Curated OER
What a Relief!
How are disasters addressed by the Federal Government? This New York Times lesson, based on the article "Disaster Aid: The Mix of Mercy and Politics," prompts middle schoolers to discuss the idea of using a disaster declaration as a...
Polk Bros Foundation
How to Summarize a Non-Fiction Passage
After reading a text, one way to find out how much your class comprehended is to ask your pupils to summarize. This worksheet helps class members prepare for writing a summary of a nonfiction text. They note down the topic, up to eight...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 1
Make a study of the First Amendment and its relationship to freedom. Pupils rewrite the amendment and discuss the central idea before focusing on a specific phrase. After discussing, class members write a journal entry about the included...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 15: Theme
Build understanding of theme with an activity designed for The Cay and the Common Core. Small groups or pairs use graphic organizers to determine themes, find and record related details from the text, and formulate theme statements. In...
Curated OER
6th Grade: Express Yourself, Lesson 1: Poem
While originally created to accompany The Cay, this poetry lesson could be used on it's own, especially if you are working on dialect. Class members conduct a close reading of "When Malindy Sings" by Paul Laurence Dunbar and listen to an...
EngageNY
Close Reading of Waiting for the Biblioburro: Finding the Main Message and Taking Notes
Expose your class to Waiting for the Biblioburro, narrative nonfiction that will act as the bridge between ficiton and informational texts to come. Class members do a close reading of the text, looking at excerpts instead of the whole...
EngageNY
Determining Main Idea Using Text and Illustrations: Accessing Books Around the World
Ease into informational text with the lesson suggested here. Part of a unit series, the lesson draws from previous lessons and acts as a natural moment to add in informational text. Class members read one section of My Librarian is a...
Bright Hub Education
"Where the Red Fern Grows": A Lesson on Love and Devotion
Where the Read Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls is rich with themes relating to love and family. Help your class to understand these themes with the series of reading activities included in this unit outline. Readers can keep a journal to...
my eCoach
Tuck Everlasting Chs. 1-8: Feelings About Living Forever
Approach big ideas and themes in Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt with this graphic organizer. Readers determine how each of the Tucks feels about living forever by looking for clues in the first eight chapters of the book. Consider...
EngageNY
Revisiting Big Metaphors and Themes: Revising and Beginning to Perform Two-Voice Poems
Now that your class has read all of Esperanza Rising, take the time to tackle big metaphors and themes. Pupils will participate in an activity called Chalk Talk, in which they circulate around the room in small groups and add comments to...
EngageNY
Understanding Themes in Esperanza Rising
Determining a theme or central idea is greatly emphasized in the Common Core standards. Target that skill though big metaphors and central symbols in Pam Muñoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising. Help your class reach the standard through...
Curated OER
Introduce: Main Idea
Begin exploring main idea in a text by telling the class an interesting story. Can they recall the main idea after you finish? What clues told them this was it? Explain that you will apply this concept as you read a nonfiction book....
Curated OER
Write a Description
Finding the central idea is the focus of this instructional activity. Middle schoolers write descriptions of different animals using details and descriptive language. They watch a video of kids using descriptive language, and then use...
Curated OER
Showdown on the Frontier
Especially critical following a series of shootings in schools, theaters, and religious buildings, it's safe to say that we need to evaluate the current laws on gun control. Eighth graders read a New York Times article in order to better...
Curated OER
Prisoner in One's Own Home
Examine the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. After reading an article from the New York Times and exploring the author's word choice, young readers find the central idea in the text and work on researching additional...
Curated OER
Rachel's Life is in a Hole
Explore how lack of access to water impacts peoples' lives in poor countries. Through text reading and discussion, middle schoolers are presented with the story of a young girl who lives and functions with limited water resources. They...
Curated OER
The Newspaper Article
Have your class participate in an interview activity using an informational text about the Amazon. After reading a Cultural Connections story about a person from the Amazon, middle schoolers write interview questions based on the text....
Curated OER
The Study of Theme and Figurative Language in Poetry and/or Prose
Identify and analyze the use of figurative language used in select pieces of writing. These pieces of literature will represent at least two pieces by one writer and at least two pieces by different writers. This instructional activity...
Curated OER
Analysis Of Theme In The Scarlet Letter
Eleventh graders engage in the reading of the novel "The Scarlet Letter" while choosing a topic to write a literature response. They search the novel for textual evidence to include in writing a paper that supports a well thought...
Curated OER
Outstanding Women
Research the lives of famous women in this social studies lesson. Middle schoolers use various sources to research a famous woman and create a presentation about the accomplishments of the woman. They can find the central idea throughout...
Curated OER
Identify Purposes of Text
Set a purpose for reading informational texts with this reading lesson. To find the central idea of a text, young readers turn titles and subtitles into questions to help them understand the text. They complete a T-chart for the lesson,...
Polk Bros Foundation
Meet the Nonfiction Main Idea Challenge
Help your class develop the ability to determine a main idea with a packet of materials that you can introduce and use over a period of time. The packet includes some information for the teacher and rationale for the exercises. There are...
Polk Bros Foundation
I Can Identify and Support the Main Idea in Non-Ficiton
Analyze a historical or scientific informational text by determining the main idea and supporting details. This graphic organizer allows pupils to write down the main idea and four details.
Polk Bros Foundation
I Can Infer the Main Idea When I Read
While reading any text, ask your pupils to keep this graphic organizer on hand. They can note down the main idea and three supporting details during or after reading. The instructions allow for individuals to use words or images to...