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    Grade 4 Main Idea

    Uploaded by

    Lisa Handline
    main idea practice

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    Grade 4 Main Idea

    Uploaded by

    Lisa Handline
    131 views4 pages
    main idea practice

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    © © All Rights Reserved

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    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

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    main idea practice

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    131 views4 pages

    Grade 4 Main Idea

    Uploaded by

    Lisa Handline
    main idea practice

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 4

    Skill: Infer and Support the Main Idea

    Space Food 4th Grade Nonfiction Center for Urban Education ©2007

    You really know how important a clean kitchen is if you live in the same small
    place for weeks. Everyone needs to have a clean kitchen so they are healthy. A dirty
    kitchen can make people sick. Astronauts are people who travel on space ships. They
    need to have a very clean home. They travel far from Earth. We need clean kitchens
    everywhere on earth and in space.
    Astronauts have to solve two problems: how to get food and how to keep their
    spaceship clean. They need to solve them in order to stay alive. They are in a spaceship
    far from Earth, and they need to take care of everything themselves. They need to be
    sure they have what they need to live there, because the astronauts may be in space for
    weeks.
    Here is how they solved the food problem. At first, the astronauts took tubes of
    food with them into space. They would squeeze a tube and eat semi-liquid food. It did
    not taste great, but since they did not need to take dishes or silverware with them, they
    had no dishes to wash.
    Today’s spaceships have a bigger menu. Astronauts can eat from bowls. In fact,
    they take cereal and other standard foods with them. The foods are packaged in special
    containers to keep them fresh. They use knives, forks, and spoons. One unusual item
    on their table is a pair of scissors. They use the scissors to open the food packages.
    They can eat right from the package.
    They have a kitchen on the spaceship. Its oven can heat food to 170 degrees. The
    kitchen has water and sets of meals that come on trays. The astronauts choose their
    menu before they go into space. They take a lot of food with them.
    The astronauts keep bread and fresh fruits and vegetables in a special food locker.
    Most flights take tortillas. They package the tortillas in an oxygen-free wrap so they stay
    safe.
    How do they keep the kitchen clean? They do not have to worry about mice or
    other rodents. They make sure that there are no rodents before the ship leaves. But
    sometimes mice travel on the ship. Those mice are part of experiments. They live in
    cages.
    How do astronauts keep their trays clean? That is another health problem the
    astronauts solve. They need to stay healthy in space. To carry a lot of water to wash
    trays would be a lot of extra weight. They pack wet wipes in plastic bags. They use them
    to clean trays. So, their kitchen is clean and they stay healthy.
    Questions developed by Center for Urban Education for use by Chicago Public Schools 2008-2009.

    Directions: Choose the best answer for each question.


    1. What is the main idea of the first paragraph? 2. What is the main idea of the whole
    passage?
    a. Astronauts travel in space.
    a. Space travel is challenging.
    b. Space ships are small.
    b. Astronauts experiment.
    c. It is important to keep kitchens clean.
    c. Astronauts live in small places.
    d. Astronauts need food.
    d. A clean kitchen is important.

    3. What is the main idea of the last paragraph? 4. What is a better title for this passage?

    a. Astronauts prevent health problems. a. The Clean Kitchen

    b. Astronauts wash their trays every day. b. Astronauts in Space

    c. Astronauts have many problems. c. Food and Dishes on Spaceship

    d. Astronauts need clean trays. d. Experiments in Space

    5. Write your own answer to this question.


    What is the main idea of the second paragraph?

    _________________________________________________________________

    TEACHER NOTES: Develop Students’ Skills: Exercise Thinking


    These questions have not been validated, so decisions about student’s achievement should not be made
    based on their responses. They are intended to exercise skills. Recommended activities include: students
    work in pairs to choose the best response; give students the questions without the responses so they
    generate their own answers; students make up additional questions; students make up questions like these
    for another passage.

    Answers: You can remove this answer key and then give it to students and ask them
    to figure out the basis for the correct response.

    Item 1 2 3 4
    Answer c d a a
    Question 5 is open-ended. Here is a suggested response.

    5. Answers should include that they have to solve problems.


    Skill: Infer and Support the Main Idea
    The Challenge 4th Grade Fiction
    Source: Public Domain, adapted by Center for Urban Education, may be used with citation.

    Mrs. Bertram loved her son, but she worried about him. He was always losing things, and he did not
    take care of his toys or clothes. She wanted him to be more careful. She wanted him to be responsible.
    She was reading a book one morning, or at least she was trying to. It was not easy to do so because
    Robert was in the hall playing with his drum. Suddenly the drumming stopped and Robert rushed into the
    room crying.
    "I broke it! I broke it," he sobbed.
    "Your drum?” asked his mother. “How did you do that?"
    "I was beating it with the knives and--"
    "With the knives!" exclaimed his mother. "Where were your drumsticks?"
    "I--I--don't know," sobbed Roger.
    "Have you lost them?" said Mrs. Bertram. She needed no words to know the answer. Robert's manner
    was quite enough. "You know, Robert, what I said would happen the next time you lost anything."
    "Yes," said Robert, "You said I must give away all my toys to some little boys who would know how
    to take care of them."
    "Yes," said his mother. "I see you remember. I will send them all to the children's hospital tonight."
    "But, mama," said Robert, "if I don't have any toys to take care of, how can I learn to take care of
    them?"
    Mrs. Bertram had to turn away so that Robert would not see her smile. "I will have to think of some
    other way to teach you to be careful. I will think of something, and I will tell you what to do tonight."
    That night, she told him, "I have decided that there is another way you can show how careful you are.
    I want you to do the laundry every week for two months.”
    Robert looked astonished. "Boys don't wash clothes," he said.
    "Sometimes," said his mother, smilingly. "Now if you do this every day for two months, I will know
    you have become more responsible. Being careful is part of growing up. It means you are responsible, and
    it means people can trust you. This is a challenge. It is something to do that is not easy. It will help
    everyone in the family."
    The next week Robert began his work. At first, he disliked it very much. But after a while he
    changed his mind. He wanted to show his mother he was responsible. He not only washed the clothes, but
    he also folded them neatly. He kept his toys in a box where he could find them. He was careful with
    everything.
    The day when his two months would be up was Christmas Day. Imagine Roger's delight when he saw
    he had a new coat, a video game and a new drum and drumsticks. On them was a note: "For Robert, who is
    very responsible." He felt proud.
    Questions developed by Center for Urban Education for use by Chicago Public Schools 2008-2009.

    Directions: Choose the best answer for each question.


    6. What is the main idea of the first 7. What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
    paragraph?
    a. Robert has met the challenge.
    a. Robert's mother loves him.
    b. Robert needs to change.
    b. Robert loses things.
    c. Robert has more toys.
    c. Robert's mother wants him to change.
    d. Robert has new clothes.
    d. Robert breaks things.

    8. What is the main idea of the passage? 9. What is another good title for the story?

    a. You should be careful with toys. a. Responsible Robert

    b. Children need to help their family. b. Helping My Family

    c. Robert is careless. c. Robert Gets New Toys and Clothes

    d. It is important to be responsible. d. Robert's Family Needs Him

    10. Write your own answer to this question.


    Robert learns a lesson in the story. What is the lesson he learns?

    _________________________________________________________
    _________________________________________________________

    TEACHER NOTES: Develop Students’ Skills: Exercise Thinking


    These questions have not been validated, so decisions about student’s achievement should not be made
    based on their responses. They are intended to exercise skills. Recommended activities include: students
    work in pairs to choose the best response; give students the questions without the responses so they
    generate their own answers; students make up additional questions; students make up questions like these
    for another passage.

    Answers: You can remove this answer key and then give it to students and ask them
    to figure out the basis for the correct response.

    Item 6 7 8 9
    Answer c a d a

    Question 10 is open-ended. Here is a suggested response.

    10. Answers should include that he learns how important it is to be careful or responsible.

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