Model for Most Important Word -- Finding Main Idea

     Anita looked at her big sister Joyce and thought about how much she didn't want Joyce to go away to college.  For all of Anita's life, Joyce had been there to help her, the little sister.  Joyce taught her how to French braid her hair, how to play soccer, and how to work her algebra. Anita remembered all the time Joyce had spent with her.  Anita didn't want Joyce to leave.  Then, Roger, their little brother, came running into the room, begging Joyce to come outside and play with him. 
     "Can't, Roger-Dodger," Joyce said.  "I've got to finish packing."      "Oh," Roger said, looking sad.  Then he looked at Anita.  "Guess it's up to you now," he said as he grinned and tossed Anita the ball. 
      Just as Anita was about to shake her head no, she suddenly remembered all the afternoons she had begged Joyce to play with her and all the times Joyce had said yes.  She also realized that she was no longer the middle sister.  With Anita leaving, she was now the big sister.   Someday her little brother would be thinking about missing her when she was getting ready to go off to college.  
     "I guess families are always changing," she thought to herself as she watched her sister pack for one more moment.  Then Anita headed out the door and changed from being a little sister to being a big one. 

adapted from Elements of Literature, 

Reading Skills and Strategies: Reading Strategies Handbook, 

Holt, Rinehart and Winston