Curated OER
Treasure Tales
Create an artifact kit to engage your young learners. Then, assign small groups a section of chapter three. They will identify the main idea and three supporting details for their section. Then, they select one artifact from the kit that...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Informational Text: The Dred Scott Decision
Looking for a performance assessment that asks individuals to demonstrate their competency in writing about informational text? Use Frederick Douglass' essay "On the Dred Scott Decision," and an excerpt from Abraham Lincoln's 1857 speech...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Inferring About the Silversmith Trade in Colonial Times
The seventh lesson plan in this unit on colonial trade assesses fourth graders' ability to use details from an informational text to make inferences and create a piece of informative writing. The included assessment begins with learners...
EngageNY
Planning Writing: Bullfrog Information Paragraph
Lesson ten in this unit for the book Bullfrogs at Magnolia Circle, prepares third graders to begin writing an informational paragraph about the adaptations of bullfrogs. First, young writers work either independently or in pairs to...
Curated OER
Main Idea and Supporting Details on Pitcher Plants
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...
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...
Curated OER
Georgia CRCT - 7th Grade Language Arts Quiz
Writing conventions are the focus of this standardized practice test. Designed for the Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT), these fifteen questions address grammar (capitalization, parts of speech, homonyms) and writing...
Polk Bros Foundation
How to Summarize a Non-Fiction Passage
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...
Curated OER
Spinelli's Maniac Magee (excerpt): Reading and Critical Thinking Practice
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....
Curated OER
Only the Facts
Practice the strategy of summarizing to gain meaning and knowledge from an informational text. Young readers highlight supporting details and main ideas, and then they use this to summarize two articles: "The Great Quake" and "What is an...
Curated OER
Take the Mystery Out of Building Suspense in a Narrative
Good thing, bad thing; a fun technique for building suspense in a narrative.
Curated OER
Hands-On Outlining
In order to write an effective outline, children must be able to identify main ideas and supporting details, which is the aim of this fun and kinesthetic activity. The class works on the floor to organize sentence strips prepared by the...
K12 Reader
What Would You Change About Your School?
Have your young writers speak their minds with a letter to the principal. Using a writing prompt at the top of the page, kids think about a change that they would like to see at their school. The prompt encourages them to consider...
Curated OER
Desert Drama
Students read both fiction and nonfiction books with desert themes. Then they write desert stories and reports, reviewing texts for information to include in writing. Students also design desert scenes with details and setting elements...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Informational Text: Beyond the Beyond—Galaxies
Everyone has a different point of view, even when it comes to the enormity of the universe. Two separate text passages explain the scope of a galaxy, prompting young readers to write an essay about each author's argument and how the...
Curated OER
Paragraph Structure
Practice writing paragraphs with this scaffolded worksheet. The "hamburger" model is used on the second page, following some examples and guided practice on the first page. Give beginning writers concrete, tangible support as they embark...
Curated OER
Examining Secondary Sources: The American Revolution
Learners who have a grasp on the events of the Revolutionary war view clips from five different films as secondary sources. They take notes on each clip thinking about historic inaccuracies. They then view parts of the film The Patriot...
DePaul University
The Football Team
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...
Polk Bros Foundation
I Can Comprehend a Paragraph, then a Page/Section in a Text
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...
Ed Helper Clip Art
Main Idea Mountain
After reading a text, learners fill out a graphic organizer in the shape of a mountain, with the main idea as the peak.
Bainbridge Class
End of the Year Photo Writing Project
Close out the school year with a look back at a specific event. You provide individuals with photos of themselves, and each pupil fills out the graphic organizer here to prepare for writing a paragraph about the memory depicted in the...
Curated OER
Main Idea/Detail Relay
Fourth graders discuss the difference between main ideas and supporting details. They use large placement cards made by the teacher with main idea and supporting detail statements on them to practice.
Curated OER
Determining Main Idea and Supporting Details-Wild in the City
Students discuss the main idea of a story. In this writing process lesson, students use a video about parakeets as a tool to find the main idea of a story. After viewing the video, they engage in a discussion about determining which...
Curated OER
Writer's Toolbox
Present the class with a slide show that will give them a great head start in writing expository and narrative texts. The information is highlighted for easy note taking, well organized, and presented in a kid-friendly manner. It...