Surviving winter. Pupils begin reading on page 18 of The Inuit Thought of It: Amazing Arctic Inventions and sketch how the people used animal skin clothing to survive the winter. Readers complete a main idea graphic organizer...

A passage about the changing role of home economists provides the text for a reading comprehension strategies worksheet. Learners must summarize, draw inferences, identify the main idea, and use context clues to determine the meaning of...

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...

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,...

This second instructional activity 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...

In instructional activity 13 of this unit on colonial trade, young researchers learn about apprentices as they prepare to write help-wanted ads for the specific trade they have been researching. To begin, the class listens closely as the...

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...

Students read and highlight important information gathered from text.  In this reading strategies instructional activity, students define classify and then classify the important information they find. Students share and reflect on...

In order to support an idea, writers must use evidence. Your class members can prepare their evidence with this basic worksheet. Writers note down the topic they are learning about and their own idea. Next, they come up with information...

In this main idea worksheet, students create a graphic organizer.  Students write the main idea in the center of the "wheel" and include 4 supporting details on the outer portion of the "wheel."

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...

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...

After examining a brief article about survival adaptations, readers identify the main idea of the passage and list two supporting details.

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...

A desk is used as a visual analogy to construct the main idea and supporting details in a story. The top of the desk is the main idea, and each of the four legs provides supporting details. The legs of the desk provide support for the...

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...

In this reading worksheet, young scholars learn to identify the main idea in a newspaper article. Students read an article about police dogs and answer 2 questions. Then young scholars choose 3 newspaper articles on their own and...

Young scholars explore details, supporting details, and main idea statements.  In this details and ideas lesson, students view two video segments  and determine relevant details.  Young scholars identify the main ideas and...

In this graphic organizer worksheet, students find the main idea and details in a story by completing the spider map graphic organizer.

Young scholars read Arthur's Pet Business and  complete a pre-writing worksheet for expository writing.  For this paragraph writing lesson, students gather and organize material for a paragraph about pets.

Calling all experts! Using the educational resource, pupils work together in small expert groups, reading an article about the 2010 Haiti earthquake. As they read, they record two main ideas and supporting details from the text.

Scholars take part in a close reading of pages four through seven and 12-15 of the book, Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle: Bullfrog Circle by Deborah Dennard. Readers identify the story's main idea, list its key details, and examine...

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.

Throughout history, the growth of big cities has resulted in the destruction of ecosystems. In the case of Chicago, IL, a grassland that was once home to bison, deer, wolves, and foxes quickly became a booming city of over three million...