During this lesson students begin to identify the main idea of a story they read or hear. Students use graphic organizers to discover the main idea of The Carrot Seed, by Ruth Krauss, and Marsupial Sue, by John Lithgow.

[Free Registration/Login Required] A two-lesson unit on main idea and details through which learners use the topic sentence to identify the main idea of a paragraph and categorize details as main idea or supporting. With free login,...

This site offers links to several lesson plans for teaching main ideas to first and second graders; it also provides and explains some activities for teaching the main idea to first graders.

[Free Registration/Login Required] A series of three lesson plans designed to teach students to identify main ideas through headings and chapter titles, and then to write appropriate titles of their own. Lessons are based on the books...

The first question in most Reading Comprehension sets will ask you to identify the statement that best expresses the central idea or the main point that the passage as a whole is designed to convey.

To understand a text, you must understand the central idea of the story. Learn how to recognize the central idea and supporting details with this article. Click the links at bottom right.

A Seed Discussion is a two-part strategy used to teach students how to engage in discussions about assigned readings. In the first part, students read selected text and identify "seeds" or key concepts of a passage which may need...

In this instructional resource, students will learn more about summarizing texts. Worksheets and PowerPoint lessons are provided to reinforce understanding about ways to summarize nonfiction texts and to identify main ideas. This module...

How do you write a winning statement of purpose? This is a clear and comprehensive explanation of how to approach and write an essay from the San Jose State University. Practice exercises are given at the end.