Pick the Main Idea
Read each paragraph. Fill in the bubble next to the sentence that tells the main idea.
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This is sheet #80924601.
How to do it
- Read the paragraph.
- Ask what it is mostly about.
- Fill in the bubble next to the main idea.
Teaching tip
One choice is a detail and one doesn't fit at all. The main idea covers the whole paragraph. This sheet is aligned with Common Core RI.3.2.
About this worksheet
Short nonfiction paragraphs, each with three sentences to choose from.
What kids practice
The main idea is what a paragraph is mostly about, and details tell more about it. Cause and effect explains why something happened and what happened because of it. Point of view is who is telling the story. Third graders find each of these in what they read and separate their own point of view from a character's.
Watch for
- Picking one interesting detail as the main idea.
- Mixing up the cause and the effect, especially when the effect comes first in the sentence.
- Thinking a story is first person just because a character talks in quotes.
It's free to print, with Fewer, Standard or More on the page and an answer key. See the full main idea, cause and effect, point of view guide for 3rd grade.
More sheets in this set
- See it all
1. Main Idea, Cause and Effect ChartMain idea and details, cause and effect with signal words, and first and third person point of view. 
3. Main Idea and DetailsRead a paragraph, then write the main idea and two details on handwriting lines.
4. Cause and Effect MatchCauses like "The power went out" to match with effects like "We used flashlights."
5. Find the Cause and EffectSentences with because, so and since. Underline the cause once and the effect twice.
6. Who Is Telling the Story?Short passages told in first person or third person, with a clue word to write.
7. The Character and MeShort scenes where a character has an opinion. Write the character's view, then your own.