Finding the Main Idea Worksheets

Related ELA Standard: RI.4.2

Core Standard
Answer Keys Here

When we are reading any work of nonfiction we often need to find value in that work to help us understand the world a little better. The point of any work of nonfiction is for an author to be able to convey a point or opinion to their readers. As a reader, it is your job to locate that main idea and see how it fits within your knowledge base. Most works include a topic sentence that is located near the beginning of a work, but that is not always a slam dunk for you. They can even wait until the end of the work to be revealed. There is a set process you can use to identify these salient points that the authors is working to convey. The process usually centers around discovering a subject and action. You then need to read into the related events within this and work to best understand how this action came about. The worksheets found below will help you break apart words and piece a solid understanding of where these ideas lie within the work.

Finding the Main Idea Worksheets To Print:

How to Determine It - We look at one of the classic science lessons in elementary school. You will need to provide supporting details. This is a good habit to get into.

The Big Idea - Read the short story about Albert Einstein and identify the main idea on the lines. He sure was filled with ideas.

One Sentence or Less - Sum up the paragraph in one sentence. These are written for a gap of grae levels.

Common First Words - We use a web organizer here. Complete the figure with the main idea and four supporting ideas from the text.

Types of Flowers - You are provided a reading passage. You will break the thoughts that are expressed by the author into a visual graphic organizer to explain the elements of the story.

The Food We Eat - Read the paragraph below and identify the main idea. Food is a great thing to talk about.

Pets - We all love our pets and friends. In this worksheet track where they go around. Why did the author write this?

Inside Paragraphs - Sometimes the main motivation of a passage is stated right in the paragraph!

Writing Sentences - This makes it easy for the reader to understand exactly what the author is talking about.

U.S. Inventors and Scientists - A look at the life of George Washington Carver and Thomas Edison.

U.S. Presidents - We talk about Teddy and Honest Abe. Read the following short biographies and tell us why they were written.

Sum It Up - Put it all in a single sentence. Read each paragraph. In the boxes below, write one sentence to summarize what you have read.

Umbrella Diagrams - In the umbrella diagram, fill in the main idea and two supporting details. People really like this worksheet a great deal.

My Sister's Room - You can think of the main idea as the cover of an umbrella - it is the big idea that covers the smaller details.

Afternoon Bowling - Oscar and his family decided to enjoy an afternoon of bowling. This story then takes a hard turn.

A Thousand Words? - Look at each picture. Circle the sentence that tells what the picture is about.

Paragraph Breakdown - You will need to sum a paragraph up in a single sentence.

Academic George - What details does the author use to develop their thought process?

Kenny Loves Zombies - This is a fun passage for you to read and explain.

The Fairy House - Determine what the main character motives are here.

One Offs - This is a rapid fire exercise in determining the main points that are in paragraph.

Cats and Home Sick - Read each paragraph. Write the main message in the box.

Central Thoughts Organizer - This is helpful when you are reviewing any written work.

Springtime - Write a detail from the paragraph in each box.

Core Principles - What are the surronding thoughts that are brought about by that work.

Shine It - In one or two words, say what the text is mostly about.

Flexing Brain - What four things can you cite in a work that drive the main idea?

Needs Work - Read something that you have written previously. Choose a paragraph that you think might need work.

Paragraph Picker - Using the pictures for clues, read each pair of sentences. Each pair of sentences is from the same paragraph. Identify the essence of what is being said.

Reading Helper - These prompts will help you make sense of any body of work.

More Related Worksheet Topics:

Identifying Themes of Work - Themes is often a term that used interchangeably with this topic, but they are subtle differences between the two. Themes are more focused on the mood and emotional feel of the story. They are often the underlying message that are present.

Main Ideas and Details From Text - We explore all different types of narrative that are focused over many different genres.

Main Idea of Informational Text - The goal here is to master a nonfiction setting and find those facts or pieces of evidence that we can make our inferences from.

Main Idea Of Multiparagraph Text - These worksheets are the next step up from this page. We transition from the sentence to paragraph level.

Summarizing or Paraphrasing - These are skills that will require a grammar review. I would encourage teachers to cover the grammatical structure when using quotes from dialogue.

Understanding Multiple Main Ideas - In some situations, you will need to break off multiple concepts. We show you how to get it done.

Writing Main Ideas - We show you how to maintain the proper syntax and mechanics while performing this form of writing.

How to Locate the Main Idea of a Work


While you might have been hoping for a step-by-step explanation of how to locate main ideas, each work differs. There is a general approach that can help you grasp works quickly and easily. The most common slot for a main idea to be placed is at the beginning of a paragraph. In this sense the author is stating a reason for the reader to complete reading the paragraph. The author can also assert an idea and follow it up with a mountain of evidence. Another way to do this basically do the same thing, just in the reverse order, is to place the it at the end of the paragraph. In this case the author will mount evidence leading to a final conclusion of the main idea.


There are also several dead giveaways that a main idea is building or contained within a paragraph. When you see facts or data you can be sure that a central thought is somewhere in there too. When an author states a reason or points back to something that was previously stated, that usually indicates that they were working towards revealing the overall message.


There are several general strategies that you can use to spot them. Start by looking for a thesis statement. This is often found at the introductory paragraph. The thesis often is what the work is all about and why it was written in the first place. Just as we asked you to look at the beginning of the work, you should also look at the last lines of the work. Authors always start and end works attempting to exert their purpose for writing the work.


There are other places throughout a work where a writer will set out their main focus. If you are reading articles online or in a magazine or newspaper, look at the headlines and subheadings for these concepts. If you see thoughts repeated throughout the work, you can bet that those are the many points they are trying to get across.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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