Read each passage. Circle the sentence that tells the main idea.
Read this first
Our Class Garden
Our class garden grew a lot this spring. We planted beans, carrots and sunflowers. Each week we watered the plants and pulled the weeds. In June we picked the first beans.
1.
Gardens are green.
We planted only tomatoes.
Each week we watered the plants and pulled the weeds.
Our class garden grew well this spring.
The Rainforest
Rainforests are warm and wet all year. More than half of the world's kinds of plants and animals live there. Tall trees make a green roof high above the ground. Many animals live in the trees.
2.
Many animals live in the trees.
Rainforests are warm, wet places full of life.
Forests are important.
Rainforests are cold and dry.
The Changing Moon
The moon changes shape in the sky. Some nights it is a thin curve. A week later it looks like half a circle. When the whole face is lit, it is called a full moon.
3.
The moon is always a full circle.
Space has many things to see.
Some nights the moon is a thin curve.
The moon looks different on different nights.
The Library
Libraries are places to find books for free. You can borrow a book with a library card. Many libraries have story time for young children. Some also have computers you can use.
4.
Reading is important.
A library lets people borrow books and use other things for free.
You must pay for each book you borrow.
Many libraries have story time for young children.
The main idea is what a whole passage is mostly about, and the key details are the facts that support it. A third grader learns to tell them apart: the main idea covers everything in the passage, while a detail covers only one part. This topic has both skills, and each worksheet practices one: the odd-numbered versions ask for the main idea of four short passages, and the even-numbered versions ask for a detail from each passage.
The wrong choices include a detail that is too small to be the main idea, a statement that is too big, and a sentence the passage does not say. Building Confidence has three choices, On Level and Challenge Me have four. Ask your child to say the passage in one sentence before reading the choices.
What your child will learn
Find the main idea of a short passage
Tell a key detail from the main idea
Check that a detail is really in the passage
Common Core standard: RL.3.2, RI.3.2
Worked example
Honeybees each have a job: some gather nectar, some feed babies, and some guard the door. The main idea is that bees in a hive each have a job. 'Some bees gather nectar' is one detail.
Common mistake
Choosing a detail as the main idea because it appears in the passage, even though it covers only one part.
Helpful hint
Ask: does this sentence cover the whole passage, or just one part?
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