Context Clues
Read the passage below. Which word or words help you understand the meaning of the word transportation in this sentence?
On Thursday afternoon, what kind of transportation will you use, a car or train?
Car or train
One dinosaur had a brain that weighed about as much as three pencils. Its body weighed ten tons and was over twenty feet in length. As you can guess, this dinosaur did not think too clearly. It wasn't the world's brightest dinosaur! What is the main idea of this paragraph?
What one dinosaur's brain was like.
What is the main difference between THEME and MAIN IDEA?
Theme is a universal lesson, and main idea is what a story is about.
What is the first question you ask yourself when figuring out main idea?
What is it about?
The imagery in lines 4-5 creates a sense of--
If you're a dreamer, come in
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire
For we have some golden tales to spin
Come in!
Come in
Enthusiasm
Jack was an avid baseball card collector. He saved all of his money up until he could purchase new cards. He kept them in a safe and sure place. What does the word avid mean?
1. Fearful 2. Fast? 3. Eager? 4. Careless?
Eager
Not all animals that live in the water are fish. Frogs and tadpoles, for example, spend part of their lives in water. They are amphibians, not true fish. Whales and seals are warm-blooded mammals. Some snakes live partly in water too. What is the main idea?
Which animals live in water
Which of the following is an example of THEME?
1.Carry your laptops with two hands at all times.
2.Cereal is the healthiest food you can eat.
3. Life is short; make the most of it.
Life is short; make the most of it.
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?
King Midas loved gold
Why is the setting important in the following text?
It was a cold, dark night and Sarah was walking alone home. She could hear the crunching of the ice under her feet as she moved quickly. Her heartbeat scared like a drum.
Being outside alone in the dark made Sarah scared.
All children need healthy foods to thrive. By adding fruits and vegetables, kids will grow strong and healthy. Without them, they may get sick. What does the word thrive mean?
1. Learn 2. Exercise 3. Travel 4. Grow
Grow
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 about the passage?
Taste buds are found in different places.
What is the theme?
A hare once bragged to all the animals that he could beat anyone in a race. A tortoise said, "I challenged you." So, they raced. The hare ran fast and the tortoise plodded along. Soon, the hare got tired and took a nap. The tortoise kept up his steady pace and won the race.
It is better to take your time and do it right than to rush and fail.
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?
The author enjoys spending time with her family.
Where should we put a comma?
After summer break we have to start school.
insert a comma after break
Read the sentence below:
Women's suffrage organizations faced determined resistance from groups who argued that a woman's place was in the home, not in the political arena.
What does the word resistance mean?
1. Opposition 2. Question 3. Agreement. 4. Approval
Opposition
Were you born after 1985? If so, how long do you expect to live? most people born after 1985 can expect to live more than 70 years. Of course, this is just a guess based on past records.
What is this passage mostly about?
how long your might expect to live
What is the theme?
Once a cat was in a hurry. She ran across the street without looking. She narrowly escaped being hit by a car.
Look both ways before crossing the street.
This was Kathy's first babysitting job. She was so excited, but she was really nervous. Kathy's parents made her attend a babysitting workshop before she could babysit her neighbor's five-year-old son, Matthew. Kathy knew this was a lot of responsibility, but she thought she was ready. Kathy marched confidently to Matthew's house and waved goodbye to Matthew's parents. It seemed as soon as his parents left, Matthew fell and hit his chin on the coffee table. Without panicking, she remembered what she learned in her babysitting class and applied first-aid.
The author wants to show that:
Kathy is ready to babysit.
What sentence should be removed?
(1) Tom Brady is a Superbowl winning quaterback who has played for many years. (2) He began his career at the Patriots. (3) The Patriots are in Boston. (4) After 20 years there, he moved to Tampa Bay.
Remove sentence 3
A bold wind grabbed Mia's cap as she and her parents hiked down the trail.
What does the underlined figure of speech mean in the sentence?
The wind blew Mia's cap off her head.
Most people think that gorillas are mean, but actually, they are shy. It seems that such a huge animal with very large teeth would be aggressive. Hollywood movies help convey this image of the scary, ferocious gorilla. In fact, gorillas only attack if they are provoked.
This author believes that:
Gorillas are misunderstood as vicious animals.
What is the theme?
There was once an ugly duckling. The other ducks laughed at her, and she felt ashamed. When she grew up, it turned out that she was actually a swan and she was beautiful.
Don't just others. You don't know what they are capable of.
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?
Matilda is eager to learn and read more.
What does this figurative language mean?
"Tracy was feeling down in the dumps after failing the test"
Tracy was feeling sad.