In order to support an idea, writers must use evidence. Your class members can prepare their evidence with this basic worksheet. Writers note down the topic they are learning about and their own idea. Next, they come up with information...

Young scholars choose a paragraph from a book of their choice, identify the main idea, and draw an illustration of the main idea. They write original paragraphs, illustrate them, and trade with a partner, identifying the main idea of the...

Students discuss the importance of identifying the main idea in reading selections. After reading newspaper articles related to nutrition, students identify the main idea of the selection and three supporting details. A reading log...

Students engage in a lesson that is about finding the main idea of a passage of reading. They use a passage while focusing upon the words and defining vocabulary. The students work on fluency and then identify the main idea.

Students read and highlight important information gathered from text.  In this reading strategies instructional activity, students define classify and then classify the important information they find. Students share and reflect on...

In this writing paragraphs worksheet, students review the importance of a clear main idea within a paragraph. Students practice defining a clear main idea by using the ideas in the idea box and matching them with the list of points and...

Could the history of bread really be interesting? Yes, it could! An informational text gives scholars wheat production background from 8,000 years ago, discussing different types of bread and the current industry in Oklahoma. Learners...

Determining a theme or central idea is greatly emphasized in the Common Core standards. Target that skill though big metaphors and central symbols in Pam Muñoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising. Help your class reach the standard through...

Do your tenth graders need some extra practice with reading strategies? The great idea here is the detailed explanation provided for why one answer is correct. Not only is the strategy detailed, but the rationale for why the other foils...

Young writers learn to write a good name for a story that tells the big idea. They read a one-sentence illustrated story and from two choices, write a title in capital letters. Nice instructional activity!

Learners practice various comprehension strategies to generate the main idea of the text. They encounter unfamiliar concepts and new vocabulary in their quest of the main idea in "Watson's Goes to Burmingham." The Five W's (What, Where,...

Students read The Apple Pie Tree and discuss the story and talk about what was living in the tree.  For this life comprehension lesson, students write the main idea of the book in a few sentences. 

Third graders create a shipping box from a cardboard material. In this measuring lesson, 3rd graders read the book Henry's Freedom Box and discuss the main idea. In the story a slave ships himself to freedom and the students measure and...

In this thematic web learning exercise, students complete a graphic organizer with the main idea of the story in the center. Students then identify supporting details and write them in the boxes around the center.

Prior to beginning Rosa Parks: My Story by Rosa Parks, model for your class members how to determine the main idea of a text. Exercepts from another story are provided to use for the demonstration. The focus then shifts to Rosa...

Discuss the importance of comprehension and the use of summarization with your class. Through guided practice, they follow three steps in finding and highlighting important information, deleting information that is not needed and...

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...

Learn how to summarize by identifying main ideas and supporting details. Readers cross out unimportant information as they read through a text. Is it a random detail? Cross it out! They then draw a concept map, placing the main idea in...

Help your class tackle chunks of text with a simple graphic organizer. Pupils read three paragraphs and, as they read, draw pictures in the provided boxes that demonstrate what each paragraph says. There are three boxes on the page and...

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...

How does Shakespeare develop the central idea of agency versus fate in Macbeth? Using the resource, pupils work in small groups to discuss the plot of Act 3.1. Next, they complete a brief writing assignment to analyze how the main idea...

Make a study of the First Amendment and its relationship to freedom. Pupils rewrite the amendment and discuss the central idea before focusing on a specific phrase. After discussing, class members write a journal entry about the included...

Upper graders explore musical film and the Bohemian lifestyle common in Europe during the turn of the century through the musical Moulin Rouge. After listening to (or viewing) songs from the movie, they discuss the Bohemian era and how...

Fourth graders investigate how outlining can aid in comprehending text. For this reading comprehension lesson, 4th graders outline an article they read in groups of two. Students take turns reading the article, identifying the main idea,...