Main Topic and Key Details is a free printable Grade 1 English worksheet on naming the topic and the facts that support it, aligned to Common Core standard RI.1.2. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
A seed cannot grow in its parent's shadow. There is not enough light. So seeds have to move away.
Some seeds have wings. A sycamore seed spins like a tiny helicopter and lands far from the tree.
Some seeds hook onto fur. A burr catches on a passing fox and drops off somewhere new.
Some seeds sit inside fruit. A bird eats the fruit and the seed comes out later, miles away.
1. How does a burr travel?
2. What is the main idea of this text?
3. Why can a seed not grow in its parent's shadow?
4. What does a sycamore seed do as it falls?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.
Why Tall Buildings Do Not Fall Over
A tall building needs a wide, deep base. The base is called a foundation. It spreads the weight into the ground.
Wind pushes hard on a tall building. Inside, a strong core of concrete runs from the bottom to the top like a spine. The core stops the building bending too far.
The tallest buildings sway a little in strong wind. That is meant to happen. A building that could not bend at all would crack.
1. What is the main idea of this text?
2. What do the tallest buildings do in strong wind?
3. What is the base of a tall building called?
4. What runs from the bottom to the top inside a tall building?
LessonPrint · RI.1.2 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Main Topic and Key Details
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. It hooks onto fur, such as a passing fox. 2. Seeds have different ways of travelling away from the parent plant. 3. There is not enough light. 4. It spins like a tiny helicopter.
2.1. Tall buildings stay up because of a wide foundation and a strong core, and because they can bend a little. 2. They sway a little. 3. A foundation. 4. A strong core of concrete.
Questions about Main Topic and Key Details
What does the Main Topic and Key Details worksheet cover?
It practises naming the topic and the facts that support it — 2 questions for Grade 1, all on Common Core RI.1.2: Say what the text is mostly about and give the key facts. The instruction to pupils is “Read the text, then answer the questions”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which Common Core standard does Main Topic and Key Details practise?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.2 — RI.1.2, in the Reading: Informational Text domain for Grade 1. The published standard reads: “Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Main Topic and Key Details is written for Grade 1, typically ages 6-7. It is one of the sheets on RI.1.2, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Main Topic and Key Details come with an answer key?
Yes. All 2 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of Main Topic and Key Details can I print?
25 — one per pupil, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is Main Topic and Key Details free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Main Topic and Key Details, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
Is there a lesson plan to teach RI.1.2?
Yes — “Main Topic and Key Details” is a 40-minute Grade 1 plan for RI.1.2, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. Main Topic and Key Details is the practice that follows it.
More practice for RI.1.2
Say what the text is mostly about and give the key facts.
Teaching this next? Main Topic and Key Details is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.