Franklin loved to write stories and books.
Benjamin Franklin worked very hard when he was young.
Benjamin Franklin knew a lot about the weather.
Benjamin Franklin was very poor.
There are several events that can change the Earth's surface very quickly. Volcanoes can erupt and spread lava, rock and ash for several miles. Earthquakes can leave large cracks in the Earth's surface. What is the main idea?
Several events can change the Earth's surface.
Earthquakes can cause large cracks.
Volcanoes can be dangerous.
Scientists can measure the intensity of an earthquake. They use an instrument called the Richter scale. The Richter scale compares the strength of different earthquakes. Earthquakes below 2.0 usually can’t be felt. Earthquakes over 5.0 on the scale can cause damage. A magnitude 7.0 is a major earthquake and can cause tremendous damage. What is the main idea?
Scientists can measure the intensity of an earthquake.
Strong earthquakes can cause lots of damage.
Some earthquakes are very small.
Benjamin Franklin loved the city of Philadelphia. He started the city’s first hospital and fire department. Ben also started Philadelphia’s first public library. Benjamin Franklin worked very hard to make Philadelphia a better place to live. What is the main idea?
Benjamin Franklin worked hard to make his city a great
place to live.
Benjamin Franklin worked for the fire department.
Benjamin Franklin knew a lot about books.
Benjamin Franklin went to school in Philedelphia.
Floods can cause tremendous damage. They can ruin houses, roads and buildings. Floods can take down trees and cause mudslides. A flood often leaves mud, sand and debris behind. It can take months to clean up after a flood. What is the main idea?
Floods can cause a lot of damage.
Floods cause mudslides.
Floods damage houses and roads.
What is the main idea?
What is the main idea?
Shells
Susan likes to swim with her family at the beach. The best part of going to the beach is collecting shells. She likes to use shells to make jewelry. Collecting shells is fun.
What is the main idea?
What is the main idea?
What is the main idea?
What is the main idea?
What is the main idea?
What is the main idea?
What is the main idea?
What is the main idea?
What is the main idea?
Niagra Falls is one of the most beautiful sights in North America. It is on the Niagra River halfway between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Niagra Falls is located on the American and Canadian border. The American Falls is 167 feet high. On the Canadian side, the Horseshoe Falls is 161 feet high.
Which of the following is NOT a supporting detail for the main idea?
The American Falls is 167 feet high
The Horseshoe Falls is 161 feet high
Niagra Falls is one of the most beautiful sights in North America
It is located between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie
Which of the following is NOT a supporting detail?
The peregrine falcon is a beautiful wild bird. It is also one of the fastest. In 1978, the peregrine falcon was placed on the endangered species list. The main reason the peregrine falcon was dying out was the use of pesticides.
Which of the following is NOT a supporting detail of the main idea?
The peregrine falcon is one of the fastest wild birds
It was placed on the endangered species list
It was dying out because of pesticides
The peregrine falcon is an amazing bird
Which of the following is NOT a supporting detail?
Emily went hiking last week. She climbed large rocks and ate on the edge of a cliff. She used all of her climbing gear to get to the top of a mountain. She saw many awesome sights of the landscape below and felt like she could touch the sky above. What is the main idea?
She climbed large rocks
She ate lunch on the edge of a cliff
Emily went hiking
She felt like she could touch the sky
What is the best question to ask yourself when you are trying to find the main idea?
Who is the main character?
What is one important detail?
What is the author's main point/message in this text?
What is the event being discussed in the text?
What is the topic in the following paragraph?
Shanna had never seen so many fish before. She looked around at the huge tanks and could see hundreds of fish, crabs, shrimp, and all other amazing creatures completely surrounding her. She never thought she could feel like she was completely underwater, yet still be completely dry.
The ocean
The aquarium
The mall
The park
The topic of a text can often be found in the title or in the opening paragraph of the text.
True
False
What is the main idea of the following paragraph?
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.
Why some seaweed grows so large
Why seaweed is red
What seaweed is like
A key detail is defined as the "who" or "what" a text is about.
True
False
What is the main idea of the following paragraph?
Sharks can lose up to 30,000 teeth in their lifetime. Sharks have teeth arranged in rows inside their mouths. These teeth do not have roots like human teeth do, so they fall out easily. When a shark takes a powerful bite into its food, several teeth are lost. When these teeth are lost, new ones push forward from the back rows to replace them. Luckily, sharks continually grow new teeth to replace the thousands they lose.
Sharks lose many teeth over the course of their lifetime
Shark teeth are very different from human teeth
Sharks are carnivorous predators
What is the main idea of the following paragraph?
Animals and plants living in deserts have adaptations which enable them to survive there. Desert plants have little or no leaves where moisture can escape. They also have deep roots to soak up water underground. Many desert animals are nocturnal. They burrow in the soil or sand during the hottest part of the day and are active at night when it is cooler. Desert animals also survive by getting the water they need from desert plants.
It rains very little in the desert
Many different types of animals live in the desert
Plants/animals in the desert have unique ways of surviving the heat and lack of rainfall
Which sentence is a supporting detail for the main idea that recycling is important?
There are many landfills available for waste
You should clean all items before recycling them
Recycling paper saves trees from being cut down
Separate your paper, cans, and glass jars before recycling them
What are supporting details?
Useless
Details from the text that tell you how the character is feeling
Details about the text that tell you about the setting
Details from the text that develop the main idea
Which sentence best describes the main idea of the paragraph?
By Roald Dahl
By the time she was three, Matilda had taught herself to read by studying newspapers and magazines that lay around the house. At the age of four, she could read fast and well and she naturally began hankering after books. The only book in the whole of this enlightened household was something called Easy Cooking belonging to her mother, and when she had read this from cover to cover and had learnt all the recipes by heart, she decided she wanted something more interesting. "Daddy," she said, "do you think you could buy me a book?" "A book,” he said. "Whatd' you want a flaming book for?" "To read, Daddy." "What's wrong with the telly, for heaven's sake? We've got a lovely telly with a twelve-inch screen and now you come asking for a book! You're getting spoiled, my girl!"
What is the main idea?
Which sentence is a supporting detail for the main idea that recycling is important?
There are many landfills available for waste.
Recycling paper saves trees from being cut down.
Clean jars before recycling them.
Separate your paper, cans, and glass jars before recycling.
You can determine the main idea by combining the supporting details.
True
False
IDENTIFY THE MAIN IDEA
It is estimated that over twenty million pounds of candy corn are sold in the US each year. Brach's, the top manufacturer, sells enough candy corn to circle the earth 4.25 times if each piece were laid end to end. That's a lot of candy corn, but that's nothing compared to the production of Tootsie Rolls. Over 64 million Tootsie Rolls are produced every day! But even Tootsie Rolls have got nothing on the candy industry's staple product: chocolate. Confectioners manufacture over twenty billion pounds of chocolate in the United States each year. Now that's a mouthful!
How much of popular candies are sold each year.
The overpowering candy industry
Tootsie Rolls are delicious
Candy corn, the world's most abundant candy piece.
IDENTIFY THE MAIN IDEA
A penny for your thoughts? If it’s a 1943 copper penny, it could be worth as much as fifty thousand dollars. In 1943, most pennies were made out of steel since copper was needed for World War II, so the 1943 copper penny is ultra-rare. Another rarity is the 1955 double die penny. These pennies were mistakenly double stamped, so they have overlapping dates and letters. If it’s uncirculated, it’d easily fetch $25,000 at an auction. Now that’s a pretty penny.
The 1943 copper penny
The material of the penny is all that is important.
Rare and valuable pennies
Make sure to collect your pennies for further auctions.
What is the main idea?
Where is the main idea most often found?
In the title of the story.
In the first couple of sentences of the paragraphs.
In the middle of the story.
In the glossary.
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.
The best title for this paragraph would be?
The Face of Washington
Mount Rushmore Carvings
Visiting South Dakota
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 a detail that tells about the main idea?
how the four presidents were chosen
why Mount Rushmore is in South Dakota
which presidents are at Mount Rushmore
That roller coaster is dangerous.
The best supporting details for the above topic sentence is ...
It is slower than any other roller coaster in the state. The curves of its track are so wide and the hills are so shallow that a ride on this roller coaster seems like a drive in the country. People don’t scream when they ride it. Instead, they enjoy the view from above the park.
It is known as one of the best roller coasters in the country. People will wait in lines for hours just to try it. At certain points it reaches the same speeds as cars do on highways. The track is so tall and long that you can see it miles away.
Last year, it broke down several times, leaving people stranded in their cars sixty feet off the ground. In most cars, the seat belts are torn and don’t always buckle properly. One area of the track shakes and makes a strange grinding sound whenever a car passes over it.
Margo is a very rude worker.
The best supporting details for the above topic sentence are ...
She can barely stay awake while at work. Almost every day, she arrives at the store a few minutes late, having slept till the last minute. She works in slow motion, and it takes her so long to do any one thing that people never ask for her help. If she didn’t spend the day pumping herself full of caffeine, she probably would not be able to move at all.
She keeps customers waiting while she talks with a coworker. When someone asks her about a sale item, she snaps, “If it isn’t on the shelf, we don’t have it!” When her boss isn’t watching her, she answers the telephone by saying, “Yeah, what do you want?”
She can answer the phone, ring up a customer’s purchases, and count large amounts of money all at the same time. She often volunteers to help customers bring their bags to their cars. She does not mind taking time to answer a customer’s question or help someone stock a shelf.
