Curated OER
Find the Main Idea
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...
Curated OER
Paragraphs: Main Idea and Supporting Details
This is a great way to review the concept of main idea and supporting details with younger learners. Learners read two short passages and identify the main idea and supporting details using visual prompts and a graphic organizer.
E Reading Worksheets
Main Idea 2
Learners read short paragraphs, summarize the passage in one sentence, and then develop an appropriate title that indicates the main idea of the selection. Part of a series of exercises designed to build literary skills.
Harper Collins
Beverly Cleary Memory Game
Where is Henry Huggins? Class members craft playing cards for a memory game. One side features a description or an illustration of a memorable scene, the title of the book and the names of major characters, or a description about...
Curated OER
Main Idea/Detail Relay
Fourth graders discuss the difference between main ideas and supporting details. They use large placement cards made by the teacher with main idea and supporting detail statements on them to practice.
Curated OER
Topic Sentence
Students write a topic sentence to a paragraph and explain that it introduces the main idea. After a whole-class demonstration, students write a complete paragraph with their topic sentence and supporting sentences. There are some...
DePaul University
The Football Team
Playing team sports is about more than just scoring the most goals or winning the most games. Read this passage with your class and learn how athletes build character as members of a team. When finished, individuals identify the main...
Curated OER
Rave Reviews
A fun instructional activity that utilizes toys and persuasion! After reading the article, which was written in 2005, pull some advertisements for toys currently being sold. These will be more relevant to your middle and high schoolers....
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension 2: Level 12
Ever heard of CTE? A passage about Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) provides the text for a reading comprehension check. The subject matter is sure to engage your readers and the questions, based on the passage, assess whether high...
Curated OER
Main Idea
In this main idea worksheet, students read and analyze 4 paragraphs and determine the main idea in each. Students select the main idea from 4 possible choices.
PBS
Blue Ribbon Readers: Determining Important Ideas
Brenda Z. Guiberson’s nonfiction book, Cactus Hotel, launches a series of activities that model for readers how to determine the main idea in a passage. Class members engage in an online interactive game to test their...
EngageNY
Identifying Main Ideas and Supporting Details: What’s Going On in the Teenage Brain?
What's going on in the teen brain? Pupils consider the question as they continue reading an informational article about the topic. While reading, they use a Thinking Log worksheet and an anchor chart to track their understanding of...
EngageNY
Close Reading: Excerpt 3 of “The Digital Revolution and the Adolescent Brain Evolution”
It's time to level up and discover how video games affect the brain. Pupils explore the topic as they continue reading excerpts from an article about adolescent brain development and the digital revolution. Scholars also participate in a...
EngageNY
Close Reading in Expert Groups: What is it Like in the Rainforest Canopy? (Pages 13–16)
Put it together piece by piece. Scholars read pages 13-16 of The Most Beautiful Roof in the
World by dividing it into chunks. They analyze each chunk for gist and word meaning. Individuals then create a matching game by writing...
Curated OER
Let's Discuss Current Events
Investigate articles from the daily news and share opinions with classmates. Using current events, learners view a news program without sound and predict what news is being discussed by analyzing the visuals. Then they read news articles...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension
In this reading comprehension worksheet, students read a passage and answer questions based on the main idea of the passage. Students answer 4 questions about the passage.
Bright Hub Education
"The Kid in the Red Jacket": Book Activities
Learning stations aren't just for little ones; middle schoolers can have fun while learning about the main character in the book, The Kid in the Red Jacket. Outlined are three different activities that are completed as each small...
Curated OER
The Hunger Games
Enjoy this exciting novel with your students, and bring the games to life in your classroom!
Florida Center for Reading Research
Comprehension: Narrative Text Structure, Character Consideration
An activity work alongside a narrative text of your choice. With reading comprehension at its focus, readers complete worksheets covering character descriptions.
Lerner Publishing
Meet the Dinosaurs
Take your class of youngsters on a prehistoric adventure with this four-lesson series on dinosaurs. Accompanying the Meet the Dinosaurs books by Don Lessem, these lessons engage children in writing their own dinosaur books,...
World Intellectual Property Organization
Learn from the Past, Create the Future: Inventions and Patents
3D printers, selfie sticks, smart watches. GPS, self-driving cars, YouTube. Imagine life without inventions. Believe it or not, these items were all invented in the last 10 years. Inventions, and the inventors responsible for them,...
Curated OER
What's My Job?: comprehension skills
In this comprehension skills worksheet, 2nd graders read the book What's My Job? and complete comprehension activities. Students complete 5 activities including setting, character traits, summarizing, main idea/details, and drawing...
Gourmet Curriculum Press
Author's Purpose
Who knew determining author's purpose could be turned into a game? Four teams compete to correctly identify the author's purpose for writing a series of passages.
University of Kansas
Newspaper in the Classroom
Newspapers aren't only for reading—they're for learning skills, too! A journalism unit provides three lessons each for primary, intermediate, and secondary grades. Lessons include objectives, materials, vocabulary, and procedure, and...