Main Ideas And Supporting Details Introduction

Main Ideas and Supporting DetailsIntroductionThankyou for downloading this resource. I have put a lot of time into it to helpyou out so please observe the conditions of use. This maybe copied freely foruse within the school but please do not pass onto any other school/outsideschool teacher. Tell them the WWW address of our site instead.Using the following sheetsv If your children/pupils are at the pre-written language stage they can still use these ideas/activities. justdo them orally with them.v Dictionaries may be helpful in some casesv Pick activities that suit your levelStrategies for Main Ideas & Supporting DetailsvvvvUse the handouts we have on the following pagesUse photocopy sheets. Highlight/underline main ideas one colour, supporting details anotherWrite on separate sheet of paperPractise as a class, small group, pair, individualOther Ideas for Practising Main Ideas/Supporting DetailsVerbal/Linguisticv Read a sentence/paragraph from your class story what is the main iead/supporting detail? Make upactivities like we have with simpler/harder ideas/words.v Oral make up lists of words like the following activities. Read a sentence.v Use a thesaurus to get kids to make up their own activities like the one’s we have given.Spatialv Get art posters, posters what is the main idea of this painting, art or picture book cover? Suppportingdetails that prove this?v Stage a series of frozen scenes what is the main idea of these scenes. What are the supporting details?Musicalv Listen to music identify themes, types of music genre, is the tempo mostly fast, slow etc.v Is the texture mostly thick/thin. What instruments are mostly playing this? etcMath-Logicv Bring in Geometry/Patterning what is the main idea of the pattern, set of shapes etcv Organise keywords into Mind MapsBodily - Kinestheticv Put people into different groups depending on what they look like, what they are wearing, what theythink about thins, their favourite show etc. In2Edu 2001http://www.in2edu.com for free learning resources. You may copy for use within a school. Do not pass on to other schools.– please give them our www address for them to download. Page 1 of 10

Main Ideas and Supporting Detailsv Classify objects by how they feel (Relate to main ideas – what supporting details enable you to classifythem this way?)Naturalistv Put animals/pictures/landmark types into sets. Main ideas supporting details what do you see thatmakes them fit with the main idea?v Classify rock types, leavesInterpersonalv Look at the way people sell in adverts what is the main idea of what they trying to make you feel?What is the main idea of what they are selling?ICTv Type keywords into a www search pg. Can the search results be summarised into different main ideas?v Look at the clipart collection. what are the main ideas v Look at a WWW page. What are the main ideas of this page (purpose) Supporting details? 5 mostimportant words on the page?v Use computer to make up their own activities like the one’s we have given. In2Edu 2001http://www.in2edu.com for free learning resources. You may copy for use within a school. Do not pass on to other schools.– please give them our www address for them to download. Page 2 of 10

Main Ideas and Supporting DetailsIDENTIFYING MAIN IDEAS IN PARAGRAPHSWe write to transmit a message from the writer to the reader. One way to organise ideas is to put them intoparagraphs paragraphs. A paragraph consists of two or more sentences which relates to a main idea. This mainidea is the general message or thought that is present from the beginning of the paragraph to its end. All thesentences in a paragraph relate to the main idea in some way; ie. they explain, support, or describe it. The mainidea might be contained in a single sentence within the paragraph called a topic sentence. However, sometimes,the main idea is not clearly stated in a topic sentence but rather is implied or hinted at throughout the paragraph.How to 1. Skim the article/passage quickly to get a general idea of what it is about. Notice where the article is takenfrom since difference types of articles contain different kinds of paragraph structures (eg. a newspaper articlevery often contains paragraphs of only a single sentence in length.)2. Now go back and read carefully any paragraph in the article. Try to determine the main ideas of eachparagraph by answering these two questions:a) Who or What is this paragraph about? (any words, phrases, or ideas that are mentioned over and over areclues to answering this question. Usually the answer to this question can be summed up in one or two words.)Write the answer here:b) What does the writer really want me to know about the Who or What? To answer this question you willneed to analyse all the sentences in the paragraph to see what the writer specifically wants you to know. Thisspecific information e. represents the main idea of the paragraph and can usually be summed up in a fullsentence. Write the answer to (b) here:3. Did you find that the main idea of the paragraph was clearly stated in a topic sentence? If so, write thatsentence below.TOPIC SENTENCE:4. Was the main idea of the paragraph only implied rather than explicitly stated? If so, use your own words tosummarize the main idea.IMPLIED MAIN IDEA In2Edu 2001http://www.in2edu.com for free learning resources. You may copy for use within a school. Do not pass on to other schools.– please give them our www address for them to download. Page 3 of 10

Main Ideas and Supporting DetailsMain Ideas InvestigatorYour Mission is to Identify the Main Ideas in ParagraphsInformation on chosen article:Title:.Source: .Author:.Date: .Paragraph #1:) Who or What is this paragraph about? Where did it happen?b) What does the writer really want me to know about the Who or What?3. Did you find that the main idea of the paragraph was clearly stated in a topic sentence? If so, write thatsentence below.TOPIC SENTENCE:4. Was the main idea of the paragraph only implied rather than explicitly stated? If so, use your own words tosummarize the main idea.IMPLIED MAIN IDEA5. How can you be sure that you have correctly identified the main idea implied in the paragraph?Paragraph #2: (use the same outline above) In2Edu 2001http://www.in2edu.com for free learning resources. You may copy for use within a school. Do not pass on to other schools.– please give them our www address for them to download. Page 4 of 10

Main Ideas and Supporting Details In2Edu 2001http://www.in2edu.com for free learning resources. You may copy for use within a school. Do not pass on to other schools.– please give them our www address for them to download. Page 5 of 10

Main Ideas and Supporting Details In2Edu 2001http://www.in2edu.com for free learning resources. You may copy for use within a school. Do not pass on to other schools.– please give them our www address for them to download. Page 6 of 10

Main Ideas and Supporting Details In2Edu 2001http://www.in2edu.com for free learning resources. You may copy for use within a school. Do not pass on to other schools.– please give them our www address for them to download. Page 7 of 10

Main Ideas and Supporting DetailsWhat word best describes these all of these pictures1.A. DogsB. BirdsC. People2.A. DogsB. CatsC. People3.A. CatsB. MiceC. Animals4.A. SportB. BallC. Circle5.A. PlantsB. FlowersC. Colours6.A. BoatsB. CarsC. People7.A. SummerB. SpringC. Winter In2Edu 2001http://www.in2edu.com for free learning resources. You may copy for use within a school. Do not pass on to other schools.– please give them our www address for them to download. Page 8 of 10

Main Ideas and Supporting DetailsChoose the best main idea from the answers given8.A. In the sunB. At thebeachC. Playing atthe beach.10.A. BirthdayPartyB. PartyC. Food12.A. FishingB. Childshowingcaught fishC. The boyfishing14.A. SwimmingB. Start ofswimmingraceC. People in apool16.A. Tracks inthe snowB. Fun in thesnowC. Winter9.A. HammerB. BuildingC. SoreThumb11.A. TreesB. FellingTreesC. A badman13.A. In thewoodsB. Family inwoodsC. Familyhiking inwoods15.A. JoggersB. Race onthe roadC. Runningrace onmountainroad17.A. FiremenB. Lookingat a mapC. Firemenlooking atmap In2Edu 2001http://www.in2edu.com for free learning resources. You may copy for use within a school. Do not pass on to other schools.– please give them our www address for them to download. Page 9 of 10

Main Ideas and Supporting DetailsWrite down the main idea of each list of words. Choose the best main idea from the answers given.18.RedBlueGreenYellowA. BrightB. Colours(colors)C. Things I like20.ScreenMouseCDRomMonitorA. TechnologyB. ComputerC. Computeritems22.DrumsGuitarSaxaphoneViolinA. MusicB. SoundsC. Instruments24.WalkRunStrollSprintA. MovementsB. LegsC. LegMovements26.HappySadAngryCheerful28.Edmund HillaryLudwig BeethovenMartin Luther KingMother Teresa29.EuropeAustralasiaAsiaNorth AmericaA. FeelingsB. A good moodC. DifferentthingsA. PeopleB. MusiciansC. nts19.BootSlipperSandalSneakerA. Things on feetB. FootwearC. Things I wear21.BaseballSoccerRugbySquashA. Ball sportsB. SportsC.23.CatMouseTurtleTigerA. Four legsB. AnimalsC. Wild25.SummerWinter Autumn(Fall)A. TimesB. The YearC. Torch28.Slip awayGet offBreak looseGetawayA.B.C.D.Give upEscapeRunRobber30.New sEuropePlacesSoon to be produced – sentences and paragraphs with main ideas & supporting details activities In2Edu 2001http://www.in2edu.com for free learning resources. You may copy for use within a school. Do not pass on to other schools.– please give them our www address for them to download. Page 10 of 10

sentences in a paragraph relate to the main idea in some way; ie. they explain, support, or describe it. The main idea might be contained in a single sentence within the paragraph called a topic sentence. However, sometimes, the main idea is not clearly stated in a topic sentence but rather