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Smekens Educational Solutions: Expose K 2 Readers to Annotation Strategies

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
This article discusses how to begin teaching students in K-2 to record their ideas about text using highlighters, colored pens, large graphic organizers, and sticky notes. Students can retell a story with a storyboard, use a web to find...
Lesson Plan
Read Works

Read Works: Grade 2: Three Lesson Unit: Main Idea

For Teachers 2nd - 4th Standards
[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...
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Education Development Center

Tv411: Summarizing: Activity 3

For Students 1st - 3rd Standards
In this activity, students choose the correct category to which details belong. Being able to categorize helps students to identify the difference between main ideas and details.
Study Guide
University of South Florida

Fcat Express: Semantic Feature Analysis

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
Site provides extensive assistance in preparing 4th grade students for Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. This section on semantic features helps students recognize supporting details as they read.
Lesson Plan
Florida Center for Reading Research

Florida Center for Reading Research: Exp. Text Structure: Classic Classifying

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
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]
Unknown Type
Quia

Quia: Crct Practice: Main Idea

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
An interactive quiz with seven multiple choice questions over four short reading passages. Questions focus on identifying the main ideas and supporting details and choosing an appropriate summary. When finished, students can submit...
Unit Plan
Beacon Learning Center

Beacon Learning Center: Get the Idea

For Students K - 1st Standards
In this reading comprehension exercise, young readers will learn to identify main ideas in paragraphs. Includes multiple choice options with hints.
Unit Plan
Texas Education Agency

Texas Gateway: Summarize Informational/expository Text (English 7 Reading)

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] Learn how to evaluate a summary of the original text for accuracy of the main ideas, supporting details, and overall meaning.
Lesson Plan
Read Works

Read Works: Main Idea Kindergarten Unit: Using Details to Create a Title

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] Lesson uses Amazing Gorillas! by Sarah L. Thomson and In the Wild: Leopards by Stephanie St. Pierreto to teach students how to use textual details to create a title for informational text. Ideas for...
Activity
English Worksheets Land

English Worksheets Land: Using Illustrations and Details for Key Ideas Worksheet

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
The nature of the interactions between the author and the illustrator are vital to the expression provided by that drawing. The following worksheets focus on using pictures to describe key ideas in an informational text.
Website
Other

Ccss Literacy E Handbook: Informational Text: Use Details and Examples

For Students 4th Standards
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.
Study Guide
University of South Florida

Fcat Express: Selective Underlining

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
Site provides extensive assistance in preparing 4th grade students for Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. This section focuses on identifying main ideas and significant details by selectively underlining them in a text.
Lesson Plan
CPALMS

Cpalms: What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] In this lesson, learners will use What Do You Do With A Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page to identify the main topic and key details using the illustrations and text. Students will work to...
Graphic
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Nonfiction Pyramid

For Students 2nd - 8th Standards
A printable pyramid for use with nonfiction texts while students identify the main ideas and supporting details within a text. Students also determine author's purpose and key vocabulary words. Directions on how to use this type of...
Activity
Education Development Center

Tv411: Summarizing Activity 2

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
This activity asks students to differentiate between main ideas and supporting details.
Lesson Plan
Florida Center for Reading Research

Florida Center for Reading Research: Expository Text Structure: Summarizing [Pdf]

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
A lesson plan in which students read a text and record the main ideas and supporting details on a graphic organizer. Students then complete the organizer by writing a summary of the text. Materials are included.
Lesson Plan
Louisiana Department of Education

Louisiana Doe: Louisiana Believes: English Language Arts: Grade 5: Shutting Out the Sky

For Teachers 5th Standards
Focused on immigrant life in the United States and how families sought the American dream, this unit offers students an understanding of how members of a culture meld into communities while trying to maintain cultural identity and honor...
Lesson Plan
Florida Center for Reading Research

Florida Center for Reading Research: Expository Text Structure: Just the Facts

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
A lesson plan in which learners read a text and complete a graphic organizer to identify the topic and supporting details or facts. Materials are included.
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Reversing the Chicago River [Pdf]

For Teachers 5th
"Reversing the Chicago River" is a one page, nonfiction passage about how the leaders of Chicago reversed the polluted Chicago River so that it emptied into the Mississippi River instead of the lake. It is followed by questions which...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Mc Graw Hill: Part 2 Reading: Informational Text: Reasons and Evidence in Text

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
Reasons and evidence are given by the author to support topics or ideas. In this resource, learn about finding reasons and evidence in a text. Includes downloadable worksheet.
Interactive
Wisc-Online

Wisc Online: Identifying the Main Idea

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
This resource defines main ideas and is an interactive way to assess a student's ability to correctly find main ideas from paragraphs.
eBook
Curated OER

Mc Graw Hill: Identify the Main Topic and Key Details

For Students 1st - 2nd Standards
This is a practice exercise to help teach how to find the main topic of a passage by looking at key details. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.2
Graphic
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Essay Map

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
A fillable essay map in PDF format with boxes for an introduction, main ideas, supporting details, and a conclusion. Directions on how to use this type of graphic organizer as well as lists of teaching ideas and related resources are...
Lesson Plan
Other

Curriculum Associates: Determining Theme or Central Idea [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
In this reading comprehension lesson unit, learners are guided in learning how to find the main theme or idea of a text and understanding how details in the text convey that. Includes lots of exercises and examples, as well as...