Main Idea and Supporting Details Main Idea The

Main Idea and Supporting Details

Main Idea The main idea is the most important idea a writer makes in a paragraph or passage. The writer may state the main idea in a sentence. This sentence can appear at the beginning, middle, or end of a paragraph or passage. Sometimes the writer implies the main idea. The reader must then figure it out by thinking about the details and stating it in his or her own words.

Stated Main Idea Every year teens spend billions of dollars. In 1999 American teens spent $153 billion! According to one research company, the average teenager spends about $35 every time he or she goes to the mall. Experts expect more sales as the population of teens increases by 4 million by the year 2010.

Implied Main Idea Ballooning got its start in 1783 when two ballooning pioneers launched a duck, a sheep, and a rooster in the first historic balloon flight. Since then, many people have ballooned successfully across lakes, channels, and even oceans. Ballooning has become so popular that people now compete for the world record in time and distance.

Have you ever wondered if time travel is possible? If you have, you’re not alone. Philosophers and scientists, including Albert Einstein, have studied the concept of time. Writers have written stories about time travel into the past and future. Movies like Star Trek and The Terminator explore the possibilities of time travel.

Although time travel may not be possible in the near future, history has taught us that advanced technology is capable of the impossible. In the beginning of the 20 th century, many people doubted that humans would ever fly. Today we can get from one ocean to another in a matter of hours. Likewise, the thought of flying to the moon seemed an impossibility, but today we have the spacecraft to get us there and back. Perhaps someday we’ll have a machine capable of transporting people into the past or future.

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