Finding the Main Idea

Important Words to Know Paragraph = A group of sentences organized around a topic, a main idea about the topic, and details that support the main idea.

Important Words to Know Topic = The overall subject of a paragraph.

Important Words to Know Main Idea = A statement that tells the author’s point about the topic. The main idea provides the message of a given paragraph or the argument that is being made about the topic.

Important Words to Know Details = The specific information about the main idea or support for the main idea.

Main Idea = Topic + Author’s Point about the Topic

What is the Main Idea?  The main idea of a text is the author's message about the topic.  It is often expressed directly or it can be implied.

Where do you find the main idea? If the main idea is expressed directly…  It is found at the beginning of paragraphs, usually as a topic sentence.  Main ideas are also found in the concluding sentences of a paragraph, as a summation.

Where do you find the main idea? If the main idea is implied…  Several sentences in a paragraph can imply the main idea by introducing facts about the topic before actually stating the topic.  Implied ideas can be drawn from facts, reasons, or examples that give hints or suggestions concerning the main idea.

Questions to Ask  Who - Does this passage discuss a person or group of people?  When - Does the information contain a reference to time?  Where - Does the text name a place?  Why - Do you find a reason or explanation for something that happened?  How - Does this information indicate a method or a theory?

Finding the Main Idea Tips & Tricks  Identify the key words of a sentence  Identify key words or topic of a paragraph  Identify the topic sentence of a paragraph  Recognize the explicitly stated point of a paragraph  Infer the main idea of a sentence  Infer the main idea of a paragraph  Infer relationships among ideas in related paragraphs from longer selections

Let’s Practice…

What is the main idea? Despite the hatred that most people feel toward cockroaches, they do help humans in several ways. For example, they are perfect experimental animals and are used for scientific research in the laboratory. Breeding them is easy, for they thrive under almost any conditions. In studies on nutrition and food, cockroaches are good subjects because they will eat any kind of food. They can be used to study heart disease, and cancer researchers work with roaches because they grow cancerous tumors like those that are found in humans.

What is the main idea? a)Cockroaches are vile, disgusting insects with no redeeming qualities. b)Cockroaches are genetically resilient insects with beneficial qualities. c)Cockroaches are easy to breed and thrive under almost any conditions. d)It’s obvious the world will be taken over by cockroaches.

What is the main idea? Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. King, both a Baptist minister and civil-rights activist, had a seismic impact on race relations in the United States, beginning in the mid-1950s. Through his activism, he played a pivotal role in ending the legal segregation of African-American citizens in the South and other areas of the nation, as well as the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of King was assassinated in April 1968, and continues to be remembered as one of the most lauded African-American leaders in history, often referenced by his 1963 speech, "I Have a Dream."

What is the main idea? a)Martin Luther King Jr. created the Civil Rights Act of b)Martin Luther King Jr. was a dream analyst. c)Martin Luther King Jr. played a significant role in reshaping America’s race relations. d)Martin Luther King Jr. believed in racial segregation.

What is the main idea? Most teenagers and young adults do not know what they want to do for the rest of their lives. It is a big decision. There are a number of things you can do to narrow the choices. For example you can take an interest test, do some research on your own about a career, try volunteer work in the field in which you are interested, or "job-shadow", in which you spend a day with a person who is working in a field that interests you. These are just a few helpful ideas as you begin to choose a career.

What is the main idea? a)Occupational knowledge is paramount when choosing a career. b)Teenagers who don’t know what they want to do professionally will be jobless. c)Teenagers should work part time so they know what they want to do later as adults. d)Adolescents can do many things when thinking about their future line of employment.

What is the main idea? McDonald's is the king of a subgroup of restaurants called fast-food restaurants. Chances are, no matter where you live, there is a McDonald's restaurant near you. There are even McDonald's in the Soviet Union. Now McDonald's is trying something new. It is called McDonald's Express and there is a test site in Peabody, Massachusetts. It is part of a Mobil gas station. This allows you to fill up with gas and fill up on food at the same time. What will they think of next?

What is the main idea? a)Big Macs are disgusting and bad for you. b)Americans eat too much fast food as verified with the growing obesity epidemic. c)People enjoy the perks of fast food as seen with the expansion of McDonalds. d)Peabody, Massachusetts is a tourist trap for burger-loving vacationers.

What is the main idea? If you have ever folded a piece of paper to make an airplane, you were practicing the ancient Japanese art of origami. The word origami comes from two Japanese words: ori, which means “to fold,” and kami, which means “paper.” In origami, a single sheet of paper is folded in different ways to create different shapes, such as animals or flowers. The nice thing about origami is that you can do it anywhere. There is no cutting, gluing, or drawing.

What is the main idea? a)Origami is for the artistically challenged who don’t like to cut, glue, or draw. b)Origami is a Japanese art form. c)Creating paper airplanes is a form of origami. d)Folding designs out of paper is the ancient practice of Origami.

Your turn…

Read the following passage and write the main idea… Police depend on evidence to solve crimes. Forensic scientists collect evidence to solve many different kinds of cases, including robberies, missing persons, and even murders. Examining the crime scene with precise methods, they collect hair, fibers, trash, and many other tiny bits of material, which help them, determine the individual who committed the crime. They are particularly interested in evidence, such as fingerprints, that can be linked to a specific person.

Possible Answer… Forensic scientists collect evidence to solve many different kinds of mysteries, including robberies, missing persons, and murders.

Read the following passage and write the main idea… To this day, Cleopatra remains a popular figure in Western culture. Her legacy survives in numerous works of art and the many dramatizations of her story in literature and other media, including William Shakespeare's tragedy Antony and Cleopatra. Cleopatra’s death remains a mystery with two possible scenarios: (1) that she applied a toxic ointment, or (2) that she was bitten by an asp or a cobra. Scholars remain unsure if Cleopatra poisoned herself or was murdered.

Possible Answer… Cleopatra leaves a dramatic legacy, including that of her mysterious death, as depicted in art and literature.

Read the following passage and write the main idea… The Loch Ness Monster is a cryptid who reputedly inhabits Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next, with most describing it as large in size. Popular interest and belief in the animal's existence has varied since it was first brought to the world's attention in Evidence of its existence is anecdotal, with minimal and much-disputed photographic material and sonar readings. The creature has been affectionately referred to by the nickname Nessie since the 1940s.

Possible Answer… The Loch Ness Monster is a Scottish cryptid whose evidence of existence is skeptical.

Remember….  Identify the key words of a sentence  Identify key words or topic of a paragraph  Identify the topic sentence of a paragraph  Recognize the explicitly stated point of a paragraph  Infer the main idea of a sentence  Infer the main idea of a paragraph  Infer relationships among ideas in related paragraphs from longer selections

Congratulations! You are now Main Idea Certified.

©Kimberly Dana Kimberly Dana is an award-winning teacher and author. For more classroom ideas and activities, go to: rly-Dana