1. MAIN IDEA

2.  THE MAIN IDEA IS THE MOST IMPORTANT IDEA A WRITER MAKES IN A PARAGRAPH OR PASSAGE.

3.  THE WRITER MAY STATE THE MAIN IDEA IN A SENTENCE. THE SENTENCE CAN BE AT THE BEGINNING, MIDDLE, OR END OF A PARAGRAPH OR PASSAGE.

4.  THE WRITER MAY NOT ALWAYS STATE THE MAIN IDEA. SOMETIMES IT IS IMPLIED. THE READER MUST THEN FIGURE IT OUT BE THINKING ABOUT THE DETAILS AND PUTTING THE MAIN IDEA IN HIS OR HER OWN WORDS.

5.  READ THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH AS I READ IT ALOUD.  TRY TO DETERMINE THE MAIN IDEA.

6.  My favorite kind of music is country. It has many different beats and sounds. Many country songs tell stories. I like country music from different places. Country music is all over the world now.

7.  THE MAIN IDEA APPEARS IN THE FIRST SENTENCE  MY FAVORITE KIND OF MUSIC IS COUNTRY.  ALL OF THE OTHER SENTENCES SUPPORT THE FIRST.

8.  READ THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH AS I READ IT ALOUD.

9.  Most people do not like roaches. However, they have been on earth over 300 million years. They can stay alive even when frozen. Scientists may send them into space. Roaches are very strong.

10.  THE MAIN IDEA APPEARS IN THE LAST SENTENCE.  ROACHES ARE VERY STRONG.

11.  READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE AND THEN USING THE HANDOUT DETERMINE THE MAIN IDEA.

12.  Movie theaters and movies have changed over time. About 100 years ago, there were no movie theaters. People with projectors went from town to town instead. Films were black and white. They had no sound. By 1905, some cities had movie theaters. It cost five cents to watch movies there.

13.  One early movie was The Great Train Robbery. It was made in 1903. It was about 10 minutes long. It told an exciting story. People loved it! Audiences still like action films.