Main Idea

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.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

Fifth grade is a good time to show additional responsibility. Fifth graders could show additional responsibility by getting a cell phone. As fifth graders, we are starting to stay after school for clubs or sports, and when we go into middle school, we will do more of this. With this added responsibility after school, we need a way to get in touch with our parents. Also, fifth graders are old enough to understand how to use a cell phone responsibility. A fifth grader understands that a phone is not just for playing games and listening to music. A fifth grader can show responsibility by not using all of the phone minutes or data on the phone for fun. Parents could help fifth graders set time limits for games and music. Finally, a phone is an expensive item, and you have to take care of it. A fifth grader can show responsibility by keeping up with the phone and not losing it.

Which of the following would best support the main idea if added to the paragraph?

• A phone could also be used to text friends and family members.

• It takes responsibility not to break the rules that parents set for how to use the phone.

• If there is an emergency at school, a cell phone would be useful.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RL.4.1

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.5.2

The Maracanazo

In 1950, the last game of soccer's World Cup was played in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Nearly two hundred thousand people squeezed into Rio's Maracanã stadium. Many expected the home team of Brazil to win easily. In one of the greatest upsets in soccer history, however, Uruguay won 2–1. Soccer is important in Brazil, and losing this game hurt Brazil's pride as a nation. Thus, the game came to be called the Maracanazo, meaning "the Maracanã blow." The word is still used to mean any game lost to a visiting team. Losing the 1950 World Cup had a lasting effect on the people of Brazil.

• Brazilians were deeply upset by the loss of the 1950 World Cup.

• The word Maracanazo means "the Maracanã blow."

• Uruguay beat Brazil 2-1 in the final game of the 1950 World Cup.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

Have you ever wondered where chalk comes from?  Tiny animals called foraminifera live in the sea.  Each of these small living animals makes a tiny shell out of lime.  When they die, their shells remain.  With time, these shells become layers of white rock which we call chalk.  Chalk is often found in places that were once underwater.
What is the main idea?

• Chalk is found in the ocean
• Chalk is soft stone that is used on blackboards
• Real chalk is made by a small sea animal.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

Amanda sat on a chair in her room.  She looked out the window at a tree, which was covered with snow.  She held a pencil in her hand and a pad of writing paper in her lap.  She began to dream of a story she could write.  Suddenly, a bird flew onto a snow-covered branch of the tree.  The bird’s head was red, and its feather were black with white tips.  Amanda thought, “What if the bird were magic?”  Now she had an idea for her first story.
What is the main idea?

• Amanda was lazy and a dreamer
• Amanda couldn't write.
• Amanda wants to be a writer and gets an idea for a story.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

The main idea of a text is...

• what the text is a little bit about
• what the text is never about
• what the text is sometimes telling you
• what the text is mostly, or mainly, about

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

What at is the main idea of this paragraph?

Soccer players learn many skills when playing soccer.  Soccer players learn how to dribble and pass the ball.  They also learn how to control the ball so they can eventually score.  Most importantly, soccer players learn how to work together with their teammates.

• They also learn how to control the ball so they can eventually score.
• Soccer players learn how to dribble.
• They learn how to work together as teammates.
• Soccer players learn many skills when playing soccer.

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

If you are feeling sad, you can make yourself feel better by doing a few simple things. You can take a walk (or get another form of exercise), you can talk to a friend, or you can write down your feelings. Writing down the good things in your life will help too. Doing something good for someone else will also help you feel better. If you still feel a little sad, act happy. It works like magic to make you feel better!
What is the main idea?

• Sometimes people feel sad.
• You should do good things for others.
• We're not always happy.
• There are many ways to make yourself feel better. 

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

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

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

IDENTIFY THE MAIN IDEA

Before you put on that skeleton costume and rove door-to-door pandering for candy, take a minute to reflect on this tradition. Halloween is believed to have come from an ancient Celtic festival dating back some 2,000 years. November 1st was the Celtic New Year and marked the end of summer to the Celts. They celebrated on its eve by wearing costumes made of animal skins and dancing around bon fires. Over the next two millennia, this primitive celebration grew to be the candy fueled costume ball that we know today.

• The origins of Halloween

• The New Celtic Year

• Primitive traditions

• Why the skeleton costume is the best for Halloween

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.2