Elementary Reading (K-6th) Tutorial
The Main Idea
Intro
The most important idea of any item of reading is “THE MAIN IDEA”.
But what is “THE MAIN IDEA”? The Main Idea is the main point of a paragraph, or rather what the paragraph is mostly about.
Finding The Main Idea could be as simple as a slice of pizza! All the toppings and ingredients individually are details ABOUT The Main Idea; your ingredients could include: details about the paragraph, the title, or even words that are used over and over!
Put all of your ingredients together, and get The Main Idea pizza!
Sample Problem
The Red Fox
The red fox is a very interesting animal. It is a mammal that lives in many different habitats. Foxes can live in forests, grasslands, deserts, and mountains. They also eat a white variety of food including rabbits, rodents, fruit, vegetables, fish, and birds. They hunt by themselves and live in dens. Their dens are usually underground. When it is cold outside, they use their tails to keep themselves warm. The foxes tail also helps it stay balanced.
Solution
The first thing to look at is your title; what is the name of this paragraph?
What is the very first sentence in the paragraph? Does it relate to the title?
Is there a word that is used more than once in the paragraph?
The answer is: The Red Fox.
Although the other answer choices were used in the passage, they were only details that were used to support and describe The Main Idea.
About The Author
Cognitive Instructor |
I have 4 years of experience with educating children ages 1-13! I was a teacher at La Petite Academy for 1 year, as well as a Special Education assistant for 4 years. Every job involving teaching or instruction has always been based around cognitive instruction and strong mental capability. |
