Main Idea Review

Main Idea Review

The Basics of Finding The Main Idea

Fill in the Blank

Fill in the blanks with the correct words. Be sure to seperate the words with a comma.

Authors have a message for readers in every passage or story. The main idea is the most ______ point of the message the author wants to share. Figuring out that main point helps us better ______ what we read. The main idea can usually be stated in a few words or a sentence, and the other information in a passage explains the main idea. These are known as details.

Fill in the Blank

What are the two most important questions to ask when trying to determine the author's main idea? Be sure to separate your answer with the correct punctuation, which is a question mark (?).

Open Ended

Explain how a main idea is like a stool.

Fill in the Blank

Fill the blanks with the correct words. Seperate your words with a comma.

Sometimes the author tells the reader the main idea. Often it's expressed in the _____ sentence, but it can be anywhere in a passage. When a main idea is written, it's known as a _____main idea.

Fill in the Blank

Fill in the blanks with the correct words. Be sure to separate your words with a comma.

Other times we have to _____ out the main idea from clues the author gives us. This is known as an _____ main idea, or implied main idea.

Multiple Choice

Since 1882, The Panolian Newspaper (located in Mississippi) has been delivering news all across Panola County. It has helped thousands of locals keep up with what’s happening around their community. However, in the new age of social media, people are starting to rely more on mobile devices to tell them what is going on in the world we live in today. It’s not just affecting The Panolian; it’s affecting print journalism all around the country. “Most people want news right now, even if it is not the total truth.” Myra Bean, a writer at The Panolian said. “ Most readers overlook journalistic ethics in their pursuit of the news by the day.” It’s not just affecting local newspapers, but magazines as well. “People my age grew up without the internet, so all of the information was provided in print formats.” Greg Pevey, the founder of Rebel Nation Magazine said. “Young adults have grown up with the internet where everything is at their fingertips. The newspaper industry is going all digital now. The main idea is-

• printed news is becoming a thing of the past

• people only like news online

• Magazines are having to close down

• online news is the future

Multiple Choice

Doctor Dolittle was very fond of animals and kept many kinds of pets. Besides the gold-fish in the pond at the bottom of his garden, he had rabbits in the pantry, white mice in his piano, a squirrel in the linen closet and a hedgehog in the cellar. He had a cow with a calf too, and an old lame horse—twenty-five years of age—and chickens, and pigeons, and two lambs, and many other animals. But his favorite pets were Dab-Dab the duck, Jip the dog, Gub-Gub the baby pig, Polynesia the parrot, and the owl Too-Too. His sister used to grumble about all these animals and said they made the house untidy. And one day when an old lady with rheumatism came to see the Doctor, she sat on the hedgehog who was sleeping on the sofa and never came to see him anymore, but drove every Saturday all the way to Oxenthorpe, another town ten miles off, to see a different doctor. Then his sister, Sarah Dolittle, came to him and said, “John, how can you expect sick people to come and see you when you keep all these animals in the house?” The Main idea is-

• Doctor Dolittle loves animals.

• Doctor Dolittle’s sister was worried about his business.

• Doctor Dolittle’s many pets drove away his patients.

• Doctor Dolittle had too many animals at his house.