A brief, dialogue-rich passage from Jerry Spinelli's novel Maniac Magee is accompanied by a well-written literacy assessment tool. Thematic content lends itself to age-appropriate discussions about race relations and social justice....

For this comprehension skills worksheet, students read the book Henry and Mudge and complete comprehension activities. Students complete activities such as inferences, drawing conclusions, character traits, and main idea and...

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...

Spots the barn cat is the subject of this colorful activity. 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...

Students identify details that support the theme of a story.  For 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...

Does the picture tell the story? Learners continue their work in The Inuit Thought of It by creating a visual gist of pages 16 and 17. They then complete a main idea graphic organizer and discuss key supporting details.

Being able to identify the details that support a main idea is an important skill. Have your pupils practice with this graphic organizer, which includes space for a main idea, three supporting details, and a final conclusion.

Young readers explore a nonfiction text for its main idea. They will listen to the book Animal Sight by Kirsten Hall, and then observe as the teacher models a main idea think-aloud. Later, for independent practice, they listen to the...

Third graders read, Fly Traps! Plants that Bite Back. They locate the main idea and supporting details in the pitcher plants section. Then after they have located the information as individuals have them write it down in their reader's...

The country of Egypt is more than just big pyramids and ancient pharaohs. After reading a brief overview of this African nation, young learners will demonstrate their understanding of the text by identifying the main idea and supporting...

Practice outlining and evaluating expository writing in this lesson. After discussing main ideas and seeing examples, young writers go through a sample outline and discuss the way to properly format a piece of writing. They then create...

It's time to put on those thinking caps and analyze the brain! Pupils watch a video about teenage brain development, using a note-catcher to capture their thoughts about the main idea. Finally, they select two pieces of information from...

As 3rd graders continue reading Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, they focus on the concepts of predator and prey in the fifth lesson plan of this unit. Scholars further develop their ability to answer questions using evidence from the text...

Being able to identify the main idea in a text is an essential comprehension skill. After the term is defined, viewers examine a series of paragraphs and are asked to identify the main idea and the supporting details.

Young readers locate the main ideas and supporting details while they read. Students will answer questions pertaining to the main ideas found in three different reading passages.

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...

Bright, bold, and engaging, this presentation on elaborated paragraphs is a good way to reinforce your expectations for your class's writing. Each slide presents a simple, straightforward tip to writing complete paragraphs, including...

Readers organize and display three ideas that support a topic, as well as two details that support each idea. 

Let's eat! Scholars read pages 24-25 of The Inuit Thought of It to discover the foods eaten by the Inuit. They sketch a visual gist of the section in their journals and write a summary paragraph about the text.

Use a graphic organizer to get readers thinking about main ideas as they record the who, what, where, when, and why of a story. Consider modeling this process completely before kids do this independently. They fill in five boxes charting...

A key reading comprehension skill is the ability to identify the main idea and supporting details used in a passage of informational text. Here's a template that encourages young readers to practice this skill. They list the who, what,...

In this comprehension strategies worksheet, students read the story Dogs and then complete comprehension strategies for the story. Students complete activities on cause and effect, main idea and details, inferences, details, and drawing...

After examining a brief article about the major art periods, readers use the provided graphic organizer to identify the main idea and supporting ideas in the paragraph.

After examining a short passage about the Mississippi River system, readers use the provided graphic organizer to identify the main idea and supporting ideas in the article.