Reading Worksheet · Grades 9–12
SAT Central Ideas and Details Worksheet
A printable SAT Reading worksheet for grades 9-12. Students will identify the central idea of a passage and distinguish it from a supporting detail that is true but too narrow. Two original passages carry ten items on central idea, the job a given detail does, and why a too-narrow choice is wrong, and a complete answer key names the correct choice for every item.
Full Member resource. See what membership includes →
Subject
Reading
Grades
Grades 9–12
Skill Focus
SAT Central Ideas and Details, sat reading
Lesson Length
30 minutes
Learning Objective
Students will identify the central idea of a passage and distinguish it from a supporting detail that is true but too narrow.
Lesson Overview
About this worksheet
This worksheet drills one Reading and Writing skill in the form the SAT asks it: a passage, then four-choice items where more than one option is defensible in general and only one fits the text on the page. The passages are original, so the sheet can be used with students who have already worked through released practice material.
Page 1 carries a reference box that teaches the skill and names the wrong-answer types the test relies on, followed by Part A, 8 short recall items on those terms. Pages 2 and 3 hold the passages and the multiple-choice items, numbered continuously with Part A.
Page 4 is a complete answer key. The printable PDF is a Full Member download.
How to Use This Lesson
Read the reference box on page 1 and learn the wrong-answer types before starting.
Complete the 8 recall items in Part A.
Read the first passage and answer its questions before moving on.
Read the second passage and answer its questions.
Check your work against the answer key on page 4, and for any item you missed, find the sentence in the passage that settles it.
Printable Resource
A classroom-ready PDF with everything in one printable resource.
Full Member Resource · Printable PDF · 4 pages · Answer Key
SAT Central Ideas and Details Worksheet
A printable SAT Reading worksheet for grades 9-12. Students will identify the central idea of a passage and distinguish it from a supporting detail that is true but too narrow. Two original passages carry ten items on central idea, the job a given detail does, and why a too-narrow choice is wrong, and a complete answer key names the correct choice for every item.
Also studying SAT vocabulary and grammar?
The companion series: lessons that teach the words the test rewards, with flashcards, matching worksheets, crosswords, and a full practice test — plus twelve Writing and Language worksheets on the conventions the test checks, from commas to rhetorical synthesis. The complete word list and the practice test need only a free account.
The printable PDF here is a Full Member resource
Unlock the complete SAT prep library: all 20 vocabulary lessons (500 words) with answer keys, 12 SAT Writing and Language worksheets, 7 SAT Reading worksheets, and all seven practice formats — flashcards, matching, fill-in-the-blank, crossword puzzles, word searches, quizzes, and the complete printable workbook. Cancel anytime.
See membership options →Keep Exploring Reading
Related Worksheets
More for Grades 9–12SAT Cross-Text Connections Worksheet · SAT Inferences Worksheet · SAT Text Structure and Purpose Worksheet · Anti-Hero Worksheet · Bildungsroman Worksheet · Catharsis Worksheet