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...

Explore non-fiction comprehension strategies with your class. They will visualize daily activities and label a 4 circle Venn diagram with related phrases. They must identify the overlapping sections as "main ideas," then complete a...

Throughout history, the growth of big cities has resulted in the destruction of ecosystems. In the case of Chicago, IL, a grassland that was once home to bison, deer, wolves, and foxes quickly became a booming city of over three million...

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...

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...

Calling all experts! Using the educational resource, pupils work together in small expert groups, reading an article about the 2010 Haiti earthquake. As they read, they record two main ideas and supporting details from the text.

Young readers complete a graphic organizer identifying the main idea and the supporting ideas in a passage taken from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.

In the third activity from this unit based on the book Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, learners focus on using specific details from the text-to-answer questions about the habitat of bullfrogs. While reading the text, young...

Cement comprehension skills using the strategies in this activity. After reading the story, Juan Verdades by Joe Hays, learners use context clues to answer questions, identify main ideas and details, and sequence events.

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...

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...

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...

Quite often, learners confuse the main idea in a selection of reading with the supporting details. In this lesson plan, pupils practice the skill of finding the main idea and the supporting details in pieces of writing. Newspaper...

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.

In this main idea learning exercise, students answer ten multiple choice questions about finding the main idea and supporting details.

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...

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,...

Find key details in books using this note card strategy. Each reader gets six cards with the classic who, what, where, when, why, and how detail prompts. After they read the book, they choose a card and locate a key detail...

After reading a text, one way to find out how much your class comprehended is to ask your pupils to summarize. This worksheet helps class members prepare for writing a summary of a nonfiction text. They note down the topic, up to eight...

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.

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....

Young historians climb through the three branches of the US government in the third lesson of this five-part series. While reading the first three Articles of the Constitution in small groups, children write facts on paper leaves...

Fourth graders view examples of help-wanted ads as they plan and create their own writing in the fourteenth instructional activity of this unit on colonial trade. The engagement of the class is captured when the teacher shares an actual...

Three great graphic organizers guide readers to see how the elements of plot and main idea can be charted to reveal the theme of a story. Model the process on the provided Direct Teaching Teacher Graphic Organizer using Aesop’s The...