The ice cream cone was invented in 1904.

They ran out of ice cream at the World's fair.

Ice cream is a yummy treat.

Peter cannot go in the living room.

Peter's parents don't like the carpet.

Peter likes to make a mess.

Peter's parents made new rules so the new carpet stays clean.

Todd had a great birthday.

Joey had a great birthday.

Todd got lots of gifts.

Joey got lots of gifts.

Roller coasters stop at the end of the track.

Some kinds of roller coasters use magnets to make them stop.

Roller coasters are fun.

Brad's father was angry.

Brad has good driving skills.

Brad's first driving lesson did not go well.

Brad always drives poorly.

Ivy is an excellent bowler.

Ivy and Fern will go bowling again.

Ivy is a better bowler than Fern.

Ivy is not a good bowler.

The shifting liquid inside makes it hard to spin.

A hard-boiled egg will spin faster and longer.

You can tell if an egg is hard-boiled by spinning it.

Sharks have a lot of teeth.

Shark teeth grow in rows.

A shark may have up to 3,000 teeth.

Amy and Rob made too much noise.

Amy made scrambled eggs.

Rob made toast.

Amy and Rob made breakfast for their mom.

True

False

In the first sentence

In the last paragraph

There is no set place to find the main idea.

Sort facts from opinions.

Re-read the passage more than once.

Try to summarize the passage in one sentence.

Ask general questions about the passage.

Look for repeated words and phrases.

They're always based in fact, and never opinion.

To be effective, they must be supported by facts.

In many essays, they have nothing to do with the topic.

Most pieces of writing lack main ideas.