Main Idea Lesson

Did you watch the main idea video linked on your teacher page?

IDENTIFY THE MAIN IDEA

Before you put on that skeleton costume and rove door-to-door pandering for candy, take a minute to reflect on this tradition. Halloween is believed to have come from an ancient Celtic festival dating back some 2,000 years. November 1st was the Celtic New Year and marked the end of summer to the Celts. They celebrated on its eve by wearing costumes made of animal skins and dancing around bon fires. Over the next two millennia, this primitive celebration grew to be the candy fueled costume ball that we know today.

The Maracanazo

In 1950, the last game of soccer's World Cup was played in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Nearly two hundred thousand people squeezed into Rio's Maracanã stadium. Many expected the home team of Brazil to win easily. In one of the greatest upsets in soccer history, however, Uruguay won 2–1. Soccer is important in Brazil, and losing this game hurt Brazil's pride as a nation. Thus, the game came to be called the Maracanazo, meaning "the Maracanã blow." The word is still used to mean any game lost to a visiting team. Losing the 1950 World Cup had a lasting effect on the people of Brazil.

Fifth grade is a good time to show additional responsibility. Fifth graders could show additional responsibility by getting a cell phone. As fifth graders, we are starting to stay after school for clubs or sports, and when we go into middle school, we will do more of this. With this added responsibility after school, we need a way to get in touch with our parents. Also, fifth graders are old enough to understand how to use a cell phone responsibility. A fifth grader understands that a phone is not just for playing games and listening to music. A fifth grader can show responsibility by not using all of the phone minutes or data on the phone for fun. Parents could help fifth graders set time limits for games and music. Finally, a phone is an expensive item, and you have to take care of it. A fifth grader can show responsibility by keeping up with the phone and not losing it.

Which of the following would best support the main idea if added to the paragraph?

Native Americans dried strips of meat, pounded it into a paste, and then mixed it with fat. Sometimes they added berries and sugar. Then they pressed it into small cakes. They called these cakes pemmican. Pemmican didn't spoil, and it provided lots of energy for people traveling or going hunting. Today explorers still carry and eat this food.

What is the passage mostly about?