Assessment - Determining Main Idea and Detail

Native Americans dried strips of meat, pounded it into a paste, and then mixed it with fat. Sometimes they added berries and sugar. Then they pressed it into small cakes. They called these cakes pemmican. Pemmican didn't spoil, and it provided lots of energy for people traveling or going hunting. Today explorers still carry and eat this food.
What is the passage mostly about?

• who uses pemmican today
• what can be put into pemmican
• how pemmican was prepared by Native Americans.
• why people eat pemmican today

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

Seated on his throne, King Midas wore a golden crown. He had golden rings on each finger and held a golden scepter. His vest was embroidered with golden thread and even his shoes had golden ornaments. He had a golden box filled with gold coins. He named his daughter Marigold.
What is the main idea of this paragraph?

• King Midas loved gold.
• King Midas sold lots of gold.
• King Midas had a heart of gold.
• King Midas hated gold.

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.2

Were you born after 1985? If so, how long do you expect to live? Most people born after 1985 can expect to live more than 70 years. Of course, this is just a guess based on past records. By the way, females can expect to live about six years longer than males. That’s taken from past records too!
What is the paragraph mostly about?

• how long you might expect to live
• about the health of females
• why people live to be 70
• tells that people live to be 100

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

I can't wait until this weekend! We’re going to my grandparents’ house and my entire family will be there. I will spend most of my time playing games with my cousins. We always have such a good time together! The day goes by so fast, and by the end we are all exhausted... but we still don’t want to leave!
What is the main idea?

• Weekends are times to travel.
• The author enjoys spending time with her family.
• The author's grandparents live far away.
• The author is sad to leave her cousins.

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.2

Someday we will all have robots that will be our personal servants. They will look and behave much like real humans. We will be able to talk to these mechanical helpers and they will be able to respond in kind! Amazingly, the robots of the future will be able to learn from experience. They will be smart, strong, and untiring workers whose only goal will be to make our lives easier.
What is this selection mainly about?

• Someday we will have robots that will be our personal servants.
• We will be able to talk to robots and they will be able to respond.
• You should give up if you are the Robots will look and behave much like real humans.
• Amazingly, the robots of the future will be able to learn from experience.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.6.3

Yesterday was my birthday. When I woke up, I noticed my brother Josh hung up a big sign that said,"Happy Birthday, Charles!" Mom made spaghetti for dinner.
It's my favorite food in the whole world. My friend Dave came over and handed me a wrapped gift. I wondered what it was. It was a new basketball! I had a great day.
What is the main idea of this paragraph?

• Josh got lots of gifts.
• Charles got a lot of gifts.
• Charles had a great birthday.
• Josh had a great birthday.

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.2

The earth's surface is constantly changing.  All over the world everyday there are earthquakes, floods and volcanoes that quickly change our world. Some changes are too small to see.  Others cause tremendous damage and costs millions of dollars to clean up.
What is the main idea?

• It is expensive to clean up the damage
• Sometimes we can't see the changes. 
• The Earth's surface is always changing.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

George Washington is known as the “Father of Our Country” because of his strong leadership. He was the commander in chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. After winning the Revolutionary War, George Washington headed the group of men who wrote the Constitution of the United States of America. Later, the colonists elected George Washington as the first president of the United States of America. 

• How George Washington led our country
• Why the Revolutionary War began
• Who wrote the U.S. Constitution

Not all relationships last a lifetime. Sometimes they just wind down, as the two people involved slowly lose interest in maintaining their partnership. At other times, they break apart, as disagreements build and there is not a strong enough bond to hold the two parties together. Or there may be an abrupt rupture if some event occurs that destroys one partner's feeling of trust.

The stated main idea sentence in this paragraph is ...

• Not all relationships last a lifetime.

• Sometimes they just wind down, as the two people involved

  slowly lose interest in maintaining their partnership.

• At other times, they break apart, as disagreements build and there

  is not a strong enough bond to hold the two parties together.

• Or there may be an abrupt rupture if some event occurs that destroys one partner's feeling of trust.

You may want to break the caffeine habit because it generates dependence. You may want to break it because you don't like the headache you get when you can't find a vending machine or when nobody at the office made coffee. Perhaps you want to set a good example for your children to avoid caffeine. Or you simply may want to live as drug-free as possible.

The implied main idea sentence for this paragraph is ....

• You may want to break the caffeine habit because it generates

  dependence.

• There are several reasons you may want to break the caffeine habit.

• Caffeine is a dangerous drug.

• Caffeine generates dependence and causes headaches.