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 paragraph 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 are part of her hiking trip. So the big idea is that
Mary went for a hike.
Looking at the choices:
A. Mary wore a hat. → Too small — just one detail.
B. Mary went for a hike. → Yes! This covers everything.
C. Mary ate a sandwich. → Also just one detail.
D. Mary walked to the river. → Part of the hike, but not the whole story.
✔ Correct answer for #1:
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. The key event is that
Bob forgot his lunch, and everything else follows from 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. → That’s a result of forgetting lunch.
D. Pete is kind. → Nice, but it’s a side point — the story is about Bob’s problem.
✔ Correct answer for #2:
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 describing how
tiny Mittens is — smaller than others, fits under furniture, gets put in a mug. Everything supports that she is very small.
Choices:
A. Mittens is tiny. → Perfect — that’s the focus.
B. Mittens is a kitten. → True, but too general — all kittens are kittens!
C. Mittens likes to hide. → Not really — she goes missing because she’s small, not because she hides on purpose.
D. Mittens fits into a coffee mug. → Cute detail, but just one example of how tiny she is.
✔ Correct answer for #3:
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 finding the main idea worksheets.
