Defines and provides examples of the main idea of a paragraph and also explores the meaning of key details.

This lesson uses the book Explorers of North America - A True Book by Brendan January to teach students how to identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph informational text and specific paragraphs within the text. Students are guided...

Learn about the main idea and get tips on how to find it. After practicing with several short texts, learn how to answer different types of questions about main idea and practice each type.

A lesson plan in which students read a text and write main ideas and supporting details in boxes on a graphic organizer. Materials are included. [PDF]

A lesson plan in which students read a text and complete a graphic organizer to identify the topic and supporting details or facts. Materials are included.

A lesson plan in which students read a text and complete a graphic organizer to identify the main idea and supporting details. Materials are included.

Students will focus on Main Idea, Author's Purpose, Identifying supporting details and Organizing details. Students will read a variety of Informational Text (non-fiction) to understand how stated and implied main idea effect the...

Students will synthesize information from multiple historical fiction books to find common themes and support them with evidence from the text. Working with a partner who has read a different book, they will share their theme from their...

A short explanation of how to use explicit details in an informational text to make inferences. Click on Model at the bottom right to see a model with examples.

A short explanation of using reasons and evidence as supporting details. Click the link to see a model of how to identify reasons and evidence in an informational text. Click on the Model button on the bottom right to see a model.

This lesson is a final step towards supporting young scholars to practice writing an informative/explanatory paragraph conveying complex ideas and presenting information clearly and accurately. Second-grade students can usually write a...

[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read a fiction text about a girl and her pet cat and answer questions about comprehension, conflict, supporting details, main idea, and more. Links to a paired text and paired text questions...

Expository text can be challenging to young readers because of the unfamiliar concepts and vocabulary it presents. Discover ways to help your students analyze expository text structures and pull apart the text to uncover the main idea...

Summarizing teaches students how to take a large selection of text and reduce it to the main points for a more concise understanding. Upon reading a passage, summarizing helps students learn to determine essential ideas and consolidate...

Links to 75 lessons and activities that build student skills in standard SL.4.4: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to...

In this lesson, 5th graders use their prior knowledge and inference skills to determine uses of unfamiliar objects. They participate in group discussions and analyze the key information they have in order to reach conclusions.