PSAE Days 1 and 2 Main Ideas and Supporting Details

 Main Idea  Controlling Idea    Topic or subject that the passage as a whole is about Sometimes, it is clearly in the beginning or the end Sometimes, it is implied  Supporting Details  Facts, reasons, or examples that describe or explain the main idea  Author often includes BOTH important and less-important details

 Star-nosed moles live underground, in parts of the United States and Canada. Although blind, they do have small eyes that are covered with flaps of skin. They also have a distinctive star-shaped protrusion on the top of their heads, giving them their “star-nosed” name. Star-nosed moles burrow through the earth in search of earthworms, their primary food. They produce a toxin that stuns and paralyzes the earthworm. This way, they can save the worms for future consumption/  What is the main idea?

 The maid idea is that the star-nosed moles are small animals that lie underground and eat earthworms.

 Everything else? Supporting details!

   After you read, ask yourself what the passage, article, or story was about.

 Try to sum up your answer in one sentence. Your answer will be close to the author’s controlling idea.

Do not confuse a detail from a passage with the main idea.

 Supporting details are there to add extra support or extra information ABOUT the main idea…or to prove a point raised by the main idea.

Avoid EXTRANEOUS DETAIL  Irrelevant detail. Does not constiture a vital part of the text and does not directly support the main idea.

 Look at passage 1 on your worksheet.

 Read it and create a main idea.

 HINT: Even though the passage begins by making a statement about tennis, the subject of tennis is not the main idea.

 POTENTIAL ANSWER:  There are many similarities between tennis and badminton except badminton uses birdies instead of balls.

 Answer the questions that accompany the passage.

 HINT: Decide how to summarize the most important material in one sentence.

 HINT: Decide which detail could be removed from the paragraph if necessary.

 1: C  2: D

 NOT TIMED  Answer WHILE READING questions on a separate sheet of paper.

 Circle the answers for the AFTER READING section on your sheet AND write the answers on the same paper as the WHILE READING questions.

 1: A  2: B  3: D  4: B  5:  Benefits of the pygmy hog  Specifics people can do to help  Anecdotal stories about the pygmy hog