Reading: Skill Station Lesson 45

1. Lesson 45
Relevant vs Irrelevant Information

3. Identify the main idea and irrelevant
details.
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., became a well-known civil rights
leader because of his role in the 1955 boycott of city buses
in Montgomery, Alabama. Other civil rights leaders worked
on boycotts in southern cities too. Until this time, city
buses were segregated, meaning African-Americans had to
sit at the back of the bus and often had to give up their
seats for white people. One day, Rosa Parks refused to sit
in the back of the bus, and she refused to give up her seat
for a white person. The bus was not very large. When Mrs.
Parks was arrested, Dr. King led a boycott of the
Montgomery buses. People who supported Dr. King and
the boycott decided not to take the bus until African-
Americans could sit where they pleased.

4. Identify the main idea and irrelevant
details.
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., became a well-known civil rights
leader because of his role in the 1955 boycott of city buses
in Montgomery, Alabama. Other civil rights leaders worked
on boycotts in southern cities too. Until this time, city
buses were segregated, meaning African-Americans had to
sit at the back of the bus and often had to give up their
seats for white people. One day, Rosa Parks refused to sit
in the back of the bus, and she refused to give up her seat
for a white person. The bus was not very large. When Mrs.
Parks was arrested, Dr. King led a boycott of the
Montgomery buses. People who supported Dr. King and
the boycott decided not to take the bus until African-
Americans could sit where they pleased.

5. Identify the main idea and irrelevant
details.
• The 1950s in America were in the age of
prosperity, or economic well-being. The
country grew stronger and its population
increased. Two new states, Alaska and Hawaii,
became part of the United States. Countless
new machines sped up household chores.
These machines were greatly needed.
Watching TV became a popular leisure, or
free-time, activity. In fact, there was too
much free time in this period.

6. Identify the main idea and irrelevant
details
• New scientific developments helped increase
farm production in the 1800s. Better seeds
and livestock were developed. Crop rotation
and fertilizers were used to improve soil. So
much food was produced that there was a
surplus. Fortunately, George Washington
Carver discovered the following new uses for
soybeans, peanuts, and sweet potatoes: face
cream, cooking oil, tooth polish, and paint.
Carver was born into slavery.