Things You'll Need:
- nonfiction text
- paper
- pencils
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Step 1
All students should have the same text to read. You can use an article from a kid's magazine, the Internet, or a textbook. I try to use material that goes with the units we are currently studying.
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Step 2
Read a paragraph aloud to the students. Have them immediately write in their own words what they think the paragraph is mostly talking about. They should write this in a complete sentence. Don't use the term main idea yet.
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Step 3
Ask students to share with you their sentences. Make a list on the board or on chart paper. Read these aloud to the class after you write them down.
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Step 4
Explain the term MAIN IDEA to your students such as, "Main idea is what the paragraph is mostly telling you about. All the sentences are joining together to give you a message. The main idea of the paragraph is the message the author is telling you."
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Step 5
If one of your students already figured out the main idea with his sentence, then ask the class to find the main idea on the list you just made. If no one reported the main idea, then together as a class, write a main idea sentence. Then discuss why some of the other sentences on the list are not main ideas. Possible reasons could be that the sentence only discusses part of the paragraph, or the sentence is like a title instead of a main idea.
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Step 6
Read another paragraph aloud to students from the same material. Ask students to write down the main idea. Remind them what main idea means. Discuss students' answers.
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Step 7
Pair up students to work together on the rest of the article, writing a main idea for each paragraph or subsection of the article.
