Name______Date ______
Main Idea
Read the paragraph and then select the main idea for the paragraph.
1. / The frog sat on the side of the pond. He was very still. His green color made him hard to see. A bug flew near him. His tongue zipped out, and he gobbled it up. Then the frog was still again. He waited for the next bug.The main idea in this passage is:
/ Frogs are green.
/ Frogs eat bugs.
/ Frogs do not move.
/ Frogs live in ponds.
2. / It was backward day at school. The students had to do things backward. Some of them wore their T-shirts backward. They took a test before they studied the lesson! Dessert was served first instead of last. They tried to walk home backward, but they bumped into each other and fell down.
The main idea in this passage is:
/ Dessert is supposed to come last.
/ The students had a backward day.
/ It is hard to do things backward.
/ Students failed their tests.
3. / Maria is watching too much television. A toddler shouldn’t be spending hours staring blankly at a screen. Worse yet, some of her wild behavior has been inspired by the cartoons she watches. We need to spend more time reading books with her and pull the plug on the TV!
The main idea in this passage is:
/ Books are good.
/ All cartoons are bad.
/ Watching TV is bad for your eyes.
/ Watching a lot of TV isn’t good for Maria.
4. At the store we use coupons to save money. Coupons may come in the mail. Sometimes they are in the newspaper. You can get them in the ad for the store, too. Usually you need to cut the coupon out.
The main idea of this passage is:
A. Coupons save money.
B. Coupons can be found in different places.
C. Cut coupons out of the ad.
D. You may find a coupon at the store.
5. The main idea of a story tells us
A. who the characters are
a. B. what the story is mainly about
b. C. how to read a story
D. nothing
6. There are many kinds of animals. Some animals live on farms in barns. Animals like horses, cows, and even some pigs live in barns. Some animals live with people in houses. Fish and crabs live in the sea. Owls and other birds live in trees.
The main idea of this passage is :
A. There are many kinds of animal homes.
a. B. Animals live in the ocean.
b. C. Dogs live in houses.
c. D. Animals are happy in their homes.
7. Every morning when I get up I eat breakfast, brush my teeth, comb my hair, get dressed and make my bed. After that, it is my job to feed the dog in the morning. Then, I can read or play until it is time for the bus to take me to school.
The main idea of this passage is:
A. I eat breakfast every morning.
a. B. My dog is the best pet.
b. C. I do many things before school each day.
D. Riding the bus is the best way to get to school.