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Fourth Grade (Grade 4) Main Idea Questions

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Grade 4 Main Idea
Someday we will all have robots that will be our personal servants. They will look and behave much like real humans. We will be able to talk to these mechanical helpers and they will be able to respond in kind! Amazingly, the robots of the future will be able to learn from experience. They will be smart, strong, and untiring workers whose only goal will be to make our lives easier.

What is this selection mainly about?
  1. Someday we will have robots that will be our personal servants.
  2. We will be able to talk to robots and they will be able to respond.
  3. Robots will look and behave much like real humans.
  4. Amazingly, the robots of the future will be able to learn from experience.
Grade 4 Main Idea CCSS: CCRA.R.2, RI.4.2
What is the best question to ask yourself when you are trying to find the main idea?
  1. Who is the main character?
  2. What is the main event?
  3. What point is the author trying to make?
  4. What is one important detail?
Grade 4 Main Idea
I can't wait until this weekend! We’re going to my grandparents’ house and my entire family will be there. I will spend most of my time playing games with my cousins. We always have such a good time together! The day goes by so fast, and by the end we are all exhausted... but we still don’t want to leave!

The main idea of this passage is the writer enjoys spending time with family.
  1. True
  2. False
Grade 4 Main Idea
Sometimes the main idea is stated in the first or last sentences.
  1. True
  2. False
Grade 4 Main Idea
The main idea is the most important part of a story.
  1. True
  2. False
Grade 4 Main Idea CCSS: CCRA.R.2, RL.4.2

This question is a part of a group with common instructions. View group »

The best title for this text would be
  1. The Value of Hard Work.
  2. Gathering Food.
  3. Two Mice.
  4. A Lazy Mouse.
Grade 4 Main Idea CCSS: CCRA.R.2, RI.4.2
In the late 19th and early 20th century, women did not have the same rights as men. This meant they could not do the same things that men did, including write for newspapers. However, Nellie Bly did not let that stop her from becoming a famous journalist.

Based on the paragraph above, you can guess that the passage will be about...
  1. Famous female journalists in history
  2. The career of Nellie Bly
  3. How women were treated in the 19th and 20th century
  4. A biography of Nellie Bly
Grade 4 Main Idea CCSS: CCRA.R.2, RL.4.2
Carson's older sister, Madison, is a very good student. She isn't satisfied to just get by in school. She is involved in extra activities at school, including the school's music program and the math club. She also always tries to answer the teacher's questions in class.

What is the main idea of the paragraph?
  1. Madison was born before Carson.
  2. Madison likes music and math.
  3. Madison is a very good student.
  4. Madison likes to show off.
Grade 4 Main Idea CCSS: CCRA.R.2, RI.4.2
Benjamin Franklin invented many things that made life easier in the late 1700's. He invented the lightning rod that saved many homes from fires. He also invented the Franklin stove. The stove could heat a room better than a fireplace and saved people a lot of fuel. He also invented a special kind of glasses called bifocals. This new kind of glasses helped people to read better.

What is the main idea of this paragraph?
  1. Benjamin Franklin thought reading was important.
  2. Benjamin Franklin was a great inventor.
  3. Benjamin Franklin was not afraid of fire.
  4. A Franklin stove can heat a whole room.
  5. Benjamin Franklin believed stoves were better than fires.
Grade 4 Main Idea CCSS: CCRA.R.2, RI.4.2
Floods can cause tremendous damage. They can ruin houses, roads and buildings. Floods can take down trees and cause mudslides. They often leaves mud, sand and debris behind. It can take months to clean up after a flood.

What is the main idea of this paragraph?
  1. Floods can cause a lot of damage.
  2. It takes a long time to clean up after a flood.
  3. Floods cause mudslides.
  4. Floods damage houses and roads.
Grade 4 Main Idea CCSS: CCRA.R.2, RL.4.2
Juan loves to play games. His favorite game is chess because it requires a great deal of thought. Juan also likes to play board games that are based mostly on luck. He prefers Monopoly because it requires luck and skill. If he's alone, Juan likes to play action video games as long as they aren't too violent.

What is the main idea of this paragraph?
  1. Juan dislikes violence.
  2. Juan likes to think.
  3. Juan enjoys Monopoly.
  4. Juan enjoys playing games.
  5. Juan only enjoys games that involve luck and skill
Grade 4 Main Idea CCSS: CCRA.R.2, RI.4.2
Is there a hairy monster in the Pacific Northwest? Some people think so. They say it lives in the mountains. They call it "Bigfoot." No one knows for sure if Bigfoot is real. Hundreds of people say they have seen the monster, and many more claim to have seen its huge footprints. Reports state that Bigfoot looks like an ape. It doesn't run, but it walks very fast. Bigfoot is said to be a fast swimmer as well. Reports of the strange Bigfoot make the monster an interesting puzzle.


What is the main idea?
  1. The Pacific Northwest is a nice place to visit.
  2. Bigfoot looks like an ape.
  3. Bigfoot is still a mystery.
  4. Bigfoot's physical features
Grade 4 Main Idea CCSS: CCRA.R.2, RI.4.2
Some people say that the White House has ghosts. The most famous ghost is Abraham Lincoln. He is often seen standing in his room looking out the window. Even Eleanor Roosevelt said that she saw him. There is a legend that old Abe walks back and forth all night before something terrible is about to happen.

What is the main idea of the passage?
  1. what Lincoln's ghost is like
  2. when Eleanor Roosevelt's ghost walked
  3. how many ghosts the White House has
  4. how ghosts show when something will happen
Grade 4 Main Idea CCSS: CCRA.R.2, RL.4.2
The Bulls and the Lion

A lion had been watching three bulls feeding in an open field. He had tried to attack them several times, but they kept together and helped each other to drive him off.

The lion had little hope of eating them, for he was no match for three strong bulls with their sharp horns and hoofs. But he could not keep away from that field, for it is hard to resist watching a good meal, even when there is little chance of getting it.

Then one day the bulls had a fight. When the hungry lion came to lick his chops and watch them as he did each day, he found them in separate corners of the field, as far away from one another as they could get.

It was now an easy matter for the lion to attack the bulls one at a time.

What is the moral of the story?
  1. Don't be greedy
  2. Don't tell a lie
  3. United we stand, divided we fall
  4. Don't try to eat something with horns
Grade 4 Main Idea CCSS: CCRA.R.1, RL.4.1
Read the following sentences and choose the main idea.
John's favorite sport is basketball. He practices every day after school. He won player of the year last year. One day, John hopes to enter a basketball competition (and of course win).
  1. He practices everyday after school.
  2. He won player of the year last year.
  3. John's favorite sport is basketball.
  4. None of these
Grade 4 Main Idea CCSS: CCRA.R.2, RI.4.2
You may know Orlando as the home of Disney World, but it is home to so much more. When you come to Orlando, you could easily stay for the entire summer and still never run out of things to do.

Based on the paragraph above, which statement best sums up what the article will be about?
  1. Walt Disney World is Orlando's most famous attraction.
  2. Orlando is crowded and offers too many activities.
  3. There are so many things to do in Orlando, making it a great place to visit.
  4. Walt Disney World is a place where you should spend your entire summer.
Grade 4 Main Idea CCSS: CCRA.R.2, RI.4.2
I am very upset with your company and the service I received. I saw a commercial on TV about your latest CD "All the Loud Music Hits" and decided to buy it. I called the number on the screen and ordered the CD and was very excited to receive it so that I could listen to the great songs it was supposed to have on it. It took two weeks for the CD to arrive at my house even though I paid extra to have it arrive in three days. When I got the CD, it was not "œAll the Loud Music Hits." Instead you sent me "Rockin' With the Oldies" and a bill for $9.99.

Which sentence from the passage best explains the main idea?
  1. I am very upset with your company and the service I received
  2. I saw a commercial on TV about your latest CD "œAll the Loud Music Hits" and decided to buy it.
  3. It took two weeks for the CD to arrive at my house even though I paid extra to have it arrive in three days. When I got the CD, it was not "All the Loud Music Hits."
  4. Instead you sent me "œRockin'™ With the Oldies" and a bill for $9.99.
Grade 4 Main Idea CCSS: CCRA.R.2, CCRA.R.5, RL.4.2, RL.4.5

This question is a part of a group with common instructions. View group »

What is the subject of the second stanza?
  1. flowers blooming
  2. animals and their babies
  3. growing crops
  4. singing about summer
Grade 4 Main Idea CCSS: CCRA.R.2, RL.4.2
Read the passage and identify the main idea and 2 supporting details.

It was a sunny day. Sarah wanted to bake a cake for her sister's birthday. She put milk and flour in a bowl while she listened to the radio. Then she realized she was out of eggs! After she got some, she made a pretty chocolate cake with pink frosting.

Main Idea:


Supporting Detail #1:


Supporting Detail #2:
Grade 4 Main Idea
The main idea of a story tells us:
  1. What to look for in the story.
  2. What the story is mainly about
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