Curated OER
Identifying a Title for a Passage Based on the Main Idea
Third graders create a title. In this lesson students read a passage and discuss the main idea. Students determine the main idea for each paragraph of the passage. Students choose a main idea for the passage and use the main idea to...
Curated OER
What Was That All About?
Through direct instruction, the teacher demonstrates how to identify the main idea and supporting details of a text when creating a summary. As a class, read a paragraph, highlighting relevant information and crossing out extraneous...
EngageNY
Reading Closely to Expand Understanding of Adaptations
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...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment: Close Reading of Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle: Bullfrog Life Cycle
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 details...
Curated OER
What's The Idea?
Quite often, learners confuse the main idea in a selection of reading with the supporting details. In this activity, pupils practice the skill of finding the main idea and the supporting details in pieces of writing. Newspaper articles...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Finding the Main Idea
You can mix almost any subject with an arts curriculum. Find out how to use drama to find the main idea of a literary text. You'll read a story, and then learners will make tableaus showing what happened, or what they think will happen...
Curated OER
Identifying Main Events
Help kindergartners learn to identify the main events in fiction. They will review elements of fiction, retell information found in the text, and discuss their real-life daily experiences. All the while, they will be asking themselves...
EngageNY
Close Reading of Waiting for the Biblioburro: Finding the Main Message and Taking Notes
Expose your class to Waiting for the Biblioburro, narrative nonfiction that will act as the bridge between ficiton and informational texts to come. Class members do a close reading of the text, looking at excerpts instead of the whole...
Curated OER
Using Pictures to Support the Main Idea
Second graders practice using photos to support the main idea. In this reading comprehension activity, 2nd graders read and explore the photos in the book, Amazing Tigers! Students examine the photos to identify and support the main...
Curated OER
Main Idea 2
Eighth graders explore the main idea of stories. For this literacy lesson, 8th graders summarize the last TV show they watched, identify the main idea of the show, and list its supporting details. After a discussion of main ideas, they...
Curated OER
Main Idea and Supporting Details
Eighth graders identify the main idea and supporting details in paragraphs. In this language arts activity, 8th graders review organizational patterns in paragraphs and determine which pattern is best for a given situation. ...
Curated OER
Using Chapter Titles to Determine the Main Idea
Second graders listen to the passage titled Pumpkin Picking and identify the main idea based on the title. In this main idea lesson plan, 2nd graders discuss how the title of a book or chapter sets the tone for the reading.
EngageNY
Introducing Close Reading: Finding the Main Message and Taking Notes About Rain School
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 defining...
Curated OER
Political Cartoons
Students examine a variety of historical cartoons. They recognize a political cartoon and identify the main idea, symbolism, exaggeration and caricature in political cartoons. Students analyze a political cartoon by Benjamin Franklin.
Curated OER
Finding Main Ideas
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...
Curated OER
Classifying Information About Main Idea
In this reading for understanding instructional activity, students underline information in a text that is important in identifying the main idea. This instructional activity provides good practice for students who usually have...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment: Development of the Young Brain
Scholars view a video clip about adolescent brain development and work with partners to identify the main idea and supporting details. Next, as part of the mid-unit assessment, pupils watch another clip from the video and complete a main...
Curated OER
The Emperor and the Kite
Fourth graders develop critical listening skills and answer four questions related to the story, THE EMPEROR AND THE KITE. They identify the main idea and recall a question that involves making a judgment.
Curated OER
Elaborating the Main Idea, Using Supporting Details
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...
Curated OER
Identifying Supporting Evidence from a Text - What is a Hero?
Pupils define hero and identify supporting evidence in a text. They complete a hero diagram worksheet and watch a video about a little boy from China who acts as a hero. Additionally, they complete the Ping Hero evidence worksheet and...
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 group...
Curated OER
Main Idea and Supporting Details
Students identify main idea and supporting details from a short reading selection using a two-column note taking process. In this literacy lesson, students work in groups of three to four, then compare their papers with the other groups'...
Curated OER
What's in a Main Idea?
Second graders read newspaper articles. In this language arts lesson, 2nd graders identify the main ideas found in the articles by highlighting them. The entire class selects one interesting article from the sports section to discuss.
Curated OER
Identifying Main Idea
Students locate the main idea in a nonfiction text. In this language arts lesson, students participate in a think aloud to locate the main idea of the story. Additionally, students respond to a text and locate the main idea and complete...