What Is Main Idea?

Recent Quizzes

Recognizing The Main Idea

This quiz titled 'Recognizing the Main Idea' evaluates the ability to discern the central theme from various paragraphs. It assesses critical reading skills vital for educational...

Questions: 5 | Attempts: 4220 | Last updated: Aug 18, 2023

Sample Question
Read each paragraph and determine its main idea. How do migrating animals find their destination? They navigate in a variety of ways. Fish use their sense of smell to recognize their migration paths and are guided by changing water temperatures. Birds use the position of the sun to orient themselves. Some birds have magnetic particles in their ear mechanisms that act as a compass. Mammals rely on their memory. Some elephant trails have been used for hundreds of years.The main idea is:

How do migrating animals find their way?

Migrating animals navigate in a variety of ways.

Mammals rely on their memory.

Fish and birds have special methods for finding their way.

Main Idea Exercises

The 'Main Idea Exercises' quiz assesses the ability to identify the central theme or main idea in various texts, enhancing critical reading skills. It is essential for students to...

Questions: 10 | Attempts: 4211 | Last updated: Aug 24, 2023

Sample Question
Basketball was invented in 1891 by a physical education instructor in Springfield, Massachusetts, by the name of James Naismith. Because of the terrible weather in winter, his physical education students were indoors rather than outdoors. They really did not like the idea of boring, repetitive exercises and preferred the excitement and challenge of a game. Naismith figured out a team sport that could be played indoors on a gymnasium floor, that involved a lot of running, that kept all team members involved, and that did not allow the tackling and physical contact of American-style football. Question: What is the main idea of the passage?

The life of James Naismith

The history of sports

Physical education and exercise

The origin of basketball

Main Idea

Students will read short passages and identify the main idea of each.

Questions: 8 | Attempts: 11441 | Last updated: Sep 17, 2024

Sample Question
Adults tend to eat a lot of pre-made food, but it’s not always healthy. For instance, a Big Mac has 530 calories with 28 grams of fat and a large order of fries has 450 calories and 22 grams of fat. Add a large soda and a meal comes close to 1,000 calories. What is the main idea?

1,000 calories is a lot

Pre-made food is not always healthy

Adults eat a lot of premade food

Mini Assessment 1-Main Idea,Supporting Details

Short passage with 5 questions about creating the main idea from supporting details

Questions: 6 | Attempts: 806 | Last updated: Mar 21, 2023

Sample Question
What is the author trying to show the reader with this article?

Potatoes from Ireland started the Potato Revolution

The average American eats 50 lbs of potatoes a year

French fries are made from potatoes

Potatoes are a key vegetable in America

The various terms for potatoes have a long history

7th Grade Main Idea Quiz

Reading passage is different from understanding it. How are your skills so far when it comes to written work? Why don’t you take up the quiz below and get to see if you can...

Questions: 7 | Attempts: 645 | Last updated: Nov 04, 2024

Sample Question
Read the passage and answer the main idea questions: THE BREAKER BOYS WORKED FROM seven in the morning until six or seven-thirty at night. All day, they sat hunched over the coal chutes, picking out the slate and other useless material mixed in with the coal. The breaker boss watched the boys carefully. He carried a stick or broom that he used to probe blocked coal chutes or to jab boys who daydreamed, fell asleep, talked, or performed slow or careless work. “If you let some rock go through,” said Joe Sudol, “he would poke you in the back with the stick.” By quitting time, the boys’ backs ached. The fingers of new breaker boys developed a painful condition called “red tips.” The sulfur deposits on the coal and slate irritated the boys’ skin. Their fingers swelled, cracked open, and bled. After a few weeks, the boys’ skin toughened up. Yet the boys managed to resist the harsh working conditions. They often teased the breaker boss by throwing pieces of rock at him when he turned his back. Sometimes they threw pieces of wood into the machinery, causing it to break down. While men repaired the machinery, the boys played games. The boys also learned the value of sticking together, and sometimes they protested by organizing wildcat strikes. During such strikes, they refused to work until their demands were met. At one breaker, for instance, the boys struck when the coal company bosses canceled the annual winter sledding party. The bosses tried to prevent the boys from striking. If the breaker wasn’t working, the coal couldn’t be processed. A breaker boy strike could shut down the entire colliery operation. At a Pottsville breaker, the bosses blocked the doorway to stop the boys from swarming out. Several boys climbed to the rafters and kicked coal dust down on the bosses. A black cloud filled the air, making it difficult to see and breathe. The boys escaped out the door. At a Moosic breaker, the boys plotted to teach their mean boss a lesson. Instead of going to work one July morning, they went swimming. Their boss found them at the swimming hole and ordered them to report to the breaker. As he stood there, two boys rushed him from behind and knocked him into the water, where the other boys were waiting. They dunked the boss again and again. Soon the mine superintendent and another foreman found them. They ordered the boys to stop and get to work. Suddenly, the boys realized that they were in a position to bargain. The boys refused to return to work unless their mean breaker boss was fired. They shouted back and forth in negotiation until the bosses offered a compromise: they wouldn’t fire the mean boss, but he would be transferred to another job, and the boys would be given a new boss. Satisfied, the boys climbed out of the swimming hole and returned to work. As the boys grew older and moved into other jobs at the colliery, they carried their militant spirit with them. They continued to stick together in their fight for fairer and better living and work conditions. They learned that power was found in numbers. What is the TOPIC of this non-fiction article?

8th Grade Main Idea Quiz

When you read a passage, you are expected to understand just how much you understand what it is about and how you would summarize it. To summarize one entirely, you must not...

Questions: 13 | Attempts: 4626 | Last updated: Nov 29, 2024

Sample Question
Aaliyah Dana Haughton (January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001), who performed under the mononym Aaliyah, was an American recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At an early age, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside Gladys Knight. At age 12, Aaliyah signed with Jive Records and Blackground Records by her uncle, Barry Hankerson. He introduced her to R. Kelly, who became her mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her debut album, Age Ain't Nothing But a Number. The album sold two million copies in the United States and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). After facing allegations of an illegal marriage with Kelly, Aaliyah ended her contract with Jive and signed to Atlantic Records. Aaliyah worked with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott for her second album, One in a Million; it sold two million copies in the United States and over eight million copies worldwide. In 2000, Aaliyah appeared in her first major film, Romeo Must Die. She contributed to the film's soundtrack, which spawned the single "Try Again". The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 solely on airplay, making Aaliyah the first artist in Billboard history to achieve this feat. "Try Again" earned Aaliyah a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocalist. After filming Romeo Must Die, Aaliyah filmed her part in Queen of the Damned. She released her third and final album, Aaliyah, in 2001. On August 25, 2001, Aaliyah and eight others were killed in an airplane crash in The Bahamas after filming the music video for the single "Rock the Boat". What is the TOPIC of this entire passage?

What Is Main Idea?

Which of these are most important to you?

Quiz Preview

You are walking down the street and you see someone fall, you?

You're at a party and a fight breaks out, you?

Your alarm doesn't go off and you are late for work, your excuse is?

You're at the movies and the people in front of you are being loud, you?

You want to impress your date, what type of restaurant do you take them to?

What is your ideal job?

Your phone rings, you answer it. It's a telemarketer again, you?