Grab your magnifying glass. Every story hides a main idea, buried details, and clues the author never says out loud.
Lesson summary
Welcome to the Reading section! In this lesson, we will learn how to uncover the secrets hidden inside a story. You will learn how to find the main idea, hunt down specific details, make smart guesses called inferences, and figure out mystery words using the clues around them. Get your magnifying glass ready, because it is time to become a true Reading Detective!
Direct instruction
Hello again, Brain Athlete! On the SSAT Elementary Level exam, the Reading section asks you to read a few short stories, articles, or poems, and then answer questions about them. You will have 30 minutes to answer 28 questions.
To ace this section, you don’t just need to know how to read the words. You need to understand what the author is trying to tell you. Let’s look at the four main types of questions you will see on the test and how to solve them.
The main idea is what the story is mostly about. Imagine you just watched a great movie and you have exactly one sentence to tell your friend what happened. That sentence is the main idea!
Detective tip: it is usually found in the very first or very last sentence of a paragraph. Don’t let a small detail trick you. Make sure your answer covers the whole story.
Detail questions ask you to find a specific fact, name, or number hiding inside the story.
Detective tip: these are the easiest questions on the test because the answer is written right there on the page! Use your pencil or finger to scan the story until you find the exact sentence with the fact you need.
Sometimes, an author won’t tell you something directly. Instead, they give you clues, and you have to put them together. This is called making an inference.
Detective tip: combine the author’s clues with what you already know about real life.
What happens if you see a giant word you have never seen before? Don’t panic!
Detective tip: use context clues. Look at the easy words around the mystery word to figure out what it means.
The author didn’t say it was raining. But by using your brain and the clues, you can make a perfect inference that it is raining outside!
Worked examples
“The tiny bird was famished after flying all day long without finding a single bug. When it finally saw a birdfeeder, it gobbled up the seeds as fast as it could.”
The test asks: what does the word famished mean?
Step by step
The word famished means very hungry.
Even without a dictionary, using the context clues in the rest of the sentence tells us exactly what the mystery word means.
“Honeybees are incredible insects. They fly from flower to flower collecting nectar. They bring the nectar back to their hive to make sweet honey. While they fly, they also spread pollen, which helps new flowers grow.”
The test asks: what is the main idea of this paragraph?
Step by step
The main idea is that honeybees do many important jobs.
The main idea must be an umbrella that covers the entire paragraph, not just one single sentence.
“Maya yawned loudly, rubbed her heavy eyes, and pulled the warm blanket all the way up to her chin.”
The test asks: what can you infer about Maya?
Step by step
We can infer that Maya is very sleepy.
By combining the author’s clues with what we already know about the world, we can figure out exactly how Maya is feeling without the author ever using the word “sleepy.”
Short review
Reading is an amazing adventure. When you are ready, click the Mark Complete button below to save your progress!