Skip to content
LessonPrint

Main Idea and Its Support is a free printable Grade 4 English worksheet on working out a main idea from the details that support it, aligned to Common Core standard RI.4.2. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 14 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

Next setLesson plan

One paper per student

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425

Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Main Idea and Its Support

RI.4.2

NameDate

Circle the right answer.

1.A paragraph says: libraries lend books for free; many offer computers anyone can use; they run reading clubs for children. What is its main idea?
  • A.Children like clubs.
  • B.Libraries offer many free services to a town.
  • C.Computers are useful.
2.A paragraph says: beavers fell trees with their teeth; they build dams of sticks and mud; their ponds give homes to fish and birds. What is its main idea?
  • A.Beavers have sharp teeth.
  • B.Beavers change the places where they live.
  • C.Fish live in ponds.
3.A paragraph says: honeybees carry pollen from flower to flower; without them many fruits would not grow; farmers rent hives for their orchards. What is its main idea?
  • A.Flowers have pollen.
  • B.Farmers keep hives.
  • C.Bees are important for growing food.
4.A paragraph says: Roman roads ran straight for miles; they were laid in layers so water drained away; some are still used today. What is its main idea?
  • A.Roman roads were built to last.
  • B.Water drains away.
  • C.Romans liked straight lines.
5.A paragraph says: earthworms tunnel through soil and let air in; they drag dead leaves underground; their waste makes the soil richer. What is its main idea?
  • A.Leaves fall in the fall.
  • B.Earthworms help keep soil healthy.
  • C.Earthworms live underground.
6.A paragraph says: trains ran to schedules across the country; each town had kept its own time; the railways needed one time everywhere. What is its main idea?
  • A.The railways led to one time for the whole country.
  • B.Towns had clocks.
  • C.Trains were often late.
7.A paragraph says: lighthouses warn ships away from rocks; each one flashes its own pattern; sailors use the pattern to tell where they are. What is its main idea?
  • A.Lighthouses keep ships safe and help them find their way.
  • B.Rocks are dangerous.
  • C.Lights can flash.
8.A paragraph says: Fleming saw mold kill germs; Florey and Chain found a way to make it in large amounts; by 1944 it was treating soldiers. What is its main idea?
  • A.Soldiers were wounded in 1944.
  • B.Making penicillin into a medicine took the work of many people.
  • C.Mold grows in dishes.

LessonPrint · RI.4.2 · Set 14 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Main Idea and Its Support

Set 14. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Libraries offer many free services to a town.
  2. 2.Beavers change the places where they live.
  3. 3.Bees are important for growing food.
  4. 4.Roman roads were built to last.
  5. 5.Earthworms help keep soil healthy.
  6. 6.The railways led to one time for the whole country.
  7. 7.Lighthouses keep ships safe and help them find their way.
  8. 8.Making penicillin into a medicine took the work of many people.

More practice for RI.4.2

State the main idea, show the details behind it, and summarize.

Teaching this next? The Main Idea and a Summary is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 4 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RI.4.2 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.