5th - 8th Grade Main Idea Worksheets

The history of Valentine's Day is full of theories about how the holiday began. Read about the history of Valentine's Day with this exercise and activity.

Develop reading comprehension with this video game passage. Ask your students to read the excerpt, then answer questions about the main ideas and details.

This graphic organizer template provides a helpful framework for young scholars as they begin to read to learn.

Introduce students to one of the leading figures of the United States civil rights movement with this reading comprehension worksheet all about Thurgood Marshall!

Introduce students to the influential, trailblazing African American athlete Althea Gibson with this reading comprehension worksheet.

Introduce readers to the poem “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar with this poetry analysis worksheet!
 

Use this graphic organizer to give students an opportunity to practice identifying the central idea of a text using key details.

Teachers can use this general organizer template for main idea and details, pre-writing, word analysis, brain dumps, concept mapping, background knowledge collection, and more.

Children learn about Madam C.J. Walker, the first woman to become a self-made millionaire in the United States, in this Finding the Main Idea worksheet.

Give your students experience with reading and analyzing primary sources with this powerful excerpt from the memoir of Frederick Douglass.

Get your feet wet with this one-page reading comprehension worksheet on the challenging sport of artistic swimming!

Read about the history of the Winchester Mystery House, and then answer some comprehension questions.

In this exercise, EL students will practice using sentence frames to write about main idea and details.

Use this worksheet to encourage critical thinking and support students’ literacy development by asking questions before, during, and after reading.

In the worksheet The History of African American Spirituals, children read about how African Americans used spirituals during different moments in history, starting from their enslavement to the civil rights movement.

This worksheet focuses on finding details within a nonfiction text. First students will read a short paragraph, then they'll answer questions using words from the text before rewording their answers to make them unique.

Concept maps are versatile and useful for all subject areas. Use this concept map for word work, main idea and supporting details, or to map out ideas.

Unwrap the history behind a spooky Halloween favorite: mummies! With this reading worksheet, your child will learn all about mummies.

Students choose one of two writing prompts focused on identifying and evaluating the central ideas of a nonfiction text in this middle grades writing worksheet.

Learn about Eleanor Roosevelt, the groundbreaking first lady known for her humanitarian work and for being the first U.S.delegate to the United Nations in 1942.

Use this Novel Discussion Guide for Parents as a guide to invite your child into a book discussion about their latest reading!

This activity guides your readers towards the key details and shows kids how to effectively underline while reading.

Use this bubble map to compare two things in a visually-appealing way.

Learn more about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, often simply called "The Wall," with this interesting printable.

With a movie word search and fascinating info about early films, this set of reading and writing worksheets is sure to entertain your budding movie-lover!

Introduce children to the highest-ranking female politician in the United States in this Learning About Nancy Pelosi worksheet.

Use this glossary with the EL Support Lesson: Main Idea and Supporting Details.

Kids who are just starting to read nonfiction can get their feet wet with this easy Julia Child biography that has a quick comprehension exercise at the end.

Use this glossary with the EL Support Lesson: Information from Multiple Sources.