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MAP 3rd Grade Reading › Key Ideas and Details
The Farm and the Magical Rain Storms
Since the time he was a little boy, Farmer Bo had always wanted to have a farm filled with lots of different kinds of animals. One day, as he was strolling down a country road, he saw a big sign in the middle of a field that reads “For Sale.” From what he could see, there wasn’t much to the land. Just a lot of open space and a small shack. The shack looked pretty old and beat-up from the outside. However, Farmer Bo never was the type to need nice things. He lived a simple life. He decided he would buy the land, live in the shack, and begin building a barn.
During the first night he spent in the shack, it began raining cats and dogs outside. Farmer Bo couldn’t sleep that night because he was worried that there might be too much flooding to start building his barn the next day. All night long he heard cracks of lighting and heavy drops of rain beating down on his tin roof. When morning came, he looked outside and couldn’t believe his eyes! There, in the middle of his field, was the start to his barn. It wasn’t completed yet, but there was a frame to the barn. Farmer Bo was baffled. He had no clue how this structure had just appeared. Instead of getting to work to complete his barn, he decided to see what would happen the next night.
That night no rain came. The ground was as dry as a bone when Farm Bo woke up from his slumber. To his disappointment, the barn still stood in the field just as it had the previous day- still not complete. Night after night he waited, but each day no more progress had been made when he woke up the next morning. After two weeks he decided he would get to work himself. He spent all day out in the hot sun working to build sides to his barn. When the sky got dark, and he was forced to quit working, he had half of the barn finished.
That night, the rain came again. To Farm Bo’s delight, the sides of the barn were all finished when he woke up the next morning. He decided not to sit back and keep waiting for the rain. His hard word had been rewarded the previous day, so he quickly got to work on the barn’s roof. He nailed hundreds of shingles in one single day, but again night came before the roof was complete. That night, he went to bed tired, sore, and hoping for rain.
What is the main idea of this passage?
Good things may come to those who work hard.
Laziness pays off.
Buying a farm is easy.
Animals will appear after a rainstorm.
Explanation
The main idea of a text is an idea you learn from all the parts of the passage together, not just one part or paragraph. It is the key point that the author is trying to make overall. This passage is about Farmer Bo buying land in order to build a barn. During the passage, he gets lazy and doesn’t work on the barn, but instead waits to see if the rainstorm will build it for him. He learns that if he puts in hard work, the rainstorms will come and help him. But, if he doesn’t work they will not. The correct answer is “Good things may come to those who work hard.”
The Farm and the Magical Rain Storms
Since the time he was a little boy, Farmer Bo had always wanted to have a farm filled with lots of different kinds of animals. One day, as he was strolling down a country road, he saw a big sign in the middle of a field that reads “For Sale.” From what he could see, there wasn’t much to the land. Just a lot of open space and a small shack. The shack looked pretty old and beat-up from the outside. However, Farmer Bo never was the type to need nice things. He lived a simple life. He decided he would buy the land, live in the shack, and begin building a barn.
During the first night he spent in the shack, it began raining cats and dogs outside. Farmer Bo couldn’t sleep that night because he was worried that there might be too much flooding to start building his barn the next day. All night long he heard cracks of lighting and heavy drops of rain beating down on his tin roof. When morning came, he looked outside and couldn’t believe his eyes! There, in the middle of his field, was the start to his barn. It wasn’t completed yet, but there was a frame to the barn. Farmer Bo was baffled. He had no clue how this structure had just appeared. Instead of getting to work to complete his barn, he decided to see what would happen the next night.
That night no rain came. The ground was as dry as a bone when Farm Bo woke up from his slumber. To his disappointment, the barn still stood in the field just as it had the previous day- still not complete. Night after night he waited, but each day no more progress had been made when he woke up the next morning. After two weeks he decided he would get to work himself. He spent all day out in the hot sun working to build sides to his barn. When the sky got dark, and he was forced to quit working, he had half of the barn finished.
That night, the rain came again. To Farm Bo’s delight, the sides of the barn were all finished when he woke up the next morning. He decided not to sit back and keep waiting for the rain. His hard word had been rewarded the previous day, so he quickly got to work on the barn’s roof. He nailed hundreds of shingles in one single day, but again night came before the roof was complete. That night, he went to bed tired, sore, and hoping for rain.
What is the main idea of this passage?
Good things may come to those who work hard.
Laziness pays off.
Buying a farm is easy.
Animals will appear after a rainstorm.
Explanation
The main idea of a text is an idea you learn from all the parts of the passage together, not just one part or paragraph. It is the key point that the author is trying to make overall. This passage is about Farmer Bo buying land in order to build a barn. During the passage, he gets lazy and doesn’t work on the barn, but instead waits to see if the rainstorm will build it for him. He learns that if he puts in hard work, the rainstorms will come and help him. But, if he doesn’t work they will not. The correct answer is “Good things may come to those who work hard.”
Adley Joins the Soccer Team
The day started off like any other day. Adley woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and began running to school. Her mother joked that it was like “pulling teeth” to get Adley out of bed in the morning, but today was different. Her dad had pulled strings to get her on the soccer team- a year earlier than most girls were allowed to start playing at her school. Today was the first day of practice, and she couldn’t wait! Today was not going to be like any other day.
All-day she was distracted. She couldn’t focus on what the teachers were teaching in class. She just kept thinking about soccer practice after school, and her nerves were growing bigger and bigger. By the time practice was about to start, Adley was so nervous she kept dropping her cleats. She began to wonder if she really should join the team.
Suddenly, Adley heard a whisper, “Put the cleats on, that’s all you need to do”. She looked around but saw no one close to her that could have spoken to her. All of the other girls were already on the soccer field stretching before practice began. She did as she heard, and put the cleats on. Before she ran onto the field to join the other girls, she noticed a golden glow around her soccer cleats. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, but she was too embarrassed to ask anyone else if they saw the glow too.
During practice, Adley ran faster than she’s ever run before, and she scored 4 goals during the 1-hour practice. Her teammates huddled around her after each goal and praised her talents. After each goal that she scored, she looked down and saw the golden glow around her cleats- she figured they must be magic! As long as Adley was wearing her cleats, her confidence grew and her nerves disappeared.
What helped Adley’s confidence during soccer practice?
Wearing her cleats.
Practicing each night.
Listening to her coach.
Making friends with her teammates.
Explanation
The answer to this question can be found in the last paragraph, specifically in the last sentence of the story. We are told that as Adley was wearing the clears her confidence grew and her nerves disappeared. Thus, wearing the cleats helped Adley’s confidence during soccer practice.
Adley Joins the Soccer Team
The day started off like any other day. Adley woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and began running to school. Her mother joked that it was like “pulling teeth” to get Adley out of bed in the morning, but today was different. Her dad had pulled strings to get her on the soccer team- a year earlier than most girls were allowed to start playing at her school. Today was the first day of practice, and she couldn’t wait! Today was not going to be like any other day.
All-day she was distracted. She couldn’t focus on what the teachers were teaching in class. She just kept thinking about soccer practice after school, and her nerves were growing bigger and bigger. By the time practice was about to start, Adley was so nervous she kept dropping her cleats. She began to wonder if she really should join the team.
Suddenly, Adley heard a whisper, “Put the cleats on, that’s all you need to do”. She looked around but saw no one close to her that could have spoken to her. All of the other girls were already on the soccer field stretching before practice began. She did as she heard, and put the cleats on. Before she ran onto the field to join the other girls, she noticed a golden glow around her soccer cleats. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, but she was too embarrassed to ask anyone else if they saw the glow too.
During practice, Adley ran faster than she’s ever run before, and she scored 4 goals during the 1-hour practice. Her teammates huddled around her after each goal and praised her talents. After each goal that she scored, she looked down and saw the golden glow around her cleats- she figured they must be magic! As long as Adley was wearing her cleats, her confidence grew and her nerves disappeared.
What was special about Adley joining the soccer team?
She was a year younger than most of the girls on the team.
She was the only girl on the team.
She had missed try-outs but was allowed to join the team anyways.
Her dad was the coach.
Explanation
The answer to this question can be found in the first paragraph of the story. We were told that Adley’s dad had to “pull strings” to get her on the team. This means he had to ask for favors in order to get her on the team. He needed to do this because she wanted to join the team a year earlier than girls were allowed to join the soccer team at her school. So the correct answer is, “She was a year younger than most of the girls on the team".
Adley Joins the Soccer Team
The day started off like any other day. Adley woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and began running to school. Her mother joked that it was like “pulling teeth” to get Adley out of bed in the morning, but today was different. Her dad had pulled strings to get her on the soccer team- a year earlier than most girls were allowed to start playing at her school. Today was the first day of practice, and she couldn’t wait! Today was not going to be like any other day.
All-day she was distracted. She couldn’t focus on what the teachers were teaching in class. She just kept thinking about soccer practice after school, and her nerves were growing bigger and bigger. By the time practice was about to start, Adley was so nervous she kept dropping her cleats. She began to wonder if she really should join the team.
Suddenly, Adley heard a whisper, “Put the cleats on, that’s all you need to do”. She looked around but saw no one close to her that could have spoken to her. All of the other girls were already on the soccer field stretching before practice began. She did as she heard, and put the cleats on. Before she ran onto the field to join the other girls, she noticed a golden glow around her soccer cleats. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, but she was too embarrassed to ask anyone else if they saw the glow too.
During practice, Adley ran faster than she’s ever run before, and she scored 4 goals during the 1-hour practice. Her teammates huddled around her after each goal and praised her talents. After each goal that she scored, she looked down and saw the golden glow around her cleats- she figured they must be magic! As long as Adley was wearing her cleats, her confidence grew and her nerves disappeared.
What was special about Adley joining the soccer team?
She was a year younger than most of the girls on the team.
She was the only girl on the team.
She had missed try-outs but was allowed to join the team anyways.
Her dad was the coach.
Explanation
The answer to this question can be found in the first paragraph of the story. We were told that Adley’s dad had to “pull strings” to get her on the team. This means he had to ask for favors in order to get her on the team. He needed to do this because she wanted to join the team a year earlier than girls were allowed to join the soccer team at her school. So the correct answer is, “She was a year younger than most of the girls on the team".
The Farm and the Magical Rainstorms
Since the time he was a little boy, Farmer Bo had always wanted to have a farm filled with lots of different kinds of animals. One day, as he was strolling down a country road, he saw a big sign in the middle of a field that reads “For Sale.” From what he could see, there wasn’t much to the land. Just a lot of open space and a small shack. The shack looked pretty old and beat-up from the outside. However, Farmer Bo never was the type to need nice things. He lived a simple life. He decided he would buy the land, live in the shack, and begin building a barn.
During the first night he spent in the shack, it began raining cats and dogs outside. Farmer Bo couldn’t sleep that night because he was worried that there might be too much flooding to start building his barn the next day. All night long he heard cracks of lighting and heavy drops of rain beating down on his tin roof. When morning came, he looked outside and couldn’t believe his eyes! There, in the middle of his field, was the start to his barn. It wasn’t completed yet, but there was a frame to the barn. Farmer Bo was baffled. He had no clue how this structure had just appeared. Instead of getting to work to complete his barn, he decided to see what would happen the next night.
That night no rain came. The ground was as dry as a bone when Farm Bo woke up from his slumber. To his disappointment, the barn still stood in the field just as it had the previous day- still not complete. Night after night he waited, but each day no more progress had been made when he woke up the next morning. After two weeks he decided he would get to work himself. He spent all day out in the hot sun working to build sides to his barn. When the sky got dark, and he was forced to quit working, he had half of the barn finished.
That night, the rain came again. To Farm Bo’s delight, the sides of the barn were all finished when he woke up the next morning. He decided not to sit back and keep waiting for the rain. So he quickly got to work on the barn’s roof. He nailed hundreds of shingles in one single day, but again night came before the roof was complete. That night, he went to bed tired, sore, and hoping for rain.
When did Farmer Bo decide he wanted a farm?
When he was a little boy
When he was an adult
After his dad bought a farm
After he bought a farm
Explanation
The opening sentence will help us answer this question. We are told that “Since the time he was a little boy, Farmer Bo had always wanted to have a farm….”. The correct answer is “When he was a little boy”.
Adley Joins the Soccer Team
The day started off like any other day. Adley woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and began running to school. Her mother joked that it was like “pulling teeth” to get Adley out of bed in the morning, but today was different. Her dad had pulled strings to get her on the soccer team- a year earlier than most girls were allowed to start playing at her school. Today was the first day of practice, and she couldn’t wait! Today was not going to be like any other day.
All-day she was distracted. She couldn’t focus on what the teachers were teaching in class. She just kept thinking about soccer practice after school, and her nerves were growing bigger and bigger. By the time practice was about to start, Adley was so nervous she kept dropping her cleats. She began to wonder if she really should join the team.
Suddenly, Adley heard a whisper, “Put the cleats on, that’s all you need to do”. She looked around but saw no one close to her that could have spoken to her. All of the other girls were already on the soccer field stretching before practice began. She did as she heard, and put the cleats on. Before she ran onto the field to join the other girls, she noticed a golden glow around her soccer cleats. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, but she was too embarrassed to ask anyone else if they saw the glow too.
During practice, Adley ran faster than she’s ever run before, and she scored 4 goals during the 1-hour practice. Her teammates huddled around her after each goal and praised her talents. After each goal that she scored, she looked down and saw the golden glow around her cleats- she figured they must be magic! As long as Adley was wearing her cleats, her confidence grew and her nerves disappeared.
What helped Adley’s confidence during soccer practice?
Wearing her cleats.
Practicing each night.
Listening to her coach.
Making friends with her teammates.
Explanation
The answer to this question can be found in the last paragraph, specifically in the last sentence of the story. We are told that as Adley was wearing the clears her confidence grew and her nerves disappeared. Thus, wearing the cleats helped Adley’s confidence during soccer practice.
The Farm and the Magical Rainstorms
Since the time he was a little boy, Farmer Bo had always wanted to have a farm filled with lots of different kinds of animals. One day, as he was strolling down a country road, he saw a big sign in the middle of a field that reads “For Sale.” From what he could see, there wasn’t much to the land. Just a lot of open space and a small shack. The shack looked pretty old and beat-up from the outside. However, Farmer Bo never was the type to need nice things. He lived a simple life. He decided he would buy the land, live in the shack, and begin building a barn.
During the first night he spent in the shack, it began raining cats and dogs outside. Farmer Bo couldn’t sleep that night because he was worried that there might be too much flooding to start building his barn the next day. All night long he heard cracks of lighting and heavy drops of rain beating down on his tin roof. When morning came, he looked outside and couldn’t believe his eyes! There, in the middle of his field, was the start to his barn. It wasn’t completed yet, but there was a frame to the barn. Farmer Bo was baffled. He had no clue how this structure had just appeared. Instead of getting to work to complete his barn, he decided to see what would happen the next night.
That night no rain came. The ground was as dry as a bone when Farm Bo woke up from his slumber. To his disappointment, the barn still stood in the field just as it had the previous day- still not complete. Night after night he waited, but each day no more progress had been made when he woke up the next morning. After two weeks he decided he would get to work himself. He spent all day out in the hot sun working to build sides to his barn. When the sky got dark, and he was forced to quit working, he had half of the barn finished.
That night, the rain came again. To Farm Bo’s delight, the sides of the barn were all finished when he woke up the next morning. He decided not to sit back and keep waiting for the rain. So he quickly got to work on the barn’s roof. He nailed hundreds of shingles in one single day, but again night came before the roof was complete. That night, he went to bed tired, sore, and hoping for rain.
When did Farmer Bo decide he wanted a farm?
When he was a little boy
When he was an adult
After his dad bought a farm
After he bought a farm
Explanation
The opening sentence will help us answer this question. We are told that “Since the time he was a little boy, Farmer Bo had always wanted to have a farm….”. The correct answer is “When he was a little boy”.
Adley Joins the Soccer Team
The day started off like any other day. Adley woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and began running to school. Her mother joked that it was like “pulling teeth” to get Adley out of bed in the morning, but today was different. Her dad had pulled strings to get her on the soccer team- a year earlier than most girls were allowed to start playing at her school. Today was the first day of practice, and she couldn’t wait! Today was not going to be like any other day.
All-day she was distracted. She couldn’t focus on what the teachers were teaching in class. She just kept thinking about soccer practice after school, and her nerves were growing bigger and bigger. By the time practice was about to start, Adley was so nervous she kept dropping her cleats. She began to wonder if she really should join the team.
Suddenly, Adley heard a whisper, “Put the cleats on, that’s all you need to do”. She looked around but saw no one close to her that could have spoken to her. All of the other girls were already on the soccer field stretching before practice began. She did as she heard, and put the cleats on. Before she ran onto the field to join the other girls, she noticed a golden glow around her soccer cleats. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, but she was too embarrassed to ask anyone else if they saw the glow too.
During practice, Adley ran faster than she’s ever run before, and she scored 4 goals during the 1-hour practice. Her teammates huddled around her after each goal and praised her talents. After each goal that she scored, she looked down and saw the golden glow around her cleats- she figured they must be magic! As long as Adley was wearing her cleats, her confidence grew and her nerves disappeared.
What is the main idea of the third paragraph?
The day was a special day because it was Adley’s first day of soccer practice.
Adley was distracted during school because she was nervous about her first soccer practice.
Adley saw a glow from her soccer cleats when she put them on before practice.
Adley had a great practice.
Explanation
The main idea of a text is an idea you learn from all the parts of the passage together, not just one part or paragraph. It is the key point that the author is trying to make overall. This question is asking for just the main idea of one specific paragraph. So you want to focus on the overall idea that you learn from just the one paragraph, nothing else covered in the passage. The third paragraph introduces the idea of magical cleats. Adley hears a voice from nowhere to put them on. When she does, she sees a glow coming from them. The correct answer is, “Adley saw a glow from her soccer cleats when she put them on before practice.”
Adley Joins the Soccer Team
The day started off like any other day. Adley woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and began running to school. Her mother joked that it was like “pulling teeth” to get Adley out of bed in the morning, but today was different. Her dad had pulled strings to get her on the soccer team- a year earlier than most girls were allowed to start playing at her school. Today was the first day of practice, and she couldn’t wait! Today was not going to be like any other day.
All-day she was distracted. She couldn’t focus on what the teachers were teaching in class. She just kept thinking about soccer practice after school, and her nerves were growing bigger and bigger. By the time practice was about to start, Adley was so nervous she kept dropping her cleats. She began to wonder if she really should join the team.
Suddenly, Adley heard a whisper, “Put the cleats on, that’s all you need to do”. She looked around but saw no one close to her that could have spoken to her. All of the other girls were already on the soccer field stretching before practice began. She did as she heard, and put the cleats on. Before she ran onto the field to join the other girls, she noticed a golden glow around her soccer cleats. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, but she was too embarrassed to ask anyone else if they saw the glow too.
During practice, Adley ran faster than she’s ever run before, and she scored 4 goals during the 1-hour practice. Her teammates huddled around her after each goal and praised her talents. After each goal that she scored, she looked down and saw the golden glow around her cleats- she figured they must be magic! As long as Adley was wearing her cleats, her confidence grew and her nerves disappeared.
What is the main idea of the third paragraph?
The day was a special day because it was Adley’s first day of soccer practice.
Adley was distracted during school because she was nervous about her first soccer practice.
Adley saw a glow from her soccer cleats when she put them on before practice.
Adley had a great practice.
Explanation
The main idea of a text is an idea you learn from all the parts of the passage together, not just one part or paragraph. It is the key point that the author is trying to make overall. This question is asking for just the main idea of one specific paragraph. So you want to focus on the overall idea that you learn from just the one paragraph, nothing else covered in the passage. The third paragraph introduces the idea of magical cleats. Adley hears a voice from nowhere to put them on. When she does, she sees a glow coming from them. The correct answer is, “Adley saw a glow from her soccer cleats when she put them on before practice.”