You're looking at a reading comprehension worksheet titled
“Finding the Main Idea: The Storm.” Let’s solve it step by step.
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✔ Step 1: Understand the passage
The short paragraph describes a storm:
> *“The rain began early in the morning. It fell as hard drops, one after another. The sky was full of dark purple clouds. Thunder began as a soft rumble and became louder and louder. Lightning crashed every few minutes, making the sky a brilliant white.”*
This is a
descriptive passage — it paints a picture of a powerful, intense storm using sensory details (sight and sound).
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✔ Step 2: Answer the multiple-choice question
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What is the main idea? Circle the correct answer.
Let’s evaluate each option:
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A. The farms needed the rain.
→ Not mentioned anywhere. Irrelevant.
✘
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B. The thunder hurt the people’s ears.
→ It says thunder got louder, but never says it hurt anyone’s ears. Too specific and unsupported.
✘
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C. Lightning made the sky bright.
→ This is true (“making the sky a brilliant white”), but it’s just
one detail, not the overall main idea.
✘
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D. The storm was very strong.
→ YES! This summarizes the entire passage. Hard rain, dark clouds, loud thunder, frequent lightning — all point to a
powerful, intense storm. ✔️
✔ Correct Answer: D. The storm was very strong.
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✔ Step 3: Write three details from the story
You need to pick
three specific facts or descriptions from the text. Here are good examples:
Box 1: *The rain fell as hard drops, one after another.*
→ Describes the intensity of the rain.
Box 2: *Thunder began as a soft rumble and became louder and louder.*
→ Shows how the storm intensified over time.
Box 3: *Lightning crashed every few minutes, making the sky a brilliant white.*
→ Highlights the frequency and visual impact of the lightning.
*(Note: Any three clear, factual details from the passage work. These are just examples.)*
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🎯 Final Answers:
Main Idea (Circle):
👉
D. The storm was very strong.
Three Details (Fill in boxes):
1. The rain fell as hard drops, one after another.
2. Thunder began as a soft rumble and became louder and louder.
3. Lightning crashed every few minutes, making the sky a brilliant white.
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✔ You’ve now successfully identified the main idea and supporting details — great job practicing reading comprehension!
Parent Tip: Review the logic above to help your child master the concept of paragraph main idea worksheet.