As your class reaches the end of the book Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, the seventh instructional activity in this literary unit helps third graders transition from reading narrative to expository writing. Scholars develop their...

Young historians climb through the three branches of the US government in the third lesson of this five-part series. While reading the first three Articles of the Constitution in small groups, children write facts on paper leaves...

The carnival is in town! After reading a short excerpt about a day at the carnival, learners use details to determine the story's main idea. They must differentiate the details from the big picture, as there are multiple options they can...

Did you hear that? It's the main idea! Teach your class listening and note-taking strategies for determining the main idea by following the steps provided in this plan.

Thar she blows! An excerpt from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick provides the text for an exercise in finding the main idea. After recording the main idea of the passage, readers also provide two supporting ideas. An answer key is provided.

What would a main idea be without important details? Readers use a graphic organizer to record key details from an informational text (a fiction text would also work). Review main idea as a concept before beginning, asking scholars...

Readers are presented with a list of three questions and asked to actively listen to a story or article to answer them. They verbally answer the questions to learn the strategy. Next, read a story to them or have them silently read a...

Help your kindergarteners identify the main idea in a story. Small groups work with the teacher to make predictions and draw conclusions. They are able to determine cause and effect relationships. The lesson is divided into several days,...

Individuals complete a pre-assessment to gauge their ability to determine the main idea and supporting details in nonfiction text. They examine a new piece of nonfiction reading by looking at the table of contents, headings, and index...

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...

Identify the main idea and the supporting details of a story in a literacy resource from Discovery Education. Complete with procedures, vocabulary, and assessment activities, this is a great way for pupils to practice their outlining...

Sometimes, you just need to get to the point. Scholars examine an excerpt from The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, analyzing it and gathering details to determine the central idea. Completing the Surfacing Issues Tool organizer and...

Scholars examine the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and analyze the ideas in the preamble. Readers define new vocabulary words, listen to a Masterful Reading, answer questions in pairs, participate in a jigsaw discussion, and...

Is writing a craft? Scholars work in pairs and groups to uncover the author's craft presented in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. They answer guided questions, discuss with peers, and analyze the series of events. Completing a...

First impressions are crucial. Scholars read two excerpts from The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. One describes the family's negative opinion of the hospital, while the other discusses their meeting a very kind doctor. Learners work...

Need a musical instructional activity for your drama or performing arts class? VH1 has put together a really neat instructional activity, in which learners use biographical information about Alicia Keys to write and perform a one-act...

Which characteristics make organisms unique? Dichotomous keys simplify the process of classifying organisms by focusing on these unique characteristics. Young scholars learn how to use the dichotomous key flow chart by creating their own...

As your 3rd grade class finishes reading Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, the eighth lesson plan of this unit helps readers from an understanding of the very specific information on the final page of the book. As with the entire unit,...

There's a lot of thought that goes into setting up safe and supportive classroom environments. From establishing a whole group meeting area and arranging desks, to organizing classroom supplies and creating bulletin board displays,...

Use a graphic organizer to get readers thinking about main ideas as they record the who, what, where, when, and why of a story. Consider modeling this process completely before kids do this independently. They fill in five boxes charting...

Reinforce main idea and supporting details with your seventh graders in this language arts activity. Using a SMART board presentation and handouts (all attachments are provided), they review and practice finding main idea and details in...

Readers identify main ideas and supporting details using informational texts. For this literacy lesson, they make predictions and read the text to find the main ideas. They use a table diagram to define the main idea and supporting...

A statistics-loaded passage about home sales provides the text for a reading comprehension exercise. Although the subject matter might challenge some readers, the answer key explains how to approach and answer the three multiple choice...

Encourage your students to interact with the text as they read. While reading "Three Skeleton Key," class members note predictions, define words and study their meanings, take notes on how the suspense builds, and jot down ideas...