Name:

Date:

Period:

Directions: Read each paragraph. After you read the paragraph, decide what the main
idea of the paragraph is. Write the number of the sentence that contains the main idea
in the box underneath the paragraph.
1
Although we have scientific evidence that women should not smoke when they are pregnant, many
future mothers ignore this danger. 2Not only are these mothers endangering the physical health of
their babies, but they also could be contributing to even more problems in the future. 3In addition
to the known problems, recent studies have linked mothers' smoking during pregnancy with sons
who go on to become criminals. 4Researchers in Finland followed over 5,000 males and their
mothers from the time the mothers were six months pregnant until the young men were 28 years
old. 5Compared to sons whose mothers did not smoke during pregnancy, those young men whose
birth mothers did smoke were more than twice as likely to commit criminal acts. 6The researchers
theorized that smoking during pregnancy may alter the chemical balance in the baby's brain. 7This
recent information, added to the body of evidence available for years, should be a warning to
pregnant women to give up smoking.

What’s the main idea?

Sometimes it is a money issue: too many credit cards to pay off, lack of scholarships or
other college aid. 2Sometimes it is a child care problem: the cost of care, the lack of reliable
centers, or transportation to get the children there. 3Sometimes it is the demands of the
hours spent at work which leave little time for class. 4All of these reasons and more often
stand in the way of women returning to college, yet many women are finding ways to
achieve their goal of a higher education. 5Some of the monetary concerns are being
addressed by financial aid counselors who help these women uncover funding sources. 6In
addition, many of the women are enrolling in community colleges where the tuition is
generally more affordable. 7Colleges are also helping by recognizing the need for on-site
daycare centers and by using students within their education departments to help at the
centers. 8Finally, employers are investing in having working women return to the classroom
by providing time to attend class during the work day or by supplementing the cost of
taking courses. 9With these resources, perhaps even more women will be able to return to
school.

What’s the main idea?

Choose one the of these paragraphs. Explain how you found the main idea for that paragraph below.
(These paragraphs aren’t numbered for you).

Many parents tend to think of day-care centers as breeding grounds for colds.  But new
research suggests that children in day-care centers appear to develop immunity to many of
the viruses responsible for the common cold.  An article published in the Archives of
Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine found that children ages 6 to 11 who had been
enrolled at large day-care centers as toddlers had about one-third as many colds as
children who had stayed home as toddlers.  Dr. Thomas Ball, one of the authors of the
study, says that when children have colds as toddlers, their immune systems are learning
from these experiences, and this learning will come back to protect children later in life. 
Such news should be reassuring to parents whose preschool children are in daycare.

What’s the main idea?

On Monday, I came down with a cold.  On Tuesday, I accidentally dropped my phone in the
tub.  On Wednesday, I did not turn the oven on while I was “baking” lasagna.  And
Thursday, the driver behind me on the Dan Ryan drove into me!  This has certainly been a
bad week for me!

What’s the main idea?

Choose one the of these paragraphs. Explain how you found the main idea for that paragraph below.

A reader can be sure they have found the stated main idea if…

 the sentence contains the topic

 the sentence states the single most important point about the topic

 the sentence is general enough to cover all the information in the paragraph

 the other sentences explain or tell more about the main idea sentence

 the sentence makes complete sense by itself

 the reader can comprehend the selection without reading the rest of the selection).