Isolating the Main Idea of Given Text

Contributed by:
Ivan
Finding the main idea of the given text and distinguishing it from supporting details. The main topic is what the text is about. It is the subject. The main point is what is being said about the topic.
1. Distinguish the Main Idea and
Supporting Details from Text
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2. Main Idea/Supporting Details/ Problem
Solution Text Structure
Standards Continuum
•Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how
it is conveyed through particular details; provide a
summary of the text distinct from personal opinions
or judgments.
C.O Students will be able to identify the main idea in
a non-fiction/fiction text and relate to other sources.
L.O Students will work with a partner to orally and
graphically determine the main idea of a text. 2
3. Teacher Explains
The main idea is the most important
information about the topic.
When we know the main idea, it helps
us to remember and retell what we
read.
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4. BRAINPOP!!!
⦿ http://WWW.brainpop.com
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5. Direct Instruction (I Do)
In order to understand the main idea
you need to know what the topic is.
The topic is who or what the
paragraph is about.The topic is usually 5
one or two words.
6. Direct Instruction (I Do)
The other sentences in the
paragraph provide details or more
information about the topic.
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7. Direct Instruction (I DO)
⦿ After we know the topic and
understand the details we are ready to
find the main idea.
⦿ What is the main idea?
⦿ The main idea is the most important
information about a topic. This is where
you write a sentence that will sum up all
the facts your read. It should answer at
least 3 of these questions: who, what,
when , where, why, and how. 7
8. Direct Instruction (I Do)
Listen and follow along as I read Story
After reading, I will find the topic and
the main idea.
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9. Direct Instruction
(I Do)
Polar bears were added to the list of threatened
species and will receive special protection under
U.S. law. In his statement, Secretary of the Interior
Dirk Kempthorne noted that the decline of Arctic
sea ice is the greatest threat to the bears. Polar
bears live in the Arctic and hunt seals and other
fatty marine mammals from sea ice. They also
travel, mate, and sometimes give birth on the ice.
But sea ice is melting as the planet warms, and it
is predicted to continue to do so for several more
decades."Because polar bears are vulnerable to
this loss of habitat, they are—in my judgment—
likely to become endangered in the foreseeable
future," Kempthorne
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10. Direct Instruction
(I Do)
To find the topic, I ask: “Who or
what is the paragraph about?”
The paragraph is about Polar Bears.
So the topic of this paragraph is
‘Polar Bears’. 10
11. Direct Instruction
(I Do)
To find the main idea, I ask: “What
is the most important information the
author wants me to know about the
topic, which is ‘Polar Bears’?”
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12. Direct Instruction
(I Do)
The author has written that Polar Bears
were added to the threatened species
list. The ice in the Arctic is melting and
this is the Polar bears habitat. The
author added that they may become
endangered soon. 12
13. Do I know what the main
idea is?
⦿ So what was the point of the article on
Polar Bears? To inform readers that
Polar Bears are now a threatened
species, and might soon become
endangered.
If I wanted more information on this topic
would I look in
⦿ A encyclopedia
⦿ A newspaper
⦿ A website about threatened animals 13
14. Direct Instruction (I Do)
When I am reading can I find the
main idea sentence in the story?
The main idea is often the first
sentence in the paragraph, but it
isn’t always the first sentence. 14
15. Direct Instruction (I Do)
There may not even be a main
idea sentence in the paragraph.
In that case, I have to figure
out the main idea based on the
details in the paragraph.
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16. Get out of your seat and sing
along!
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17. Guided Practice
Remember, the topic is who or what the
paragraph is about.
What is the topic?
The topic is_____________.
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18. Guided Practice
The main idea of a paragraph is the most
important information about the topic.
What is the main idea of a paragraph?
The main idea is __________.
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19. Guided Practice
The other sentences in a paragraph are
details about the topic.
A detail is part of the information about the
topic. What is a detail?
A detail is_________________. 19
20. Guided Practice
There are two ways to find the main
•The main idea can be one of the
sentences in the paragraph.
• If there is not a main idea
sentence, then we figure out the
main idea based on the details or
information in the paragraph. 20
21. Guided Practice
Name one way to find the main idea.
One way to find the main idea is to
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22. Guided Practice
Name another way to find the main
idea when there is not a main idea
sentence in the paragraph.
Another way to find the main idea is 22
23. Guided Practice
We are going to read another story!
WOO HOO!!
Make sure to follow these three
steps 23
24. Guided Practice
First we need to identify our topic!
To do this we are going to think
about who or what the paragraph is
about. 24
25. Guided Practice
Next we need to understand the
Finally we find the main idea!
We are going to think about the
most important information about the
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26. Guided Practice (We Do)
Story #2: Read me 3 times!
Antarctica is a continent that is covered
in ice. It took explorers many years to
find Antarctica, for several reasons. For
one thing, it is very far away from other
continents. The waters around it are very
rough, too. Waves can be 40 feet high.
Also, it is located at the South Pole, so 26
night hides the land for four months out
of the year.
27. Guided Practice
(We Do)
To find the topic, I ask: “Who or what is
the paragraph about?”
The paragraph is about__________.
27
28. The topic is
Antarctica!
Excellent job!
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29. Guided Practice (We Do)
To find the main idea, ask:
“What is the most important
information about Antarctica?” 29
The main idea is______________.
30. Guided Practice (We Do)
The main idea is
‘There are many reasons why it took so long to
find Antarctica’.
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31. Guided Practice (We Do)
Is this main idea sentence, ‘There are many reasons why
it took so long to find Antarctica,’ in the paragraph?
Let’s check
Antarctica is a continent that is covered in ice. It took explorers
many years to find Antarctica, for several reasons. For one thing,
it is very far away from other continents. The waters around it are
very rough, too. Waves can be 40 feet high. Also, it is located at
the South Pole, so night hides the land for four months out of the
No,that’s right. The sentence, ‘There are many reasons
why it took so long to find Antarctica’ is not in the
paragraph. 31
32. Guided Practice (We Do)
So how did we know what the main
idea was?
We had to figure out the main idea
based on the other
information/details in the paragraph.
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33. Guided Practice (We Do)
Tell your partner how you figured out
the main idea?
I figured out the main idea by
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34. Guided Practice (we do)
If I wanted to know more about why
Antarctica was hard to find where
should I look
⦿ Books from a library or store
⦿ The internet
⦿ Research papers about Antarctica
⦿ A dictionary
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35. Guided Practice (We Do)
We are going to identify the topic
and the main idea in another
Remember, the main idea is the most
important information about the topic.
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36. Guided Practice (We Do)
What is the topic in a paragraph?
The topic is who or what the
paragraph is about.
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37. Guided Practice (We Do)
What is the main idea in a
The main idea is the most important
information about the topic. 37
38. Guided Practice (We Do)
Two ways to find the main idea
1.The main idea can be one of the
sentences in the story.
2. If it is not there, we have to figure
out the main idea based on the details
or information in the paragraph.
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39. Guided Practice (We Do)
Name one way to find the main idea.
One way to find the main idea is to
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40. Guided Practice (We Do)
Name another way to find the main
Another way to find the main idea is
to ______________.
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41. Guided Practice (We Do)
Get ready to listen to a new story.
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42. Guided Practice (We Do)
Remember your three steps
1. Identify the topic
2. Understand the details
3. Find the main idea
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43. Guided Practice (We Do)
Story #3:
We usually see water as a liquid. We drink and
swim in liquid water. Sometimes the water gets
very cold and turns to ice. When water becomes
hard and frozen solid, it is ice. Ice cubes are a
solid form of water. When the ice cubes melt, the
water becomes a liquid again. Sometimes the
water becomes very hot and turns to a gas. When
water becomes a gas it disappears into the air.
The clouds in the sky are made of this gas or 43
water vapor. Water can be a liquid, solid, or gas.
44. Guided Practice (We Do)
To find the topic, ask who
or what is the paragraph
about.
What is the topic or what
is the paragraph about?
The topic is about_____.
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45. Guided Practice
(We Do)
To find the main idea, ask what is the most
important information about water.
What information did we learn about water?
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46. Guided Practice (We Do)
We learned that water can be a liquid, a
solid, or a gas.
Yes, this sentence tells the most
important information about the topic in
this paragraph.
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47. Guided Practice (We Do)
Could this be the main idea sentence?
Is this sentence in the story?
Where is the sentence in the story?
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48. Independent Practice (You Do)
Read the story passed out to you and use
your graphic organizer to find the main
Ask: Who or what is the story about?
Write the topic at the top of the graphic
organizer 48
49. Independent Practice (You
Do)
Ask: What is the most important
information about the topic in the story?
Write the main idea in the second box on
the graphic organizer
(re-read the story if needed) 49
50. Independent Practice (You
Do)
Ask: What are the details that help me
identify the main idea?
Write the details in the three
columns on the graphic organizer
(re-read the story if needed)
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