Main Idea
What is a main idea?
The main idea is what the text is mostly about. The most important part of the text.
What are supporting details?
Supporting details are key information from the text that supports/is related to the main idea.
What must you always include, in order to support your answer to a question based on a specific text?
Text Evidence
What text structure identifies the similarities and differences between two or more topics?
Compare and Contrast
Identify the Text Structure:
A hurricane is a large storm with heavy winds and rain that begins in the ocean and builds up strength as it moves across the water. While some of the damage caused by hurricanes is from high winds, most of it is usually from tidal surge, flooding entire cities, and killing large numbers of people. A tornado is a storm that develops on land, with no warning, and moves in a circular motion with heavy winds with a funnel shape, picking up and carrying dirt, dust, and even objects. The damage caused by tornadoes is from the high velocity winds, which are extremely destructive and deadly. They can demolish entire neighborhoods in a matter of a few seconds to a few minutes. Tornadoes can form when hurricanes make landfall, as their winds at ground level slow down, while the winds near the top keep their momentum, but a hurricane cannot be created by a tornado.
Compare and Contrast
What do you get when you cross a robot and an astronaut? A Robonaut! Robonauts are robot helpers designed to work side-by-side with astronauts. Work on the first Robonaut began in 1997, and by 2002 Robonaut B was revealed to the public. Robonaut B featured interchangeable lower bodies, like four-wheel mode or hydraulic legs. Yet scientists and engineers continued to improve Robonaut. In February of 2010, Robonaut 2 was released to the public. Robonaut 2 moved four times faster than the first Robonaut. An advanced version of Robonaut 2 was finally tested in outer space in 2011. Robonaut 2 functioned exactly as designed.
The main idea of this paragraph is: Robonauts have improved over the years. (answers may vary slightly)
Kangaroos protect themselves in many ways. If a kangaroo senses danger, they will bang their tail on the ground to warn the others. A new born joey is only the size of your thumb.
What detail in this paragraph supports the main idea that "Kangaroos protect themselves in many ways"?
If a kangaroo senses danger, they will bang their tail on the ground to warn the others.
Chess is called the game of kings. It has been around for a long time. People have been playing it for over 500 years. Chess is based on an even older game from India. The chess we play today is from Europe.
According to the text how long have people been playing chess?
over 500 years.
What text structure describes the characteristics of something?
Description
Identify the Text Structure:
Have you ever wondered what the inside of a volcano looks like? Deep underground is a magma chamber. The magma chamber is under the bedrock of the earth’s crust. The conduit or pipe runs from the magma chamber to the top of the volcano. The conduit connects the magma chamber to the surface. Most volcanoes also have a crater at the top. Volcanoes are quite a sight, and you can enjoy this site all over the universe. Volcanoes are found on planets other than Earth, like the Olympus Mons on Mars.
Description
Automation is the use of machines to reduce the need for human labor. In other words automation is when jobs done by people become jobs done by robots. Automation can be a good thing. Clothing, cars, and other manufactured products are available at good prices and in large supply because of automation. But automation can also be a bad thing. Because of automation there are over 700,000 robots in America that do jobs once performed by humans. The way of automation may not be best for humanity, but it is the course we are taking.
The main idea of this paragraph is: Automation is both good and bad for humanity. (answers may vary slightly)
Kangaroos are strange looking animals. Some kangaroos act as guards to protect the mob. They have small front legs and huge hind legs with great big feet.
What detail from the paragraph supports the main idea that "Kangaroos are strange looking animals"?
They have small front legs and huge hind legs with great big feet.
Chess is called the game of kings. It has been around for a long time. People have been playing it for over 500 years. Chess is based on an even older game from India. The chess we play today is from Europe. Chess is a two-player game. One player uses the white pieces. The other uses the black pieces. Each piece moves in a special way. One piece is called the king. Each player has one. The players take turns moving their pieces. If a player lands on a piece, he or she takes it. The game ends when a player loses his or her king. There are a few more rules, but those are the basics.
Which sentences tell you where the game that chess is based on came from?
"Chess is based on an even older game from India. The chess we play today is from Europe."
What text structure describes the steps taken to accomplish something?
Sequence
Identify the Text Structure:
The ability of a building to withstand the stress of an earthquake depends upon its type of construction, shape, mass distribution, and rigidity. Different combinations are used. To reduce stress, first, the building's ground floor must be flexible. One method is to support the ground floor with extremely rigid, hollow columns, while the rest of the building is supported by flexible columns located inside the hollow columns. A different method is to use rollers or rubber pads to separate the base columns from the ground, allowing the columns to shake parallel during an earthquake. Next, the outdoor walls should be made with stronger and more reinforced materials such as steel or reinforced concrete. Then, to help prevent collapsing, the roof should be made out of light-weight materials.
Sequence
My grandma may not look very strong, but with the help of hydraulic power, she can stop a car with her foot. How does hydraulic power work? First, fluid is rapidly released into a chamber through a valve. As the fluid collects, the valve is slammed shut. This causes a pressure spike, but since the chamber is sealed, the pressure has nowhere to go. The hydraulic mechanism channels the pressure and provides great power. And that’s how, with the help of hydraulics, my grandma can stop a speeding car with one foot.
The main idea of the paragraph is: How hydraulics work. (answers may vary slightly)
Dogs and wolves are part of the same animal family. Both animals have strong senses of smell and are loyal to their packs. But dogs and wolves are quite different when it comes to people. Dogs are used to living with people and get along well with them. In fact, dogs have been called "man's best friend." Wolves, on the other hand, cannot live with humans. Wolves prefer to live in the wild, where they can hunt for their food. Clearly, dogs belong with people, while wolves do not.
What details from the paragraph support the main idea that "Dogs are better suited for living with people that wolves are"?
Dogs are used to living with people and get along with them.
Dogs are considered "man's best friend".
Wolves prefer to live in the wild.
You don't always have lots of time to think when playing chess. There is a type of chess with short time limits. It's called blitz chess. In blitz chess, each player gets ten minutes to use for the whole game. Your clock runs during your turn. You hit the time clock after your move. This stops your clock. It also starts the other player's clock. If you run out of time, you lose. Games of blitz chess are fast-paced.
Chess is not just for people. Computers have been playing chess since the 1970s. At first they did not play well. They made mistakes. As time went on they grew stronger. In 1997, a computer beat the best player in the world for the first time. It was a computer called Deep Blue. Deep Blue was big. It took up a whole room. By 2006 a cell phone could beat the best players in the world. Chess sure has come a long way. Don't you think so?
According to the text, if it's your turn in blitz chess, what happens when you hit the clock?
Your clock stops running and the other person's clock begins.
What text structure describes a challenge and the resolution to the challenge?
Problem and Solution
Identify the Text Structure:
The surface of the Earth is divided into pieces called “tectonic plates.” These plates move. When the plates rub against each other, they do not move smoothly. When the plates do not move smoothly, earthquakes result. Some parts of the world get more earthquakes than other parts. The parts of the earth that get most earthquakes are near the edges of these plates.
Cause and Effect
Many people use the words cyborg and android interchangeably, but these words have different meanings. Both refer to beings powered by robotics, but an android is powered entirely by machinery. Cyborgs are partly powered by a living organism. They also look different. Androids may be completely mechanical, but they are designed to look like humans. They may have synthetic skin, hair, and other human-like features. Cyborgs are usually designed in a way that accents their robotic modifications. A cyborg's mechanically enhanced eye may cast a red light or have a chrome plate surrounding it, for instance. So you see, though the terms cyborg and android seem similar, they refer to different things.
The main idea is: The similarities and differences between cyborgs and androids. (answers may vary slightly)
Edouard de Laboulaye, a French writer and law professor, admired the freedoms enjoyed in the United States. He supported Abraham Lincoln's freeing of slaves during the Civil War. After the war, in 1865, he suggested that France present a statue to the U.S. The statue was meant to honor Lincoln and American democracy. At that time, the French people had little say in their government. Laboulaye hoped the statue would encourage the French to demand more freedom at home. Work began on the project in 1875. Ten years later, the statue, known as the Statue of Liberty, finally arrived in New York.
What details from the paragraph support the main idea that "Edouard de Laboulaye wanted the statue of Liberty to inspire freedom and democracy in France"?
The statue was meant to honor Lincoln and American demcracy.
At that time, the French people had little say in their government.
Laboulaye hoped the statue woudl encourage the French to demand more freedom at home.
Some people think that chess is more than a game. They think that it makes the mind stronger. Good chess players use their brains. They take their time. They think about what will happen next. These skills are useful in life and in chess. Chess is kind of like a work out for the mind.
Properly cite text evidence to support your answer to the following question: How might playing chess be good for people?
According to the text, chess can be good for people because it makes their mind stronger; "Good chess players use their brains./Chess is kind of like a work out for the mind." What the author means is that playing chess requires you to think and use your brain, which can have long term benefits.
What text structure describes what happens as a result of a specific event?
Cause and Effect
Identify the Text Structure:
Some countries, such as Japan, or parts of a country, like California in the United States, have a lot of earthquakes. In these places it is a good practice to build houses and other buildings so they will not collapse when there is an earthquake. This is called seismic design or "earthquake-proofing".
Problem and Solution