1. Chapter 1 Characteristics of Good Writing Grade 8 Common Core Writing Companion © Perfection Learning ® Reproduction permitted for classroom use only. 1 Activity 1A Finding the Main Idea (p. 6) Read the following paragraph and underline the main idea. Then answer the questions that follow. Our school could be improved by putting a salad bar in the cafeteria. A salad bar would offer students healthy foods. Fruits and vegetables contain many vitamins and are very nutritious. A salad bar would also offer students a light meal. Eating a heavy meal can bog students down and make it hard for them to stay awake in the afternoon. A salad would be satisfying without being too filling, so students could concentrate more on learning and less on staying awake. It would also offer students something different. A salad bar would make lunch a more pleasant experience for everyone!

2. Chapter 1 Characteristics of Good Writing Grade 8 Common Core Writing Companion © Perfection Learning ® Reproduction permitted for classroom use only. 2 Activity 1A Finding the Main Idea (p. 6) Read the following paragraph and underline the main idea. Then answer the questions that follow. Our school could be improved by putting a salad bar in the cafeteria. A salad bar would offer students healthy foods. Fruits and vegetables contain many vitamins and are very nutritious. A salad bar would also offer students a light meal. Eating a heavy meal can bog students down and make it hard for them to stay awake in the afternoon. A salad would be satisfying without being too filling, so students could concentrate more on learning and less on staying awake. It would also offer students something different. A salad bar would make lunch a more pleasant experience for everyone!

3. Chapter 1 Characteristics of Good Writing Grade 8 Common Core Writing Companion © Perfection Learning ® Reproduction permitted for classroom use only. 3 Activity 1A Finding the Main Idea (p. 6) 1. What is the purpose of this passage? Our school could be improved by putting a salad bar in the cafeteria. A salad bar would offer students healthy foods. Fruits and vegetables contain many vitamins and are very nutritious. A salad bar would also offer students a light meal. Eating a heavy meal can bog students down and make it hard for them to stay awake in the afternoon. A salad would be satisfying without being too filling, so students could concentrate more on learning and less on staying awake. It would also offer students something different. A salad bar would make lunch a more pleasant experience for everyone!

4. Chapter 1 Characteristics of Good Writing Grade 8 Common Core Writing Companion © Perfection Learning ® Reproduction permitted for classroom use only. 4 Activity 1A Finding the Main Idea (p. 6) 1. What is the purpose of this passage? The purpose of the passage is to convince readers that putting a salad bar in the school cafeteria would be beneficial.

5. Chapter 1 Characteristics of Good Writing Grade 8 Common Core Writing Companion © Perfection Learning ® Reproduction permitted for classroom use only. 5 Activity 1A Finding the Main Idea (p. 6) 2. How do the supporting details develop the main idea? 3. Are the supporting details relevant and sufficient?

6. Chapter 1 Characteristics of Good Writing Grade 8 Common Core Writing Companion © Perfection Learning ® Reproduction permitted for classroom use only. 6 Activity 1A Finding the Main Idea (p. 6) 2. How do the supporting details develop the main idea? The supporting details develop the main idea by giving reasons why a salad bar would be a good addition to the school lunches. 3. Are the supporting details relevant and sufficient?

7. Chapter 1 Characteristics of Good Writing Grade 8 Common Core Writing Companion © Perfection Learning ® Reproduction permitted for classroom use only. 7 Activity 1A Finding the Main Idea (p. 6) 2. How do the supporting details develop the main idea? The supporting details develop the main idea by giving reasons why a salad bar would be a good addition to the school lunches. 3. Are the supporting details relevant and sufficient? Yes, the details describe specific ways that a salad bar would improve students’ health and performance at school.