Explicit & Implicit Main Ideas
Finish the equation for finding main ideas:
_______ + _______ = main idea
topic + author's point = main idea
How do major details differ from minor details?
Major details directly support the main idea, while minor details add extra examples or explanations to support the major details.
"I went to bed early last night."
What POV is this written in?
First Person
What is an inference? (Hint: Think of an equation)
An inference is a guess you make based off information from the text and what you already know to figure out what the author does not directly say.
Information from the text + what you already know = inference
What is the part of speech for the word "interval"?
Noun
How do migrating animals find their destination? They navigate in a variety of ways. Fish use their sense of smell to recognize their migration paths and are guided by changing water temperatures. Birds use the position of the sun to orient themselves. Some birds have magnetic particles in their ear mechanisms that act as a compass. Mammals rely on their memory. Some elephant trails have been used for hundreds of years.
True or false? The main idea is:
How migrating animals navigate
False, this is the topic. The main idea is:
Migrating animals use a variety of methods to find their way to their destinations.
True or false? Phrases like "for instance," "specifically," and "in other words," are often used to introduce major details.
False. These phrases are often used to introduce minor details.
What are the three main author's purposes?
Persuade
Inform
Entertain
Dear Mrs. Matthew:
I appreciate your letter informing us of your negative experience with us at Imaginary Park. After bringing this matter to our management team's attention, we have offered you a full refund. We are awarded Europe's number one tourist destination, outselling the Eiffel Tower. During the peak season, we accommodate an average of 40,000 guests daily. The daily attendance drops to 20,000 during the off-peak season. To maintain a high standard of service, we decided to close a few shows, so our performers could start preparing for the next seasonal shows. We extend our sincerest apologies for not being able to showcase the performances to you this time. For any information regarding the refund process, please call Daniel Delcourt during office hours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. His number is listed on our website.
Sincerely, Catherine Powell
Why did Catherine have to mention Eiffel Tower in her response?
A. To show Mrs. Matthews how recognized their theme park is
B. To give Mrs. Matthews an alternative idea for entertainment
C. To distract Mrs. Matthews from asking for a refund
D. To convince Mrs. Matthews that the park upholds high standards and does not make stupid mistakes
A. To show Mrs. Matthews how recognized their theme park is
Is the word "paradigm" used correctly in this sentence?
After the team won the championship, their coach handed out medals as a paradigm of their success.
No, the word "paradigm" is being used here to mean a symbol or token, which is not its actual meaning.
"Paradigm" means a model, pattern, or example, especially in terms of thought, theory, or approach—not a physical representation or award.
Psychologists say that a sigh can express satisfaction and contentment. Frequent sighing can suggest despair and depression. It can also express disgust or frustration. It can express several emotions, but there is no one correct way to interpret its meaning.
Answer the following questions: Is the main idea implicit or explicit? Which answer below best explains the main idea?
A) Psychologists say that a sigh can express satisfaction and contentment, and frequent sighing can suggest despair and depression.
B) Sighing can express several emotions.
C) A sign can express emotions, such as disgust or frustration.
D) A sigh can express several emotions, but there is no one correct way to interpret its meaning.
The main idea is explicit.
D) A sigh can express several emotions, but there is no one correct way to interpret its meaning.
Dr. Ellen Ochoa is an inventor and is also the first female Hispanic astronaut. Her inventions include technology to help robots inspect equipment in space to maintain safety and quality control on spacecraft. Before retiring, she logged more than 1,000 hours in space across several space missions.
According to the passage, Dr. Ochoa is the first
A. Hispanic person to travel into space
B. inventor to travel into space
C. woman to travel into space
D. Hispanic woman to travel into space
D. Hispanic woman to travel into space
Americans throw away 100 billion thin plastic grocery bags every year. Most of these bags are carted off to overflowing landfills, where they make up four percent of our garbage. However, about one to three percent of the bags escape and become litter. Consequently, discarded bags are everywhere, blowing down streets, getting caught in trees and bushes, washing up on beaches. They clog drains and eventually wash out into the ocean, where thousands of marine animals, such as sea turtles, choke on the bags or get tangled in them. If the bags do make it into a landfill, they will stay there for 100 to 1,000 years before they finally decompose. Wherever they end up, though, the ink used to print stores’ logos on the bags degrades and becomes a toxic poison released into the soil or water.
What is the purpose of this passage? It may or may not have more than one purpose.
Persuade and Inform
Monday, February 24 | 12 – 1:30pm College of Social Work (SW) “Caregiving – Resources and Services to Help Keep those You Care for at Home” Sonnie Yudell, BS
Program Manager of Utah Caregiver Support Program at Utah Division of Aging and Adult Services Caregiving is a complex task and most caregivers must add this task to the many others they already do on a daily basis. What resources and services are available in our communities to help caregivers keep those they care for living at home in their communities for as long as appropriate? This presentation will explore ideas on how to identify and access supportive services for community living. Ms. Yudell has over 20 years of experience in health and fitness education, promotion and community development. She is developing programs throughout Utah to assist caregivers of the elderly population in obtaining resources and services. In this capacity she has brought together many community organization and individuals to develop the Utah Coalition for Caregiver Support — creating additional awareness about the needs of Utah’s aging population and their caregivers.
According to the passage, who is this presentation primarily for?
a. Aging adults in Utah state.
b. Local community organization.
c. People who provide direct care.
d. Elderly population in need of assistance.
c. People who provide direct care.
How many affixes are there in the word "proponent"? If there are affixes, what is their meaning?
Prefix: "pro-"
Meaning: for, forward, or in favor of
Suffix: "-ent"
Meaning: Indicates an agent or someone who performs an action
Forms a noun or adjective, often meaning "one who does" something
Americans throw away 100 billion thin plastic grocery bags every year. Most of these bags are carted off to overflowing landfills, where they make up four percent of our garbage. However, about one to three percent of the bags escape and become litter. Consequently, discarded bags are everywhere, blowing down streets, getting caught in trees and bushes, washing up on beaches. They clog drains and eventually wash out into the ocean, where thousands of marine animals, such as sea turtles, choke on the bags or get tangled in them. If the bags do make it into a landfill, they will stay there for 100 to 1,000 years before they finally decompose. Wherever they end up, though, the ink used to print stores’ logos on the bags degrades and becomes a toxic poison released into the soil or water.
Is the main idea explicit or implicit?
What is the main idea?
The main idea is implicit. The main idea is:
Plastic grocery bags are harmful to the environment.
1All material on Earth exists in one of three states. 2In solid materials, the particles that constitute the material are tightly packed and locked together in place, usually in a regular pattern, so they form a fixed shape. 3Wood, peanut butter, and ice are all examples of solids. 4The second type of physical state is liquid. 5In a liquid, the particles are close together, but they have no regular arrangement. 6The particles of a liquid move about and slide past one another, allowing the material to flow and assume the shape of the container that holds it. 7Examples of liquids include water, oil, and milk. 8Gas is the third and final form that matter can take. 9In gases, the particles have no regular arrangement, and they are separated from one another, with space in between, so they can move around freely and flow easily. 10The air we breathe is a good example of a gas.
Sentence 3 is a major or minor detail?
Sentence 4 is a major or minor detail?
Sentence 7 is a major or minor detail?
Sentence 3 is a minor detail.
Sentence 4 is a major detail.
Sentence 7 is a minor detail.
What is the primary purpose of this passage?
Bug sprays, pesticides, and cleaning products aren’t legally required to disclose all of their ingredients.
Only the “active” ingredient must be listed—the rest can be hidden under vague terms like “inert” or “other,” often protected as confidential business information or trade secrets.
But here’s the problem: We’re the ones using these products in our homes, around our kids, and on our skin. We deserve to know what’s in them so we can make informed choices for our families—not be kept in the dark to protect a company’s formula. This lack of transparency is part of a bigger issue. Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) passed in 1976, about 62,000 chemicals were automatically grandfathered in—presumed safe without any testing. New chemicals introduced after that needed EPA review, but didn’t have to be tested for safety by default. It wasn’t until the 2016 Lautenberg Act that the law changed. Now, all new chemicals must go through a review process—but the majority of the 86,000+ chemicals already registered have still never been evaluated. These chemicals show up in so many places: cleaners, car seats, mattresses, flooring, furniture, plastics, and electronics.
That’s why I care so much about ingredient transparency—because it shouldn’t be this hard to know what’s in the products we use every day. Small, informed changes really do add up, and knowing what to look for is the best place to start.
Persuade
1In the 1920s, Mohandas Gandhi showed the people of India how to use Henry David Thoreau’s ideas about “civil disobedience,” the nonviolent resistance of unjust laws and policies, to win their country’s independence from the British Empire. 2In 1955, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. led a bus boycott in Alabama founded on the principles of civil disobedience, which led to the civil rights movement of the 1960s. 3During that same decade, people who opposed the Vietnam War engaged in nonviolent demonstrations modeled on Thoreau’s ideas. 4Since the 1970s, adversaries of nuclear weapons and nuclear power have used civil disobedience tactics for their protests at test sites, storage facilities, government offices, and power plants. 5Thoreau’s concept of civil disobedience has also influenced how activists have battled since the 1980s against the racial segregation that has divided blacks and whites in South Africa.
What can be inferred about the role of civil disobedience in the movements mentioned in the passage?
A) Civil disobedience was universally accepted as an effective way to promote social change.
B) Civil disobedience was employed as a strategic tool to challenge established systems of power and promote justice in different historical contexts.
C) Civil disobedience was primarily used to gain independence from foreign powers, with little impact on other issues.
D) The use of civil disobedience often resulted in violent uprisings and clashes with authorities.
B) Civil disobedience was employed as a strategic tool to challenge established systems of power and promote justice in different historical contexts.
Use the word "reluctance" in a sentence.
[Various answers]
The work homemakers do is essential to the economy. The estimated value of the cleaning, cooking, nursing, shopping, child care, home maintenance, money management, errands, entertaining, and other services homemakers perform has been estimated at equal to roughly one-fourth of the gross national product. In fact, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis has proposed a revision of the gross national product that would take into account the value of money or prestige. No financial compensation is associated with this position, and the Dictionary of Occupational Titles places mothering and homemaking skills in the lowest category of skills, lower than the occupation of “dog trainer.”
Which statement best expresses the unstated main idea of the paragraph?
a. We no longer value the work done by homemakers
b. Homemakers should receive salaries for their work.
c. Although homemaking is essential to the economy, it brings no money or prestige.
d. It’s better to be a dog trainer than a homemaker.
c. Although homemaking is essential to the economy, it brings no money or prestige.
1Functional illiteracy – the inability to read and write well enough to carry out everyday activities – is a complex social problem that stems from several sources. 2One source of the problem is our educational system. 3Our schools are too quick to pass children from one grade to the next even when their learning is woefully deficient. 4Even teachers who care may not want to “buck the system” by refusing to pass along students who have not yet learned important basic skills. 5The community also contributes to functional illiteracy. 6Local businesses and agencies, indifferent to education, do not work with schools towards improving children’s motivation and learning. 7Another source is the home. 8Millions of children grow up with illiterate parents who do not give them the opportunity or encouragement to learn language skills. 9In all too many homes, a television is turned on much of the time, but there are few if any books to interest children in reading.
Identify which sentences contain the main idea, major details, and minor details.
1 - main idea
2, 5, 7 - major details
3, 4, 6, 8, 9 - minor details
[Various answers]
Chickenpox is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by the Varicella zoster virus; sufferers develop a fleeting itchy rash that can spread throughout the body. The disease can last for up to 14 days and can occur in both children and adults, though the young are particularly vulnerable. Individuals infected with chickenpox can expect to experience a high but tolerable level of discomfort and a fever as the disease works its way through the system. The ailment was once considered to be a “rite of passage” by parents in the U.S. and thought to provide children with greater and improved immunity to other forms of sickness later in life. This view, however, was altered after additional research by scientists demonstrated unexpected dangers associated with the virus. Over time, the fruits of this research have transformed attitudes toward the disease and the utility of seeking preemptive measures against it.
According to paragraph 1, which of the following is true of the chickenpox virus?
(A) It leads to a potentially deadly disease in adults.
(B) It is associated with a possibly permanent rash.
(C) It is easily transmittable by an infected individual.
(D) It has been virtually eradicated in the modern world.
(C) It is easily transmittable by an infected individual.
Give me the part of speech, affixes, definition, and 2 synonyms of the word "impediment."
Part of Speech: Noun
Affixes:
Prefix: im-
Meaning: not or in, into
Root: ped
From Latin pes/pedis, meaning foot
Suggests movement or walking
Suffix: -ment
Turns a verb or action into a noun indicating the result or state of something
Definition: An impediment is something that hinders, delays, or obstructs progress; it can refer to both physical obstructions and abstract difficulties, like a speech impediment.
Synonyms: Obstacle, Barrier, etc.