Main Idea & Supporting Details — Answer Key
Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. The main idea is the most important part of a passage.
The biggest point in a story is the most important thought, and the most important thought is always the main idea — so the blank is main.
2. Dogs make great pets. This sentence is a detail.
A small fact that adds extra information about the big idea is called a detail, so the word that fits in the blank is detail.
3. Supporting details give facts about the main idea.
When you follow the hints in a story, they lead you to the one subject the whole passage is about, and that subject is called the topic.
4. The title of a story can be a clue to the main idea.
A title usually hints at what a story will be about, and a hint that points toward the main idea is called a clue.
5. A topic is a group of sentences about one idea.
If every sentence in a story keeps coming back to dogs, then dogs is the one subject the story is about — which is the definition of the topic.
6. Details help the reader understand the main idea.
Supporting details add true pieces of information that prove the big idea, and true pieces of information are known as facts.
7. The main idea tells the big message of a story.
The biggest thought the writer shares in a story is called the main idea, so the word that goes after main here is idea.
8. We can find the main idea by reading all the details.
The biggest thought that the story keeps coming back to is cats playing, and the biggest thought is always called the main idea.
9. A good title tells what the whole passage is about.
Writers leave little hints like repeated words and key pictures to help readers figure out the main idea, and those hints are called clues.
Part B: Matching
Match each item on the left to the correct answer on the right.
1. Match each item to its correct answer.
Cats are fun pets.
→ A detail about pets
A detail about pets
Apples are healthy.
→ A detail about food
A detail about food
Rain helps plants grow.
→ A detail about weather
A detail about weather
Fish live in water.
→ A detail about animals
A detail about animals
Each detail on the right fits the topic on the left: dogs and cats are pets, puddles come from rain, lunch is food, and brushing teeth happens at bedtime.