The Fourth Edition of this successful, user-friendly reading text has been revised to help students learn strategic behaviors that empower them to succeed in all their courses. The Main Idea, Fourth Edition, written at the 6th- to 9th-grade-level, emphasizes reading to learn. Students develop an increasingly complex understanding of the reading process through incremental strategies and "game plans." Instructive and interesting reading selections vary in topic and length within each chapter. A casebook of longer readings based on the theme of inter-generational relationships integrates chapter concepts with real-world material. In addition, a wealth of pedagogical features, such as discipline-specific vocabulary instruction, individual and collaborative activities, critical thinking and reading strategies, and a complete chapter on reading college textbooks, help the developmental reader learn the skills necessary to succeed in college.