Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Main Idea with SENTEO Component

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Young scholars explore "main idea." In this main idea and details reading comprehension lesson, students view a Brain POP video about main idea and then identify sentences displayed on the SMART Board that would be included in a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Elaborating the Main Idea, Using Supporting Details

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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...
Worksheet
DePaul University

Settlement

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
Early settlers in the American Midwest experienced constant struggle. This reading passage describes for young learners the hardships of homesteaders as they journeyed west and sought to start a new life. When finished, students identify...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Reading Comprehension 1: Level 9

For Students 8th - 10th
The Iditarod Trail and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race are the focus of a comprehension assessment. Readers must identify the main idea of the passage, draw inferences, define words using context clues, and identify the organizational...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Was That All About?

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Chapter Titles to Determine the Main Idea

For Teachers 2nd Standards
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.
Worksheet
DePaul University

Chicago Changer: Jane Addams

For Students 4th - 5th Standards
The power of a single person to change a community is amazing. Read about about how Jane Addams witnessed people living terrible lives in Chicago and chose to do everything she could to help them. When finished, young learners identify...
Worksheet
K12 Reader

Ben Franklin

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Readers are asked to use the provided graphic organizer to list the main idea and supporting ideas in a passage about the inventions of Benjamin Franklin.
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Close Reading: The Introduction to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

For Teachers 5th Standards
As part of a group of lessons, your class will return to the primary text for this unit, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Key vocabulary as well as close reading strategies continue to be the focus skills; however, this lesson...
Worksheet
2
2
Curated OER

Reading Comprehension 4: level 9

For Students 8th - 10th
Whether you use this reading comprehension worksheet as the basis for a short lesson on comprehension strategies or for additional practice, the passage about tricky octopi is sure to engage the interest of your young scientists. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Identifying Main Idea and Supporting Details - The Stonecutter's Wish

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students identify details that support the theme of a story.  In this main idea or theme lesson, students view a video of "The Stonecutter's Wish."  Students are given a graphic organizer to use as they discuss the main idea of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What's The Idea?

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Quite often, learners confuse the main idea in a selection of reading with the supporting details. In this lesson, pupils practice the skill of finding the main idea and the supporting details in pieces of writing. Newspaper articles...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Identifying Main Events

For Teachers K
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...
Organizer
1
1
Curriculum Corner

Informational Text Graphic Organizers

For Students 4th Standards
Examine informational text with a three-page worksheet that focuses on taking notes, identifying the main idea, and locating supporting details in order to form a summary paragraph. 
Worksheet
Curated OER

Space Food

For Students 4th
What do astronauts eat in outer space? Kids can read an informational passage to learn about space food. The passage includes prompts that have learners identify the main idea and key details, then write a paragraph summarizing the text....
Worksheet
Curated OER

Today’s Telephone

For Students 4th
Does your class know the history behind today's telephone? They will after reading a very interesting one-page informational passage. They'll learn all about the way phones have progressed to the amazing devices they've become as they...
PPT
Orange County Schools

Piggybook

For Teachers K - 3rd Standards
Summarizing text is a balancing act between being brief but thorough. You need to be short and to the point, but also cover all the important details, a task that presents a challenge for many young learners. In this lesson based on the...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Curated OER

He Said, She Said, So: What's the Point?

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin! Upper graders and middle schoolers read the story The Three Little Pigs and other tales related to the story from various points of view. They use the Internet to find more stories...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

When the Fly Flew In

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Explore visual and verbal recall and sequencing with your youngsters. Start by reading a story and completing a worksheet after listening to the story. They work to identify the main idea and supporting details. The worksheet is included...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Political Cartoons

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars 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.
Worksheet
DePaul University

A Garden in Lawndale

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
We are all capable of changing the world for the better; all it takes is a spark. Read about a group of seventh grade students in Chicago, IL who took it upon themselves to improve their community by turning a vacant lot into a garden....
Organizer
Edmond Public Schools

SOAPSTone

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Break an article down with a SOAPSTone chart. Class members determine the speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject, and tone. The chart includes a question for each of these elements, provides some clarifying text for each, and...
Activity
Smarter Balanced

How the Brain Works

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Cerebrum, cerebellum, brainstem, pituitary gland, and spinal cord. Prepare your class for a performance task assessment on the brain and how it works with a scripted plan that defines these terms and identifies the functions the...
Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Teaching Strategies For Main Idea Lessons

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Main Idea Lesson Plans can help teachers make identifying the main idea of a passage a breeze.