Main Idea and Details
Read the paragraph. Write the main idea. Then write two details that tell more about it.
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This is sheet #81024601.
How to do it
- Read the paragraph.
- Write the main idea in your own words.
- Write two details that tell more about it.
Teaching tip
Answers in the key are samples. Any wording that means the same thing is right. This sheet is aligned with Common Core RI.3.2.
About this worksheet
Read a paragraph, then write the main idea and two details on handwriting lines.
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. 
2. Pick the Main IdeaShort nonfiction paragraphs, each with three sentences to choose from.
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.