Soccer players learn many skills when playing soccer.  Soccer players learn how to dribble and pass the ball.  They also learn how to control the ball so they can eventually score.  Most importantly, soccer players learn how to work together with their teammates.
What is the main idea?

Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Brown are bakers.  They work at a store called Bake Goods to Go.  Mrs. Jones works nights.  She bakes cakes, cookies, and pies.  Mrs. Brown works in the daytime.  She bakes bread and rolls.  Both Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Brown are very good bakers.
What is the main idea?

Mary has a new pet.  Her pet is a baby kitten.  It is soft and cuddly.  The kitten likes to sleep a lot.  Mary put a soft blanket in a box for its bed.  Mary plays with her kitten when it is awake.  She never forgets to feed her kitten.
What is the main idea?

The frog sat on the side of the pond.  He was very still.  His green color made him hard to see.  A bug flew near him.  His tongue zipped out, and he gobbled it up.  Then the frog was still again.  He waited for the next bug.
What is the main idea?

It was backward day at school.  The students had to do things backward.  Some of them wore their T-shirts backward.  They took a test before they studied the lesson.  Dessert was served first instead of last.  They tried to walk home backward, but they bumped into each other and fell down. 
What is the main idea?

Mark wanted to be a great skater. But he didn't want to spend the hours practicing. He wished he could just do the tricks easily. Mark's dream was to have everyone stop and stare when he entered the skate park. He  wanted them to say, "Mark is the best skater in the whole world."
What is the main idea?

If you are feeling sad, you can make yourself feel better by doing a few simple things. You can take a walk (or get another form of exercise), you can talk to a friend, or you can write down your feelings. Writing down the good things in your life will help too. Doing something good for someone else will also help you feel better. If you still feel a little sad, act happy. It works like magic to make you feel better!
What is the main idea?

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?

Floods can cause tremendous damage.  They can ruin houses, roads and buildings. Floods can take down trees and cause mudslides. It often leaves mud, sand and debris behind.  It can take months to clean up after a flood.

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.

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.

Earthquakes are caused when the plates of the Earth's crust move. Earthquakes happen along "fault lines" in the earth’s crust. When the plates in the Earth suddenly shift, the Earth will begin to shift, shake or tremble.

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.

Benjamin Franklin invented many things that made life easier in the late 1700’s.  He invented the lightning rod that saved many homes from fires.  He also invented the Franklin stove.  The stove could heat a room better than a fireplace and saved people a lot of fuel.  He also invented a special kind of glasses called bifocals.  This new kind of glasses helped people to read better.

What is the best question to ask yourself when you are trying to find the main idea?

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.
Where is Shanna?

A bat can fly at night or even with its eyes closed.  But if you cover its ears, it can't fly very well.  Bats make sounds that people can't hear.  The bats find their way by listening to these sounds as they echo off things.  Bats even locate insects to eat by following the sounds that bounce off the bugs.  People use their eyes, but bats use their ears to know where they're going.  This paragraph mainly tells:

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:

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:

Name the red part of the sentence.
There was a car accident on the highway, so we arrived late to school.

Name the red part of the sentence.
Due to the upcoming storm, we put our bikes in the garage.

The cause is _____________

The effect is ______________

Effect: I got in trouble.

Cause: My dad picked corn from the garden.

Cause: Today is Alanna's birthday.

Cause:  It is a windy day.
What is a possible effect?

Name the red part of the sentence.
My button was loose, so my grandmother sewed it on tightly.

Name the red part of the sentence.
Jessica had a stomachache because she ate too many peanut butter cookies.

What's the effect ?
 Paul overslept. 

Cause: We are out of milk.

All of the following are signal words for a cause and effect relationship, except which one?

The cause always has to come first, then the signal word and last the effect.

It does not matter what order the cause, effect and signal word are in.

What is the cause in this sentence?
Because it rained, I got soaked.

What was the effect?
Dark clouds appeared in the sky.

When I woke up, I found that a beautiful, cold blanket of white covered my yard.
What was the cause?

I left the cake in the oven too long and it got burned. What is the effect?

Which text structure would use the following key words? 
as a result, because, since, due to

Which text structure would use the following key words? 
propose, conclude, suggest, reason, solve

Which text structure would use the following key words? 
both, same, like, unlike, at the same time

Which text structure would I use to tell you how to play a board game? 

Which text structure would I use to tell about the history of women's rights?