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

Explore non-fiction comprehension strategies with your class. They will visualize daily activities and label a 4 circle Venn diagram with related phrases. They must identify the overlapping sections as "main ideas," then complete a...

Discovering the main idea in fiction is like uncovering buried treasure; one must persevere to locate it, and the reward is priceless. Scholars delve deep into leveled stories using three questions to aid in identifying the main idea. 

In expository writing, it is important to back up claims with evidence and details. Help your class to develop their writing with notes on different types of evidence. Once they have the basics down, practice with a sample thesis and...

What is the main idea? Interest your young readers with this fun introductory lesson! After selecting several items from a paper bag, the teacher leads learners to determine the big idea for those items. This concept is then applied to...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Find key details in books using this note card strategy. Each reader gets six cards with the classic who, what, where, when, why, and how detail prompts. After they read the book, they choose a card and locate a key detail...

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 instructional activity is divided...

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...

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.

Engage your class in a scavenger hunt to find the main ideas and supporting details in a text. They follow the teacher while s/he models how to determine main idea and find supporting details, and then they work independently. A fun...

This second lesson plan in a larger unit is perfect for the beginning of the year because it explicitly teaches 3rd graders how to use close reading skills by identifying unfamiliar words, figuring out the gist, and defining...

Scholars participate in two activities that teach them to identify the main idea and key supporting details in informational text. Partners create a visual that reflects the main idea and key supporting details in an informational text...

Does the picture tell the story? Learners continue their work in The Inuit Thought of It by creating a visual gist of pages 16 and 17. They then complete a main idea graphic organizer and discuss key supporting details.

It's time to put on those thinking caps and analyze the brain! Pupils watch a video about teenage brain development, using a note-catcher to capture their thoughts about the main idea. Finally, they select two pieces of information from...

Readers learn how to choose specific details drawn from a primary source (Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford University commencement address) to support an analysis of informative text.

Young readers explore a nonfiction text for its main idea. They will listen to the book Animal Sight by Kirsten Hall, and then observe as the teacher models a main idea think-aloud. Later, for independent practice, they listen to the...

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

Students explore "main idea." In this main idea and details reading comprehension lesson, students view a Brain POP video about main idea and then identify sentences displayed on the SMART Board that would be included in a paragraph...

Readers identify main ideas and supporting details using informational texts. In 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...