Getting the Main Idea

Why do sea gulls spend so much time smoothing down their feathers? The feathers must be kept in perfect order. If they are

not, they will not hold trapped air. It is this trapped air which keeps the gull afloat. Also, if its wing surface are not smooth, the sea gull

may have difficulty when taking off or landing.

• The story mainly tells:

1. What sea gulls eat

2. How sea gulls fly

3. Where sea gulls swim

4. What feathers do for gulls

Letter carriers in the early days often were butchers. I seems strange, doesn’t? Butchers of long ago went from farm to farm, killing the animals

for the farmers and cutting them up. They didn’t work in a store. It was their job to travel around. Everyone got to know them. The butchers got to know

where everyone lived. Thus butchers made fine letter carriers.

The story mainly tells:

1. Why butchers killed animals

2. Why butchers made good letter carriers

3. How butchers traveled from place to place

4. Why letter carriers were needed

Camels bring to mind pictures of the desert. Yet some camels live where it is very cold and where there is much snow. These camels have long hair.

They have feet shaped to travel over snow and ice. Not many people know that camels are animals as fitted to live in cold regions as they are in

the warmer places of the world.

• The story mainly tells:1. How camels help us

2. Why camels have long hair

3. What snow does to camels

4. How camels are also suited to cold regions

A “snake” a quarter of a mile long can be seen in southern Ohio. Of course, the snake is not alive. It is formed from a long ridge of dirt. Pictures

taken from an airplane show an egg-shaped form near the mouth of the snake.Why early people made the animal-shaped mound in not know.

• The story mainly tells:1. Why the snake mound was made

2. What is found in Ohio

3. What the snake-shaped dirt mound is like

4. Where the form is located

Columbus took a dog with him when he discovered America. The dog was an Irish wolfhound, the tallest of all dogs. Columbus felt that the dog might be useful if he met any fierce natives.This proved to be correct. After one

fight, Columbus claimed that the dog was worth ten soldiers.

• The story mainly tells:1. What the wolfhound ate

2. Where Columbus found the wolfhound

3. When Columbus bought the wolfhound

4. Why Columbus took a wolfhound to America

Years ago, guests at weddings were often given white gloves as presents. The white gloves were given not only to those who attended the wedding,

but also to all friends of the bride and groom. To cut down on the cost, some families gave paper gloves.the gloves served to remind the guests

of the happy wedding they had attended.

• The story mainly tells:1. Why people wear paper gloves

2. What gifts people often gave at weddings

3. How customs change

4. What weddings are like