The document discusses identifying the main idea in social studies passages and documents. It provides guidelines for determining the main idea, such as reading carefully, looking for topic sentences, and seeing if other sentences support the main idea. It also discusses drawing conclusions, determining cause and effect relationships, analyzing primary sources, and other comprehension strategies used in social studies.

1. Social Studies
Reading Comprehension
Using Historical Content and Passages
in order to understand themes in
History while supporting English
Standards tested in the SBA

2. Identifying the Main Idea
The question “What is this writing about?” is answered in the main Idea.
Sometimes titles and headings reveal it. Individual paragraphs are built
around a main idea. The rest of the sentences explain, give details about,
or support the idea.
Learning to Identify the Main Idea- Use the following guidelines to help you
identify the main idea:
•Read the selection carefully.
•Look for the main idea and jot it down in your own words.
•Look for the same main idea in a topic sentence. Remember the topic may be
implied.
•Read the selection to see whether other sentences support the main idea.

3. Identifying the Main Idea & Drawing Conclusions
Progressive Reforms: Progressives also changed the way U.S. senators
are elected. The Constitution had given state
In the early 1900’s, Progressives legislatures the responsibility for choosing senators,
backed a number of reforms designed to but party bosses and business interests often
increase the people’s direct control of the controlled the selection process. Progressives wanted
government. Wisconsin, for example, to give the people an opportunity to vote for their
made changes in the political process to senators directly. Support for this idea grew. In 1912
give voters more power and to limit the Congress passed the Seventeenth Amendment to the
influence of political parties. The reform Constitution to provide for the direct election of
included a direct primary election, in senators.
which all party members could vote for a Progressive reforms changed the nature of
candidate to run in the general election. American democracy by giving the people a greater
Progressivism in other states passed voice and more real power in the political process.
more reforms. The initiative allowed With these reforms, voters could select their
citizens to place a measure or issue on the representatives more directly; approve, reject, and
ballot in a state election. The referendum introduce legislation; and call for a special election to
gave voters the opportunity to accept or remove an elected official from office.
reject measures that the state legislature
enacted. The recall enabled voters to
remove unsatisfactory elected official
from their jobs.

4. Identifying the Main Idea and Drawing Conclusion
2. Which sentence below best
1. Which of the following statements
best states the main idea of the represents a conclusion that can
reading? be drawn from this reading?
A. Progressive reform increased A. Progressive reforms made people’s lives
people’s direct control of the easier by allowing the government to
take care of more issues.
government.
B. Progressives backed increased
B. Wisconsin gave voters more participation of political parties and
power in the political process business interests in selecting
than other states. government officials.
C. Progressives believed that by placing
C. Progressives thought that more power in the hands of the voters,
people should be able to vote the political process would be fairer and
for their senators directly. less corrupt.
D. People had less control over D. Progressives’ most significant reform in
the early 1900s was the recall.
the government after
Progressive reforms were
passed.

5. Vocabulary Comprehension
3. In the passage the term 4. In the passage a synonym
‘initiative’ means - for ‘process’ is-
A. Procedure
A. Ability to act on your own
B. Legal issues
B. Plan
C. Summons
C. Idea
D. method
D. Beginning to take steps

6. Determining Cause & Effect
Any condition or event that makes something happen is known as a cause. What
happens as a result is an effect. Cause and effect relationships explain why things
happen and how actions produce other actions. Cause and effect relationships
can be simple or complex. Sometimes several different causes produce a single
effect. At other times, one cause can produce several effects.
Learning to Determine Cause & Effect- Use the following guidelines to help
You in determining cause and effect:
•Select an event or circumstance.
•Compare the situation at the time of the event with conditions before it happened
(causes) and after it happened (effects).
•Look for vocabulary clues to help decide whether one event caused another.
•Look for other relationships between the events.
•Describe the cause and effects of the event.

7. Understanding Cause & Effect
The Spanish American War
Causes Effects
Cuba gains
independence
U.S support
U.S support of the
of the Cuban
Cuban Rebellion
Rebellion War with Spain
in Cuba and U.S gains
the Philippines overseas empire:
Annexes Guam
and Puerto Rico
The sinking of
the USS Maine U.S extends
in Havana power through
The sinking of military force in
Harbor the USS Maine
the Philippines
in Havana

8. Understanding Cause & Effect
Which of the following was not an outcome of the
Spanish American War?
c)Cuba gained its independence
d)The U.S gained Guam and Puerto Rico
e)Philippines willfully accepted American occupation
f)The United States acquired a overseas empire

9. Analyzing Primary Sources
Original records of events made by eyewitnesses are known as primary sources.
Primary sources include speeches, letters, journals, autobiographies, legal documents,
drawings, pictures, and other objects made at the time. Each primary source can give
some kind of information but does not necessarily give a complete picture of an event.
For example, a letter from an immigrant might describe in detail the events of the
difficult journey, but might not tell you how many people immigrated.
Learning to Analyze Primary Sources- Use the following guidelines to help
analyze primary sources:
•Determine the origin of the source (the source’s author) and when and where the
source was written or made.
•Analyze the data for the main idea or concept as well as supporting ideas.
•Consider the author’s personal beliefs or attitudes.

10. Interpreting & Analyzing Information from Primary Source
Use the excerpt and social studies knowledge to answer the question below.
How long are the Spaniards to drench Cuba with the blood and tears of her
people? How long is the peasantry of Spain to be drafted away to Cuba to die
miserably in a hopeless war, that Spanish nobles and Spanish officers may get
medals and honors?
- New York World, 1897
The author of this article most likely believed that the U.S involvement in the
Spanish American War was necessary in order to-
h)Prevent further casualties in Cuba
i)Protect U.S economic interests in Spain
j)Make Cuba a U.S colony
k)Seize control of Spanish territories

11. The Panama Canal
Roosevelt and others believed a canal through
central America would save time and money for
military and commercial shipping. The canal
shortened the distance between the Pacific and
Atlantic Oceans by 8,000 miles.

12. Analyzing Headlines
Roosevelt Shrinks the World!
What is this headline referring to?
b)The building of the Panama Canal
c)The end of the Spanish American War
d)The annexation of Hawaii
e)The Monroe Doctrine

13. Drawing Conclusions
When you draw a conclusion, you analyze and interpret facts and information to arrive at a conclusion,
or a reasonable judgment that sums up the information. Drawing conclusions may often involve
gathering information that is not mentioned in the text. You may need to infer, or use information in
the text and what you already know about a topic to help you reach your conclusion.
Learning to Draw Conclusions- Use the following guidelines to help you draw
conclusions.
•Read the selection carefully.
•Identify the main ideas related to the topic.
•Look for key information and data in the text, graphics, and any illustrations or
photos.
•Carefully consider all points of view presented in the text.
•Draw conclusions about the topic based on the information given.
•Ask yourself whether your conclusions are based on information in the text.

14. 1920’s & 1930’s
Economic Boom & Bust:
The economy began a steady growth that lasted
most of the 1920 decade. Technology made
rapid growth possible, and electricity powered
American industry. As electricity became more
available, demand grew for appliances. By the
1920’s more than 60% of households had
electricity. Consumers acquired refrigerators,
vacuum cleaners, and radios. As demand for
these items grew, more and more of them were
produced, leading to lower prices. Between 1920
and 1929, the cost of a refrigerator dropped from
$600 to $300.

16. Drawing Conclusions
Economic Boom & Bust ?:
1. What conclusion can you draw about the daily
lives of ordinary citizens in the 1920’s?
A. The prices of automobiles rose due to decreased
consumer demand.
B. Americans did not understand the new advances in
technology.
C. Americans preferred to save their earnings rather
than spend them.
D. Americans’ lives became easier because of the
improvement in the economy and affordability of
consumer goods.

17. Practicing Main Ideas & Supporting Details
New Mexico’s Role in WWII
New Mexican and Philippian soldiers were forced to
march 65 miles then held prisoner during WWII by the
Japanese Imperial Army, which is known as the Bataan
Death March. Later in the war, New Mexico’s Navajo
Code Talkers would serve a crucial role in keeping our
secret code allowing us an opportunity to gain an
advantage over the Japanese who later surrendered. As
our soldiers fought bravely in the Pacific dedicated
scientists worked in our secret city developing a device
that would win the war for the United States. On July 16,
1945 the first atomic detonation took place in Socorro
County at the Trinity Site. New Mexico’s contribution to
the war effort is memorialized throughout our state and
recognized every year at Veteran’s Day in many our cities
and their monuments celebrating our citizen’s bravery.

18. Practicing Main Ideas & Supporting Details
In ten complete sentences elaborate on
the previous text and add supporting
details that correspond each bold term.

19. Evaluating Information
Information that aims to persuade people to accept a viewpoint may not
be based on factual evidence. By evaluating information, you critically
assess the information and form a judgment about its accuracy and
usefulness.
Learning to Evaluate Information- Use the following guidelines to help you
evaluate information.
•Read the source for its content.
•Identify the author’s opinions and biases. Look for emotion-filled words.
•Consider the motives the author may have had in writing the document and
author’s target audience.
•Based on your evaluation, form a judgment on how accurate and trustworthy
the information is.
•Draw a conclusion as to the usefulness of the information.

20. Evaluating Information
The Atomic Bomb
By the spring of 1945, the Japanese faced certain defeat. Yet they
continued to fight. Their refusal to surrender led the United States to use a
powerful new weapon: the atomic bomb. After years of work on July 16,
1945, scientists tested the atomic bomb in the New Mexico desert. Truman
now had to decide whether to use the bomb against Japan. The allies issued
the Postdam Declaration, warning that is Japan did not surrender it faced
“prompt and utter destruction.” The Japanese leader did not want to
surrender, and Truman ordered the use of the bomb.
On August 6, 1945, an American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay,
dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days
later, a second bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. The atomic
bombs caused unimaginable destruction. The fist bomb leveled Hiroshima
and killed 80,000 to 120,00 people instantly; the Nagasaki bomb killed
between 35,000 and 74,000 people. Thousands more were injured, and
many died later from radiation.

22. Evaluate Information
Directions: Often a writer will try to persuade readers to accept a certain viewpoint.
Read the following text and primary source. As you read, evaluate the information.
Ask yourself if the reasoning is supported by sound factual information and if the
passages appeal to the emotions and biases of the readers. Then answers the
questions that follow.
In July 1945, President Truman went to Postdam, near Berlin, for a meeting with Winston
Churchill and Josef Stalin. While the president was on his way back to the United States, an
atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. On August 15, 1945, the Japanese surrendered.
Many Americans have questioned the wisdom and the morality of using the atomic bomb.
In recent years, some historians have suggested that the real reason for dropping the atomic
Bomb was to show the Soviet Union that the United States had a trump card in any post-war
Dispute.

23. Evaluating Information
In his memoirs, from which this excerpt is taken, President Truman offers his
own explanation of his decision to use the atomic bomb.
“The historic message of the first explosion of an atomic bomb was flashed to me in a
message from Secretary of War Stimson on the morning of July 16. The most secret and the
most daring enterprise of the war had succeeded. We are now in possession of a weapon that
would not only revolutionize war but could alter the course of history and civilizations.
“The Army plan envisaged an amphibious landing in the fall of 1945 on the island of
Kyushu, the southernmost of the Japanese home islands. The first landing would then be
followed approximately four months later by a second great invasion, which would be carried
out by our Eighth and Tenth Armies, followed by the First Army transferred from Europe, all of
which go ashore in the Kanto plains near Tokyo. In all, it had been estimated that it would
require until the late fall of 1946 to bring Japan to her knees.
“This was a formidable conception, and all of us realized fully that the fighting would be
fierce and the losses heavy. General Marshall told me that it might cost half a million
American lives to force the enemy’s surrender on his home grounds.
“Let there be no mistake about it. I regarded the bomb as a military weapon and never
had any doubt that it should be used.
“In deciding to use this bomb I wanted to make sure that it would be used as a weapon
of war in the manner prescribed by the laws of war.”

24. Evaluating Information
Standardized Test Practice
1. What viewpoint does Truman want the reader to
understand? 1. In recent years, some historians have suggested that
Truman’s real reason for dropping the atomic bomb
was
___________________________________________________
C.To save thousands of Japanese lives that would be
___________________________________________________ lost during an invasion.
D.To save the enormous amount of money that would
be required to mount a full-scale invasion of Europe.
___________________________________________________
E.To show the Soviet Union that the United States had
the atomic bomb in case of any disputes after the war.
2. Briefly explain how Truman present his defense of his F.To keep the Japanese from developing the atomic
decision to use the atomic bomb and whether his defense bomb.
is effective.
2. Truman said that he chose to drop the atomic bomb
___________________________________________________ on Japan because
J.The Soviet Union was about to invade Japan
___________________________________________________ K.The Soviet Union would soon have an atomic bomb if
its own.
___________________________________________________ L.The Japanese could never be defeated with
conventional factors.
M.Too many American lives would be lost in an
___________________________________________________ invasion of Japan.