Implied Main Idea

Instructions: Complete the graphic organizer to determine the implied main idea

“The Sounds of Silence” 

City dwellers who are accustomed to loud noises hear only silence at first when they go to the country. Then, slowly, away from the steady roar of background noise, they begin to hear the series of sounds that signal the times of day on a farm.

Greeting the Morning

The rooster proclaims the day’s arrival. As the sky gradually lightens, chickens cluck and pigs grunt for breakfast. Cows moo anxiously, waiting to be milked. Inside the farmhouse, family members talk quietly while they eat. Then they push their chairs back from the table with a scrape and hurry off to start their chores.

The Day’s Work

As the day progresses, tractors grumble across the fields and workers shout orders and questions to one another. Hammers tap nails sharply and saws wheeze as farmhands repair the hayloft. Birds sing arias among the trees and call to each other as they take wing across the fields.

Evening Falls

As dark falls, a barn owl hoots and flaps its wings. On the screened porch, the murmur of conversation is punctuated by low laughter. Nature’s orchestra takes center stage: tree frogs chortle, toads croak, and crickets fill in the gap with a constant background chirp of legs rubbing together. Tree branches creak and moan, and leaves rustle in the wind. Water in the stream bubbles and babbles over rocks and logs. Afarm dog howls at the moon.