on UNDERSTANDING MAIN IDEA AND DETAILS

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1 A on UNDERSTANDING MAIN IDEA AND DETAILS

2 To the Student In FOCUS on Understanding Main Idea and Details, Book A, you will read passages and answer questions. You will practice using the reading strategy called Understanding Main Idea and Details. You will learn about the strategy on the Learn About pages. You will see a sample passage, sample questions, and sample answer choices on the Lesson Preview pages. Then you will practice using the strategy in twenty lessons. Each lesson has a passage and five questions. First, read the passage. Then answer the five questions. For the first four questions, fill in the correct answers on the Answer Form. It is on page 53. Or, you may fill in the correct answers right on the page. For the fifth question, write the answer on the lines on the page. Fill in the circle on the Answer Form to show that you have done the fifth question. After you finish each lesson, use the Tracking Chart that is on page 47. Show when you finished the lesson. Show how many questions you answered correctly. After you finish each group of five lessons, do the self-assessment. This will let you see how you are doing. So... FOCUS and enjoy! Acknowledgments Product Development Project Developer and Editor: Dale Lyle Writer: Lois Markham Reviewer: Mary McNary Design and Production Project Designer: Susan Hawk Photo Credits: p. 32, Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-US , US , p. 42 top, SuperStock, Inc. ISBN Curriculum Associates, Inc. North Billerica, MA No part of this book may be reproduced by any means without written permission from the publisher. All Rights Reserved. Printed in USA

3 Table of Contents Learn About Understanding Main Idea and Details... 2 Lesson Preview... 4 Lesson 1 Mr. Goldman s Tip... 6 Lesson 2 Camping in Maine... 8 Lesson 3 Sink or Float? Lesson 4 Aunt Bea s Bees Lesson 5 The Frog and the Ox Lesson 6 Be Good to Your Hamster Lesson 7 Sidewalk Sale Lesson 8 The Life of Alberta Hunter Lesson 9 Land of Our Own Lesson 10 Fun with Uncle Juan Lesson 11 Squanto Lesson 12 The Big Warm Dog Lesson 13 White in One Night? Lesson 14 Woodie Guthrie Lesson 15 Many Thanks Lesson 16 Pelé Lesson 17 Speak Up Lesson 18 Where Are You? Lesson 19 Great Salt Lake Lesson 20 Holi Tracking Chart Self-Assessment 1, Lessons Self-Assessment 2, Lessons Self-Assessment 3, Lessons Self-Assessment 4, Lessons Self-Assessment 5, Lessons Answer Form... 53

4 Learn About Understanding Main Idea and Details Main Idea and Details The main idea is the most important idea in a story or passage. The main idea tells what the story or passage is mostly about. Most stories or passages have a title. The title can tell something about the main idea. Every paragraph also has a main idea. Details are pieces of information. They tell about the main idea. Details explain the main idea. They tell who, what, where, or why. Details can tell about a person. They can tell about a place. They can tell about a thing. Details can tell the order in which things happen. Details can also explain how to do something. Read this passage. Think about what the passage is mostly about. This is the main idea. Think about what the details tell about the main idea. House plants need three things. They need water. Some plants need a lot of water. Others need very little. They also need light. Some need a lot. Others don t need much. Plants also need food. You can buy plant food in the store. Read about your plants. Know how much water, light, and food each kind of plant needs. You will have beautiful plants for a long time. Taking Care of Plants 2

5 Main Idea House plants need three things. Detail They need light. Detail They need water. Detail They need food. The main idea of the passage is that house plants need three things. It is stated in the first sentence. A main idea may be stated in other parts of a passage. Or a main idea may not be stated at all. If it is not stated, ask yourself questions. Ask, What is this passage mostly about? What is the most important idea? What do the details tell about? Everything in the passage will tell about the main idea. The details in the passage give information about taking care of plants. They tell what plants need. One detail tells that plants need water. Another detail tells that plants need light. A third detail tells that plants need food. The passage about taking care of plants has one paragraph. Other passages may have more than one paragraph. Still, the whole passage has one main idea. Remember: The main idea is what the passage is mostly about. Details are pieces of information that tell about the main idea. 3

6 Lesson 2 Here is a postcard from Ali. She is on a trip in Maine. Read the postcard. As you read, ask yourself, What is the most important idea in the postcard? What is the postcard mostly about? What do the details tell about this main idea? Camping in Maine August 15, 2005 Dear Jamal, I am with my family in Maine. We are camping out. We sleep in a tent. We cook our food over a campfire. At night, we sit around the fire. My brother and I sing. The camping area is on a lake. We swim a lot. I am getting very good at swimming. There are boats you can rent. My dad and I rowed all the way across the lake. I rowed over, and he rowed back. We were both very tired after that. Tomorrow we will move to another camping ground. It is near the ocean. We will walk for miles on the beach and pick up shells. This trip to Maine is a lot of fun. Your friend, Ali 8

7 Answer these questions about the postcard. 1. What is this postcard mostly about? cooking over a campfire camping in Maine sleeping in a tent 3. What did Ali say that she and her dad did? They took a long walk in the woods. They rowed across the lake and back. They walked by the ocean. 2. Who sings around the fire? Ali and her brother Ali and her mother Ali s dad 4. Which detail tells something about the first camping ground? It is near a river. It is by the ocean. It is on a lake. 5. What are Ali and her family doing in Maine? 9