Let’s go through each paragraph one by one and find the main idea. The main idea is the most important point — what the whole paragraph is mostly about.
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Paragraph 1:
> On Saturday, Mary went for a hike in the woods near her house. She packed a lunch and put it in her backpack. She wore a hat. She followed the trail through the woods all the way to where it ended at the river. There, she sat down and ate her sandwich.
What’s this mostly about? It starts with “Mary went for a hike” and then tells us what she did during the hike — packed lunch, wore hat, walked to river, ate sandwich. All those details support the big idea:
she went on a hike.
Looking at the choices:
- A. Mary wore a hat. → Too small, just one detail.
- B. Mary went for a hike. → Yes! That’s the big picture.
- C. Mary ate a sandwich. → Also just one part.
- D. Mary walked to the river. → Again, only part of the story.
✔ So, #1 answer is
B.
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Paragraph 2:
> When Bob got to school, he realized he had left his lunch at home. He looked in his pockets, but he did not have any money to buy lunch. When he told his friend Pete, Pete offered Bob half of his sandwich.
What’s the main thing happening here? Bob forgot his lunch → no money → friend helps him. But the key event that started everything was
Bob forgetting his lunch. The rest is what happened because of that.
Choices:
- A. Bob went to school. → True, but not the main point.
- B. Bob forgot his lunch. → YES — this caused everything else.
- C. Bob doesn’t have any money. → Result of forgetting lunch.
- D. Pete is kind. → Nice, but not the main focus of the paragraph.
✔ So, #2 answer is
B.
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Paragraph 3:
> Mittens was the tiniest kitten in the litter. While the other kittens seemed to grow a lot every day, Mitten stayed tiny. She could easily get under furniture where the other cats didn’t fit, and she often went missing. She was so little that sometimes her human would scoop her up and put her in a coffee mug!
This whole paragraph is talking about how
small Mittens is — smaller than others, fits under things, gets lost, even fits in a coffee mug! Every sentence supports that she’s very tiny.
Choices:
- A. Mittens is tiny. → Perfect match!
- B. Mittens is a kitten. → True, but too general — we already know that from the start.
- C. Mittens likes to hide. → Not really said — she goes missing because she’s small, not because she hides on purpose.
- D. Mittens fits into a coffee mug. → Just one example of how tiny she is.
✔ So, #3 answer is
A.
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Final Answer:
1. B
2. B
3. A
Parent Tip: Review the logic above to help your child master the concept of 2nd grade main idea worksheet.
