Brenda Rollins - Reading Comprehension

. Complete each sentence with the correct term.

a) The reason you read a text is the __________________ _______ _________________.

b) The _________ _________ refers to what is most important in a paragraph or story.

c) The ability to read and understand the meaning of a text is called __________ _________________.

d) Choosing the main idea, sequencing, recognizing inferences and conclusions, and using context clues are all __________ ______________ __________.

. Read each paragraph and put an X in front of the main idea of each one.

i) Chris loves to watch movies. When he is alone, he watches adventure movies because he likes the action in them. His favorite adventure movie of all time is Star Wars. Sometimes, his younger sister goes to the movie theater with him. When she is along, Chris likes to watch comedies because they make her laugh.

ii) Abraham Lincoln only went to school for about eighteen months during his childhood. But young Abe loved to learn new things. He walked several miles to borrow books from a friend. Then he taught himself to read them by the light of the fire at night. He studied how things were made. He memorized poetry and recited it to his family. Learning was fun for Abraham.

There are many skills you can use to improve your reading comprehension (the ability to read and understand the meaning of a text). One of these skills is finding the main idea. The main idea of a reading selection is its most important part. The main idea is also what the author wants you to understand or remember about the selection. Other reading comprehension skills include: sequencing, recognizing inferences and conclusions, and using context clues.

Sometimes the main idea is plainly stated in one or more sentences in the selection. At other times, you will have put all the details about the topic together and decide what the author wants you to understand about the text. Details are pieces of information that tell about the main idea. Details explain the main idea, telling who, what, when, where, why, or how. Details can describe a person, place, or thing. Details can tell the order in which events happen. And details can explain how to do something. There are several ways to find the main idea of a reading selection.

	The Reading Watch Dog says, Keys to Finding the Main Idea
1. The first step in finding the main idea of a text is to read the title. Titles very often include important words that will give you clues to the main idea.
2. Sometimes the main idea is stated in the first or last sentence of a paragraph.
3. If the main idea is not clearly stated, pay special attention to the details. By reading them, you should be able to decide what the author thinks is most important about the text.
4. Look for a word or words that are repeated several times. They are clues to the main idea of the text.
5. Pay attention to pictures, captions under the pictures, words in dark print, or words and phrases in italics.

Knowing how to find the main idea of a written text or a speech or story will be very helpful to you in the future. All reading tests will ask you questions about finding the main ideas of stories or reports. And listening for the main idea of a speakers presentation will help you remember its most important idea and the supporting details.

Read the paragraphs and answer the questions by placing a check mark () beside each correct choice.

. Dolphins are amazing animals. They are mammals, not fish. They are warm-blooded like humans. They also give birth to live babies like humans do. They like to be together. They swim in large groups called pods. Dolphins also feed and protect their young like humans. In dolphins, we can see many of our own traits.

The main idea of this story is:

	A	Dolphins live in the ocean
	B	All people like to study dolphins.
	C	Dolphins have many human characteristics.

. If you asked her, J.K. Rowling might say that trains are her lucky charms. Her parents met for the first time on a train. Also, she remembers taking many fun train trips during her childhood. Perhaps, the most important reason the famous author considers trains to be good luck is easy to see. She planned the plots of the seven Harry Potter books while she was riding a train to London, England.

The main idea of this story is:

	A	J.K. Rowling believes that trains are her good luck symbol.