Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using a Title to Determine the Main Idea

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
Use the title of a book to determine the main idea. Readers will view the cover of The Wedding and predict what the story will be about. Graphic organizers help chart important information and build new vocabulary. Other stories are...
Organizer
Curated OER

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Finding the Main Idea

For Students 8th - 9th
After reading chapter 17 of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, give this graphic organizer to your kids to find the main idea. The circles are small and will probably spark complaints, but the main idea should never be lengthy; it should be...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Find the Main Idea in Romeo and Juliet

For Students 8th - 9th
Finding the main idea in a text can be rather difficult! Work with your class and develop this skill. This resource contains an excerpt from Act II, Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet, and the reader must identify the main idea of Juliet's...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Finding the Main Idea

For Students 1st - 2nd
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...
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Identifying the Main Idea in Fiction

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
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. 
Worksheet
Curated OER

Find the Main Idea

For Students 7th - 9th
Can your class find the main idea for the short passages provided here? Not only do they identify the main idea out of four selections, but they must also write a supporting idea for their choice. The answer sheet provides example...
Worksheet
K12 Reader

Find the Main Idea: The Meerkat

For Students 2nd - 3rd Standards
After examining a short article about African meerkats, readers identify the main idea and supporting ideas in the paragraph.
Worksheet
K12 Reader

Find the Main Idea: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

For Students 4th - 5th Standards
Readers are asked to use the provided graphic organizer to list the main idea and supporting ideas in a passage from L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
PPT
Saddleback College

How to Find the Main Idea

For Teachers 7th - 10th Standards
What's the difference between the main idea of a text and the topic? Take kids through the process of literary analysis with a presentation about finding the main idea and supporting details. Additionally, it guides learners through...
Organizer
1
1
Polk Bros Foundation

I Can Infer the Main Idea When I Read

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
While reading any text, ask your pupils to keep this graphic organizer on hand. They can note down the main idea and three supporting details during or after reading. The instructions allow for individuals to use words or images to...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Finding the Main Idea: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

For Students 6th - 8th
An excerpt from Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea provides learners with an opportunity to practice their ability to identify the main idea and supporting details in a passage. The beautifully illustrated instructional activity...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Spots the Barn Cat: Finding the Main Idea

For Students K
Spots the barn cat is the subject of this colorful worksheet. Young learners demonstrate their ability to identify the main idea in a written passage by reading a short passage about Spots and responding to the prompt asking them to...
PPT
Curated OER

Recognizing the Main Idea

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Understanding that paragraphs have a main idea expressed in a topic sentence, followed by supporting details in the subsequent sentences is the focus of this presentation. Students practice by reading short paragraphs in 10 slides, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reading Strategies: Main Idea

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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...
Lesson Plan
Achieve3000

Listening for Main Idea and Supporting Details

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Best Main Idea

For Teachers K - 4th Standards
What is the main idea? Interest your young readers with this fun introductory lesson plan! 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...
Organizer
Polk Bros Foundation

A Way to Analyze Paragraphs to Figure Out the Main Idea of a Nonfiction Text

For Teachers 5th - 10th Standards
Shrink up a section by asking pupils to write down the main idea for each of seven paragraphs. There is a space provided for each main idea. When students have completed this portion, they write down what they think to be the central...
PPT
1
1
Olathe Public Schools

Topic, Main Idea, Supporting Detail, and Theme

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Get your class members thinking about a reading passage's topic, main idea, supporting details, and theme with this interactive presentation that asks scholars to define, locate, and review each term.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comprehension: Identify the Main Idea from Text

For Teachers 1st
Children in first grade listen and read along with the teacher to practice main idea identification. They use the provided reading passages to read, locate the main idea and supporting details. This is a fully scripted activity which...
Organizer
1
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Poston Butte High School

Literacy Language Kit for the Book Hi! Fly Guy

For Students K - 3rd Standards
Create a buzz in your class with this collection of learning activities for the book Hi! Fly Guy. Including a list of comprehension questions, a sequence of events activity, a summary writing assignment, and a vocabulary list, this...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Finding the Main Idea: Little Women

For Students 8th - 10th
Whether or not your class is reading Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, you can use this exercise as the basis of a mini-lesson on how to determine the main idea of a passage or as a pre-test to assess mastery of the skill. A graphic...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Reading Closely to Expand Understanding of Adaptations

For Teachers 3rd Standards
Third graders work to determine the main idea, recall key details, and answer questions using an informational text on the topic of animal adaptations. Using the non-fiction text "Staying Alive: Animal Adaptations" (provided) the teacher...
Worksheet
E Reading Worksheets

Main Idea Worksheet 4

For Students 4th - 8th
Does your class or do individual learners need more practice determining the main idea of a passage of informational text? Here is a learning exercise containing seven exercises that asks kids to read short paragraphs, summarize the...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Mid-Unit Assessment: Close Reading of Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle: Bullfrog Life Cycle

For Teachers 3rd Standards
The sixth lesson plan in this Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle unit assesses your third graders' ability to read and understand informational text. The included assessment asks learners to take notes about the main idea and supporting...