Name: _________________________________

Main Idea and Text Structure Worksheet 5

Directions: Read each passage and on a separate sheet of paper…
A. Write a sentence explaining the main idea of the text
B. Create a graphic organizer representing the information in the text
C. Come up with a title related to the main idea of the passage.

1. Most American families can afford to buy cotton candy these days, but it wasn’t always that way. Cotton candy was first made in Europe during the 17th century, but making it back then took a lot of work and most people couldn’t afford it. In 1897 William Morrison and John Wharton invented machine-spun cotton candy. This made cotton candy much cheaper to produce. People fell in love with the treat when Morrison and Wharton introduced it at the 1904 World’s Fair. 		
Morrison and Wharton called the treat “fairy floss,” it was Joseph Lascaux who actually called the treat “cotton candy” in 1921. The next big breakthrough came in the 1970s, when a machine was invented that created the cotton candy and packaged it automatically. This made producing and distributing cotton candy cheaper and easier than ever. Now cotton candy can be found in carnivals, fairs, and circuses around the world. Aside from the delicious taste, the best part about today’s cotton candy is its affordability.

2. If cotton candy had a list of ingredients on the side of the bag, it would be a very short list: sugar and food coloring would be the only two things on it. So, how does sugar become the fluffy treat that we know as cotton candy? In today’s cotton candy machines, the process starts with a small amount of colored sugar spinning in the head of the machine. The sugar is heated until it melts, and then it is squeezed out through tiny holes in the spinning head. The melted sugar becomes solid in the air and is caught in a larger bowl that surrounds the spinning head. The product builds up in the bowl as the machine operates, and the person running the machine should occasionally twirl a stick or cone around the bowl to gather the sugared strands. You may not have a cotton candy machine lying around your house, but you probably have all of the ingredients that you need to make it. So close, yet so far away…

3. Cotton candy sure is a delicious treat, but it isn’t exactly the tidiest. Eating it may make a sticky mess, particularly in humid locations during the summer. The sugar may melt all over your face and hands, leaving behind colorful, sticky goo. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t enjoy cotton candy. You just have to make sure that you are properly prepared to deal with the mess. Since cotton candy is made from sugar, it is water soluble, meaning that water will dissolve the cotton candy. If you have a wet towel, you can clean the mess right off of your face, hands, and wherever else you may find it. This will make cleaning up the cotton candy mess a breeze. So don’t let your desire to be clean prevent you from enjoying this tasty confection, just be prepared to clean it up before you grab a sticky clump 
4. Going to the candy shop is a lot of fun, but I always have a hard time deciding what to get. There are lots of different options and they are all so delicious, but for me it always comes down to two choices: cotton candy or rock candy. Both of these treats are made out of sugar and get their coloring from food dyes, but they are prepared differently. Cotton candy can be quickly spun from a machine. A batch of cotton candy may only take five or ten minutes to make, but it does require a specialized machine. On the other hand, rock candy forms slowly. It takes six or seven days to make a batch of rock candy, but you can do it at home without any expensive machinery. Both of these treats can be served on sticks, but you can't eat either of them around me without sharing. 

5. Are you having a birthday party? Do you want your school dance or function to be better than all others? Would you like to be the most popular kid on the block? If so, now is the perfect time to rent a cotton candy machine from Bob's Party Supplies. It’s easy to rent a cotton candy machine from Bob's. Just come into the store and fill out the liability waiver. Then sign up for the cotton candy machine operating classes. Attend the operating classes every Saturday and Sunday from 8AM until noon for the next sixteen weeks. After submitting your 30 page research paper and passing the final exam, all you need to do is put down your $2,500 deposit and you will be the proud lessor of a slightly used machine that makes cotton candy. With a cotton candy machine in your possession, you will be the envy of all others, and remember to rent one from Bob’s because Bob makes it easy. 

6. When cotton candy is sold at markets or events, it is usually pink or blue, but the natural color of cotton candy is as white the sugar that is used to make it. The reason why cotton candy appears blue or pink is because of food coloring. Gelled food coloring is added to the white sugar before it is spun, which causes the sugar molecules to combine with the pigments in the food coloring. These food dyes do not affect the taste of the cotton candy in any noticeable way, but they do transform the treat into the brightly colored confection that consumers expect. This is why you will rarely find white cotton candy. What do you think? Would you buy a bag of white cotton candy, or do you think that it would be too weird?