Lesson Plan
Florida Center for Reading Research

Florida Center for Reading Research: Keys to the Main Idea [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 4th Standards
A lesson plan in which students read a text a complete a graphic organizer to identify the main ideas and supporting details. Materials are included.
Lesson Plan
Florida Center for Reading Research

Florida Center for Reading Research: Character Consideration

For Teachers 2nd - 5th Standards
A lesson plan in which students read a narrative text and complete graphic organizers to analyze a character. Materials are included. [PDF]
Article
Reading Rockets

Reading Rockets: Teach Expository Text Structure to Facilitate Comprehension

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Expository text can be challenging to young readers because of the unfamiliar concepts and vocabulary it presents. Discover ways to help your students analyze expository text structures and pull apart the text to uncover the main idea...
Website
Other

Eastport Elementary School: Mrs. Donahue's Site: Identifying the Main Idea

For Students 4th Standards
Information, examples, and practice passages to use while learning how to identify the main idea of an informational text.
Unit Plan
CPALMS

Cpalms: Stand Tall: Using Evidence to Support Your Answers

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
This learning module has a series of screencast videos and practice exercises designed to teach students how to support their answers with details from the text.
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: Writing to Determine, "What Is a Pulgar?"

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
This lesson plan is a writing follow-up to the guided reading lesson plan, "What is a Pulgar?" It utilizes a Makes Sense Strategies Think-sheet to guide the writing.
Professional Doc
Louisiana Department of Education

Louisiana Doe: Louisiana Believes: Ela Guidebooks: Independent Reading Protocols

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
During independent reading, students read independently from either a self- or teacher-selected text and then react to the text in their learning logs using one of three protocols.
Article
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: The Road to Representation Creating the Crunchy Life Kid's Series

For Students Pre-K - 1st Standards
This blog focuses on a teacher's need to fill in the gaps for reading strategies and the priority to improve comprehension and overall reading development. She explains the strategies to meet the above goals.
Unit Plan
Beacon Learning Center

Beacon Learning Center: Web Lessons: Get the Main Idea

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
This resource provides practice finding the main idea by having students read a paragraph and choose the main idea. Then it asks students to take what they have learned and apply it to a book of their choice, and then write a paragraph...
Website
ACT360 Media

Writing Den: Supporting Details

For Students 3rd - 4th Standards
A short explanation and example of supporting sentences, what they do, and how to write them.
Website
Other

Ccss Literacy E Handbook: Informational Text: Use Details and Examples

For Students 4th Standards
A short explanation of how to use explicit details in an informational text to make inferences. Click on Model at the bottom right to see a model with examples.
Unit Plan
Other

Mc Graw Hill: Informational Text: Determing Main Idea and Key Details

For Students 4th Standards
In this learning module, students are given a model passage with an explanation of the main idea and supporting details followed by a practice passage with questions.
Website
Other

Ccss Literacy E Handbook: Informational Text: Summarize

For Students 4th Standards
A short explanation of how summarize an informational text. Click on the Model link to see an example summary with explanation.
Website
Other

Ccss Literacy E Handbook: Informational Text: Describe Text Structure

For Students 4th Standards
A short explanation of informational text structures. Follow links for more information on: chronological text structure, comparison and contrast text structure, cause and effect text structure, and problem and solution text structure....
Website
Other

Ccss Literacy E Handbook: Informational Text: Reasons and Evidence in Text

For Students 4th Standards
A short explanation of using reasons and evidence as supporting details. Click the link to see a model of how to identify reasons and evidence in an informational text. Click on the Model button on the bottom right to see a model.
Unknown Type
University of Houston

University of Houston: Atlantis: Main Idea Story 2

For Students 4th Standards
An exercise in finding the main idea. Read a short nonfiction paragraph about pollution, and click on the correct main idea.
Unknown Type
University of Houston

University of Houston: Atlantis: Main Idea Story 3

For Students 4th Standards
An exercise in finding the main idea. Read a short nonfiction paragraph about the solar system, and click on the correct main idea.
Unknown Type
University of Houston

University of Houston: Atlantis: Main Idea Story 4

For Students 3rd - 4th Standards
An exercise in finding the main idea. Read a short nonfiction paragraph about where different animals live, and click on the correct main idea.
Unknown Type
University of Houston

University of Houston: Atlantis: Main Idea Story 7

For Students 4th Standards
An exercise in finding the main idea. Read a short nonfiction paragraph about computers, and click on the correct main idea.
Unknown Type
ProProfs

Pro Profs: Main Idea Benchmark

For Students 4th - 5th Standards
This is a four-question multiple choice quiz over the main idea; students read nonfiction passages and select the main idea. Links to related quizzes on the same topic are provided.
eBook
Quia

Quia: Metaphor Quiz

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
Read five short paragraphs and choose the main idea of each. Check the answers when finished to see how many were right.
Unknown Type
Quia

Quia: 3rd Grade Main Idea

For Students 2nd - 4th Standards
This short interactive activity assesses students' ability to identify main idea. Students will read three short passages and identify the main idea of each.
Handout
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: Journey North: Reading Strategies: Main Ideas and Supporting Details

For Students 4th - 6th Standards
Learn how to identify the main ideas and supporting details in an informational text by using a list of guiding questions.
Interactive
Quia

Quia: Main Idea and Details Rags to Riches

For Students 4th Standards
Read a short text and then choose its main idea in this Rags to Riches style game.