Main Idea & Supporting Details — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. Main idea: Dolphins are very social animals. Which detail best supports this?
A) Dolphins live in the ocean.
B) Dolphins swim in groups called pods.
C) Dolphins are gray.
D) Dolphins eat fish.
Being social means spending time with others, and swimming together in groups called pods proves dolphins like to be with friends and family.
2. A passage says: Trains carry people to work. Trains move on tracks. Ice cream is cold. Trains can be very fast. Which sentence does NOT belong?
A) Trains carry people to work.
B) Trains move on tracks.
C) Ice cream is cold.
D) Trains can be very fast.
Three of the sentences give facts about trains, but the sentence about ice cream talks about food instead. It wanders away from the train topic, so it does not belong.
3. Main idea: Wearing a seatbelt keeps you safe in a car. Which detail supports this?
A) Cars come in many colors.
B) A seatbelt holds you in place during a crash.
C) Some cars are very fast.
D) Roads are made of concrete.
Holding you in place during a crash directly keeps your body from getting hurt, so this detail clearly shows how a seatbelt does its safety job.
4. A passage says: The zoo has lions and tigers. Visitors can see monkeys play. My grandma bakes bread. Zookeepers feed the animals. Which sentence does NOT belong?
A) The zoo has lions and tigers.
B) Visitors can see monkeys play.
C) My grandma bakes bread.
D) Zookeepers feed the animals.
Three sentences tell about animals and people at the zoo, but the grandma baking bread sentence is about home, so it does not match the zoo topic.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. A sentence that does not match the main idea is called off-topic.
The prefix 'off' means away from, so 'off-topic' describes a sentence that has drifted away from the main subject of the passage.
2. Dolphins swim in groups called pods.
Just like a school of fish, a group of dolphins has its own name. That name is 'pods,' and dolphins almost always travel inside one.
3. A seatbelt holds you in place during a crash.
In a sudden crash, your body keeps moving forward. A seatbelt pulls you back and holds you in place so you do not hit the dashboard or window.
4. At the zoo, zookeepers feed the animals every day.
Zookeepers are the workers trained to care for zoo animals, so they are the ones who prepare meals and feed each animal every day.
5. A passage about trains should NOT include a sentence about ice cream.
Ice cream has nothing to do with trains, so adding a sentence about ice cream would be off-topic and confuse the reader.