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Year 8 English — Main idea and supporting detail

Find what a passage is mainly about, tell a supporting detail apart from the main idea, and separate what a passage says from what it does not.

Name: ________________________

  1. 1.Sort each statement by whether the bee passage says it. "Honey bees do far more than make honey. As they move from flower to flower drinking nectar, grains of pollen stick to their bodies and are carried to the next flower. This is how many plants make seeds. Nearly a third of the food we eat depends on insects doing this work. When bee numbers fall, farmers notice it first: the fruit trees blossom as usual, but far less fruit forms."

    Groups: The passage says this · The passage does not say this

    • About a third of our food depends on insects.
    • Bees carry pollen from one flower to the next.
    • Wind also carries pollen.
    • Pollen sticks to a bee's body.
    • Honey is sold in every market.
    • A bee lives for about six weeks.
    • Bees sting when they are frightened.
    • Farmers notice when bee numbers fall.

  2. 2.Which of these is a supporting detail from the passage about the well, rather than its main point?

    • a) Its steps were cracked and its walls were furred with weeds.
    • b) Students cleared the well and the water came back.
    • c) The village got its water back.
    • d) Clearing the well changed the village.

  3. 3.Which would be the best title for the bee passage?

    • a) Fruit trees in blossom
    • b) How to keep bees
    • c) More than honey
    • d) The life of a farmer

  4. 4.Match each question to the answer the passage about the well gives.

    • How long had the well been dry?
    • Who cleared it?
    • When did they work on it?
    • How long before it filled again?
    • What else started working again?
    • Thirty years
    • The hand pumps in the lanes
    • Two monsoons
    • A group of students
    • After school

  5. 5.Sort each sentence by whether it is a main idea or a supporting detail.

    Groups: Main idea · Supporting detail

    • They cost nothing at all to run.
    • Bicycles are a good way to get about a town.
    • Even a short story teaches you new words.
    • They take up very little space to park.
    • A book can take you to a country you have never seen.
    • Reading widens what you know.

  6. 6.Read this passage. "Honey bees do far more than make honey. As they move from flower to flower drinking nectar, grains of pollen stick to their bodies and are carried to the next flower. This is how many plants make seeds. Nearly a third of the food we eat depends on insects doing this work. When bee numbers fall, farmers notice it first: the fruit trees blossom as usual, but far less fruit forms." What is the main idea?

    • a) Bees matter to us for far more than the honey they make.
    • b) Fruit trees blossom every year.
    • c) Bees drink nectar from flowers.
    • d) Farmers grow many kinds of fruit.

  7. 7.Answer in one word. According to the bee passage, what sticks to a bee's body as it moves between flowers?

  8. 8.Answer in one word. In the passage about the well, in which season did the hand pumps run dry every year?

Answer key — Year 8 English — Main idea and supporting detail

  1. 1. Pollen sticks to a bee's body. → The passage says this; Bees carry pollen from one flower to the next. → The passage says this; About a third of our food depends on insects. → The passage says this; Farmers notice when bee numbers fall. → The passage says this; Honey is sold in every market. → The passage does not say this; A bee lives for about six weeks. → The passage does not say this; Wind also carries pollen. → The passage does not say this; Bees sting when they are frightened. → The passage does not say this
  2. 2. a) Its steps were cracked and its walls were furred with weeds.
  3. 3. c) More than honey
  4. 4. How long had the well been dry? → Thirty years; Who cleared it? → A group of students; When did they work on it? → After school; How long before it filled again? → Two monsoons; What else started working again? → The hand pumps in the lanes
  5. 5. Bicycles are a good way to get about a town. → Main idea; They cost nothing at all to run. → Supporting detail; They take up very little space to park. → Supporting detail; Reading widens what you know. → Main idea; A book can take you to a country you have never seen. → Supporting detail; Even a short story teaches you new words. → Supporting detail
  6. 6. a) Bees matter to us for far more than the honey they make.
  7. 7. pollen
  8. 8. summer