Today we will discern main ideas and the evidence that supports them.

discern – figure outevidence – proof; details

Activating Prior Knowledge The main idea is the big

point that the writer is communicating to the reader.

Often the reader can approach the main idea just by looking at the title.

For example, a passage titled: “Why Teachers Deserve More Dollars” will include reasons for that idea.

APK - The Roof Figure

Try to see the main idea as a roof.

It should be big enough to include everything in the reading passage the details

Main Idea

Main Idea - is like the heart of the text or a paragraph. It is the controlling idea. All the other supporting details in

the text or within a paragraph should tell us more about the main idea.

ma

Can you discern the main idea in this image? What is the evidence for it?

Main Ideas and Supporting Details

In texts, there are general statements and specific statements.

General statements are like a category.

Specific statements provide details about the general statement.

What would you categorize these creatures under?

CD - General Versus Specific The main idea is a

general one. The supporting ideas

in the passage are specific ones.

Which word is the most general:

Potato or Vegetable?

potatospecifi

c

general

CD -What about the topic?

The topic is the general subject of a reading passage.

To find the topic, just ask yourself: “Who or what is this passage about?”

The topic can be expressed in a word or a phrase. WHO?

CD -The Topic Sentence

Many paragraphs have topic sentences that indicate what their about.

Find the topic sentence in this paragraph: Homeless people have many problems.

In winter, it’s hard to stay warm and it gets too hot in summer. It’s also hard to keep things safe without a home. Worst is the lack of privacy.

Supporting Details

Supporting details prove the value of the main idea. What are they here?

Homeless people have many problems. In winter, it’s hard to stay warm and it gets too hot in summer. It’s also hard to keep things safe without a home. Worst is the lack of privacy.

Get the Point?Get the Point? Read this short paragraph:

Engineers make our city rich. So, tennis is a game and the resources of the earth are few. Have you gone mad? Thus the only solution is to educate the public on being responsible.

Get the Point?

We would go crazy if texts were written like this all the time.

It was difficult to understand because it was made of different ideas that did not link. There was no common thread.

Steps to discerning the Main Idea and providing evidence

1. Read text carefully with clarification2. Ask yourself, “Who or what is the

passage about?”3. Ask yourself, “What is the evidence

that supports it?” 4. Check to see if your teammates

agree.5. Write your answer

Example 1:

I drive a car. It is a 1992 gray, 4-door Toyota.

Guided Practice

1. Read text carefully with clarification

2. Ask yourself, “Who or what is the passage about?”

3. Ask yourself, “What is the evidence that supports it?”

4. Check to see if your teammates agree.

5. Write your answers.

Example 2:

David works in the

field of media. He is

a television news reporter.

Guided Practice

1. Read text carefully with clarification

2. Ask yourself, “Who or what is the passage about?”

3. Ask yourself, “What is the evidence that supports it?”

4. Check to see if your teammates agree.

5. Write your answers.

Numbers one, seven, fourteen, one hundred

1. ___________red, pink, orange, blue

2. ___________frog, dog, mouse, giraffe

3. ___________teacher, salesperson, nurse, physician

Guided Practice

1. Read text carefully with clarification

2. Ask yourself, “Who or what is the passage about?”

3. Ask yourself, “What is the evidence that supports it?”

4. Check to see if your teammates agree.

5. Write your answer

Example: vegetables potatoes food

InstructionsNumber each word "1" for the most general item, and 2, and 3 for the most specific.

32

1

Guided Practice

1

__my dog Blacky __dogs __Labrador dogs

2

__glasses __sunglasses __sports sunglasses

3

__IBM person computer (PC) __computers __PC's

Guided Practice

Closure

Main Idea - is like the heart of the text or a paragraph. It is the controlling idea. All the other supporting details in

the text or within a paragraph should provided the evidence that supports the main idea.