Clever Student Training Company
Analyzing the Essay
The skill set required of readers of informational text includes the ability to identify an article’s thesis or main idea, as well as the supporting points. Learners can practice these skills by analyzing an essay about the treatment of...
Curated OER
Identifying Main Idea
Students locate the main idea in a nonfiction text. In this language arts lesson, students participate in a think aloud to locate the main idea of the story. Additionally, students respond to a text and locate the main idea and complete...
Curated OER
Determine the Main Idea
Students identify the main idea of a reading passage. In this identifying the main idea lesson, students read short passages, highlight or underline important information and record the main idea of the passage. They participate in a...
For the Teachers
Main Idea Outline
Find the main idea in an informational text with a versatile lesson. Three levels of differentiation help you implement the strategy in any age or class level, based on the ability and objectives of your learners.
Curated OER
Finding the Main Idea
Being able to identify the main idea in a text is an essential comprehension skill. After the term is defined, viewers examine a series of paragraphs and are asked to identify the main idea and the supporting details.
Do2Learn
Umbrella Organizer Frames
Being able to identify the details that support a main idea is an important skill. Have your pupils practice with this graphic organizer, which includes space for a main idea, three supporting details, and a final conclusion.
DePaul University
The Working Tools of Insects
The animal kingdom is full of interesting organisms that have unique ways of surviving. Children read about different insects that have special tools for building homes and protecting themselves. When finished, learners identify the main...
Curated OER
The Time Machine
Challenge your class with this lesson! Learners read The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, discuss context clues, identify main ideas and details, and analyze story elements. Discussion questions and activities are broken down for each chapter...
Curated OER
What Was That All About?
Through direct instruction, the teacher demonstrates how to identify the main idea and supporting details of a text when creating a summary. As a class, read a paragraph, highlighting relevant information and crossing out extraneous...
Curated OER
Finding Main Ideas
What is the main idea? Previewing a text is a great way to identify the main idea without even reading, but what areas of a text do you preview? Teach your third, fourth, and fifth graders the most important areas to preview before...
Curated OER
What's the Big Idea
Discuss the concept of main idea in a story or other reading material. Middle schoolers identify the main idea in a passage using a technique that eliminates unnecessary words not relevant to the main idea.
EngageNY
Continued Close Reading of Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle: Text-Dependent Questions and Vivid Words and Phrases
In the third activity from this unit based on the book Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, learners focus on using specific details from the text-to-answer questions about the habitat of bullfrogs. While reading the text, young scholars are...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Finding the Main Idea
You can mix almost any subject with an arts curriculum. Find out how to use drama to find the main idea of a literary text. You'll read a story, and then learners will make tableaus showing what happened, or what they think will happen...
Curated OER
Determining Ideas and Adding Details
A handy TFDC (topic/fact/detail/conclusion) graphic organizer (included) allows young writers to outline and record their main ideas and supporting details in the prewriting phase. They then continue to add details to the topic sentences...
EngageNY
Continued Close Reading of Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle: Text-Dependent Questions and Vivid Words and Phrases
As 3rd graders continue reading Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, they focus on the concepts of predator and prey in the fifth lesson plan of this unit. Scholars further develop their ability to answer questions using evidence from the text...
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...
Curated OER
Main Idea and Supporting Details
Students identify main idea and supporting details from a short reading selection using a two-column note taking process. In this literacy lesson, students work in groups of three to four, then compare their papers with the other groups'...
DePaul University
Egypt
The country of Egypt is more than just big pyramids and ancient pharaohs. After reading a brief overview of this African nation, young learners will demonstrate their understanding of the text by identifying the main idea and supporting...
DePaul University
Chicago Changer: Jane Addams
The power of a single person to change a community is amazing. Read about about how Jane Addams witnessed people living terrible lives in Chicago and chose to do everything she could to help them. When finished, young learners identify...
Curated OER
Treasure Tales
Create an artifact kit to engage your young learners. Then, assign small groups a section of chapter three. They will identify the main idea and three supporting details for their section. Then, they select one artifact from the kit that...
Curated OER
Comprehension: Create a Summary from an Expository Text
Children can learn to analyze expository or informational texts at nearly any age. This scaffolded and scripted resource provides teachers with the support needed to facilitate a thoughtful instructional activity on summarizing...
K12 Reader
Major Art Periods
After examining a brief article about the major art periods, readers use the provided graphic organizer to identify the main idea and supporting ideas in the paragraph.
K12 Reader
The Jungle Book
Young readers complete a graphic organizer identifying the main idea and the supporting ideas in a passage taken from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.
K12 Reader
The Magna Carta
A passage about the Magna Carta provides readers with an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to identify the main idea and supporting ideas in an article.