Main Idea

The repetition of ideas points towards the main idea.

• True

• False

Jon held the ball in his hands.  He bounced it slowly on the ground.  Once. Twice. He crouched low and then jumped.  The ball flew into the air.  Up, up, up, it went.  Then down, down, into the basket.  “Yes!” he yelled.  “Nothing but net!”
What is the main idea?

• How to throw a basketball.

• Jon could jump.

• Jon liked basketball.

• Jon makes a basket.

What is the main idea?

• Its the authors point of view

• Is what the passage is mostly about

• It is the sequence of the story.

Tom started to reel in his line. The fish tugged and pulled hard. Judging by the weight of his catch, this fish could feed his family for three days. Tom struggled to stay in the boat and not be pulled over the side. Finally his catch came into view. He had snagged a snapping turtle!
What is the main idea?

• Tom finds enough food for his family.

• Tom gets pulled out of his boat by a huge fish.

• Tom didn't catch anything.

• Tom catches a snapping turtle while fishing.

You should determine the main idea by combining the supporting details.

• True

• False

What is the main idea?
bananas, oranges, lemons, apples

• yellow things

• fruit

• my favorite foods

• sports

What kind of sentence tells the main idea of a paragraph?

• supporting detail

• topic sentence

• example sentence

• transition sentence

If you can't figure out the main idea of a passage, what should you do?

• Try to recall every specific detail from the passage

• Ask yourself general questions about the passage

• Read the passage over and over until you have it memorized

• Read the passage once and don't look at it again.

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. 

What is the main idea of a paragraph?

• A) The first sentence

• B) The topic sentence

• C) The last sentence

• D) The supporting details