Grade 1 · Reading · Comprehension

1st Grade Main Topic and Key Details worksheets

6 printable versionsChallenge MeAbout 10 minutes eachFree · no account

When it’s done, scan the sheet with your phone and PencilGo marks it and picks the next one. Create a free account

★

Tired of searching for worksheets?

We’ll email one free Grade 1 worksheet every school day. Your child does it on paper. No account needed.

Version

Main Topic and Key Details

Grade 1 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

NameDate

Circle the answer.

Read this first
A Firefighter Team
Firefighters work as a team. Before each shift, they check the hoses and ladders. They want everything to work when it is needed. During a fire, each firefighter has a job. Some spray water. Some carry the hoses. Others help people get out safely. After a fire, the team goes back to the station. They clean all of their tools. Then they are ready for the next call.
1.
What is this text mostly about?
- how fire trucks are built
- how firefighters check their tools
- how firefighters clean up
- how firefighters work as a team
2.
Which sentence is a key detail from this text?
- Before each shift, they check the hoses and ladders.
- The team stays at the fire all night.
- Firefighters work alone.
- Firefighters never check their tools.
3.
Which sentence is NOT in this text?
- Some spray water.
- Firefighters work alone.
- After a fire, the team goes back to the station.
- Before each shift, they check the hoses and ladders.
4.
Which title fits the whole text best?
- Jobs in Our Town
- How Firefighters Work as a Team
- How Firefighters Check Their Tools
5.
Which sentence gives another key detail?
- Firefighters work alone.
- The team stays at the fire all night.
- Firefighters never check their tools.
- Some spray water.
6.
Which title is too small for the whole text?
- Jobs in Our Town
- How Firefighters Work as a Team
- Checking the Ladders
7.
Which title is too big for this text?
- Jobs in Our Town
- How Firefighters Work as a Team
- How Firefighters Clean Up
8.
Which sentence tells more about how firefighters work as a team?
- Firefighters work alone.
- After a fire, the team goes back to the station.
- The team stays at the fire all night.
- Firefighters never check their tools.
9.
Which question does this text answer?
- Why do fires start?
- How tall is a fire truck?
- How do firefighters work together?
10.
What does the word "station" mean in this text?
- a place to buy food
- a kind of fire truck
- a building where firefighters stay and work

1st Grade Main Topic and Key Details worksheet 1 – printable PDF — Download PDF: 1 2 3 4 5 6

About this worksheet

The main topic tells what a nonfiction text is mostly about, and key details teach something important about that topic. Young readers sometimes choose the most surprising sentence as the topic or select an answer that is true in real life but never appears in the text. This worksheet gives children short informational texts, printed once above the questions that use them, and asks them to name the broad topic, locate a supporting fact, reject an unrelated statement, choose a title that covers the whole text, and find another key detail.

Support versions use the shortest texts in the pool. Standard and challenge texts are longer, with more facts to sort. Before looking at the choices, ask your child to finish the sentence, 'This whole text teaches me about…' Then have them point to one sentence that proves their answer. That two-step routine links the big idea to evidence.

What your child will learn

State what a text is mostly about
Choose a key supporting detail
Reject an unrelated detail
Select a title that fits the whole text

Common Core standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.2

Worked example

A text says bees visit flowers and carry pollen. Its main topic is how bees help flowers; carrying pollen is one key detail.

Common mistake

Choosing one interesting detail as the main topic instead of finding an idea that covers every sentence.

Helpful hint

Ask what all the sentences teach together, then find a fact that supports that idea.

Next skill: Ask and Answer Questions Earlier: Beginning, Middle, and End

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with main topic and key details?

Choosing one interesting detail as the main topic instead of finding an idea that covers every sentence.

How can I help my child with main topic and key details?

Ask what all the sentences teach together, then find a fact that supports that idea.

Are these 1st grade reading worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions on this page are free to download and print, with no account needed.

More 1st grade comprehension

See all comprehension

Every sheet you scan goes into your child’s record: dated, marked and ready for the year-end portfolio. Homeschool records