Main Idea
One the most popular musical instruments is the piano. In the traditional musical instrument classification system, the piano falls into two categories. It is considered a string instrument because the sound comes from the strings inside the piano. It is also considered a percussion instrument, since the player strikes the keyboard, which signals an internal hammer to strike the strings.
What is the main idea?
The piano is both a string and percussion instrument.
Context clues help readers to...
a. not understand what they are reading.
b. understand the meaning of an unknown word.
c. not use strategies.
d. be confused.
b. understand the meaning of an unknown word.
I pressed the button and after a few seconds the door opened. I stepped inside and pressed a button with the number 10 on it. The door closed. Then, I felt the floor was moving up.
Where am I?
elevator
The search did not turn up any answers and the fate of the colony remains a mystery. Although there is no evidence that definitively shows what happened to the colony, there are some theories.
What does definitively mean?
a. hurriedly b. old
c. questionably d. completely
d. completely
Where do you normally find the main idea of a paragraph?
In the first or last sentence of the paragraph.
Plants need the right amounts of sun and water to survive. In tropical climates, both are abundant, and many plants thrive. In the desert, however, plants get plenty of sun but not much water. Rain might not fall for months. When rain does fall, it evaporates quickly.
What is the main idea?
Plants need the right amount of sun and water to survive.
What do you call a word that has the opposite meaning of another word?
Antonym
The babysitter was downstairs reading, happy to have a few moments of quiet with the child upstairs sleeping. She just hoped the wiggly toddler would stay in her new big-girl bed. Suddenly, there was a loud "THUMP!" followed by a grumpy voice saying, "ow!"
What can you infer?
a. the child was asleep
b. the child fell out of bed
c. the child was eating a bag of chips
d. the child wanted to read a book
b. the child fell out of bed
The divers tried to salvage the valuable cargo from the sunken ship. They hoped to retrieve at least some of the treasures they knew were trapped at the bottom of the sea.
What does salvage mean?
a. save c. destroy
b. break d. terrible
a. save
When writing a paragraph you must have these sentences to strengthen the main idea...
Supporting details
Memorial Day is a great holiday! It assures us that summer is just around the corner. Of course, Memorial Day was first celebrated for a more serious reason. Memorial Day began in 1868 to honor Civil war soldiers. Later, it became the day to remember all American soldiers who had died in a war.
What is the main idea?
Memorial Day honors fallen soldiers.
It has been an extremely brutal summer with very hot temperatures.
What does brutal mean?
Harsh
A mother is pushing a cart through the grocery store. A little girl, around three years old, is sitting in the cart. The girl reaches for a brightly-colored box, and the mother gently takes it away from her. The girl begins to cry.
I can infer that:
a. The little girl wanted to keep the box.
b. The mother hurt the girl when she took away the box.
c. The box contained laundry detergent.
a. The little girl wanted to keep the box.
Many students would feign illness just to get out of a test, but Sara decided to go to school even though she had a fever.
What does feign mean?
a. catch c. fake
b. discover d. need
c. fake
There are many ways for people to get from one place to another. The most common way to travel is by a motorized vehicle. If you are traveling with your family and not going far you may take a car. If you are going a longer distance with more people you may ride in a var or bus. If you need to travel through water, you would need to take a boat. Many people choose to ride in an airplane when they need to go far away and get their quickly.
What is the main idea?
There are many ways to travel.
Most animals like company, but, it seems, they also like to be unique. There are special names for groups of many different animals. For example, a group of fish is a school. You wouldn't call a group of ants a school, but you can call them a colony. A group of hens is a brood. Then, there is a pod of dolphins, a string of ponies, and a gaggle of geese.
What is the main idea?
There are different names for different animal groups.
Mara was feeling apprehensive about the
camping trip. She had never slept in a tent before. What if there were bears or mountain lions?
What does apprehensive mean?
worried
Erick's mom is having a birthday party this weekend. He wants to do something special for her. Erick knows that his mom always wanted to go to the Grand Canyon. He turned on the computer and looked at the map.
What is Erick doing? How do you know?
Erick is going to plan a trip to the Grand Canyon for his mom.
Key words: mom always wanted to go to the Grand Canyon. and he looked at the map.
Sandra was known for being an ingenious problem solver. When she ripped the cover of her textbook, she made a color copy of her friend’s book and pasted it onto her own.
What does ingenious mean?
a. brave c. clever
b. silly d. boring
c. clever
Kangaroo tails are muscular, long and thick at the base.
Which is a supporting detail?
A. Their tails help them balance and turn when they're hopping.
B. Kangaroos also have a pouch where they carry their babies.
C. Kangaroos are only found naturally in Australia and Papua New Guinea.
A. Their tails help them balance and turn when they're hopping.
Can you tell a storm is coming? Some people are very good at predicting bad weather. They may feel sore in their joints. Some say they can smell it. Some listen to weather reports. The reporters use equipment that can watch weather from a distance.
What is the main idea?
There are several ways to know if a storm is on its way.
Dan did not enjoy his job as a dishwasher. It was monotonous work, doing the same thing over and over
What does monotonous mean?
boring
Elizabeth was so proud of her garden. She planted the seeds early in the spring and watered the plants every morning. Last Friday, her mom called and asked her to come over for the weekend because she was feeling sick. When Elizabeth came back home, her plants were bent and drooping.
Why were the plants drooping? How do you know?
She had not watered them for a few days, so the plants were not doing well.
There's no need to berate someone for making a mistake during the first day on the job.
What does berate mean?
a. scold c. congratulate
b. laugh at d. praise
a. scold
The Erie Canal changed the way people moved goods and supplies in the mid 1800's.The 363 mile canal connected Albany, New York to Lake Erie in Buffalo for the first time. When the canal opened in 1825, building supplies and goods could be transported quickly and cheaply across New York State. Canal boats pulled by mules carried people and supplies the 363 miles.
What is the main idea of the paragraph?
The Erie Canal changed the way people moved goods and supplies in the mid 1800's.