Main Idea and Details Lesson

Main Idea & Supporting Details

EIS English 7 Edition

Multiple Choice

What is a main idea?

• the message or topic that the author wants to tell you about

• the lesson the author wants you to learn

• when and where a story takes place

Main Idea: What Is It?

The main idea of a paragraph is the author's message about the topic.

It is often expressed directly or it can be implied.

Explicitly/Directly Stating the Main Idea

• Main Ideas can be explicitly, or directly, stated.

• Basically, this means that the author has included a sentence, known as a "topic sentence" within the text to help you identify what he or she is trying to tell you.

Locating a Directly Stated Main Idea

• It is easy to identify a main idea that is directly expressed in the text. The first place you should look for a main idea is in the title.

• Main ideas are often found at the beginning of paragraphs. The first sentence often explains the subject being discussed in the passage.

• Main ideas are also found in the concluding sentences of a paragraph.

Multiple Choice

Find the main idea.

Summer is a wonderful time to spend at West Beach. It is a beach with light- colored, soft sand. The coastline goes on for a long way and many people enjoy walking along it. Children like to play in the surf and walk along the rocks that are visible at low tide. This is a fun beach for people of all ages.

• The coastline is long and peole enjoy walking there.

• Summer is a wonderful time at West Beach.

• Children play in the surf.

• It is a beach with light-colored sand.

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea?

Most teenagers and young adults do not know what they want to do for the rest of their lives. It is a big decision. There are a number of things you can do to narrow the choices. For example you can take an interest test, do some research on your own about a career, try volunteer work in the field in which you are interested, or “job-shadow”, in which you spend a day with a person who is working in a field that interests you. These are just a few helpful ideas as you begin to choose a career.

• Most teenagers and adults do not know what they want to do.

• You can take an interest test.

• You can volunteer to work in your field of interest.

• These are helpful ideas to help you choose a career.

Multiple Select

Where are the best places to check for main ideas in a paragraph? (Check all that apply)

• In the first paragraph

• In the title

• In the last paragraph

• In the middle of the paragraph

Summing It All Up:

Main Idea

• Main Idea is the most important part of a sentence or story and expresses the author's message.

• Main Idea is "The Star of the Show" and wants you to focus on it as you read. (Cardi is the star.)

• Main Ideas can be explicitly/directly stated or they can be implied.

Implied Main Ideas

The main idea is not always directly stated. Sometimes you have to find details within a paragraph or passage, find what those details have in common, and come up with the main idea on your own.

This is called an "implied" main idea.

It is more difficult to identify a main idea that is implied BUT it is NOT impossible!

Finding Implied Main Ideas

• Several sentences in a paragraph can imply the main idea by introducing facts about the topic before actually stating the topic.

• Implied ideas can be drawn from facts, reasons, or examples that give hints or suggestions concerning the main idea. These hints will be clues leading you to discover the main idea.

Multiple Choice

What is the implied main idea of this paragraph?

To many parents, an infant's crying may be annoying, especially if it continues for long periods. But crying serves important functions for the child as well as for the parents. For the child, crying helps improve lung capacity and breathing. Perhaps more important, the cry serves as a signal of distress. When babies cry, they let parents know that they are hungry or in pain, and this is important information for parents since infants cannot talk.

• Never have children.

• Many parents hate when babies cry.

• Babies cry for many important reasons.

• Babies cry when they are in distress.

Multiple Choice

What is the implied main idea?

When I was a little girl, I took piano lessons every Monday after school. I walked to Mrs. Siever's house with my tattered sheet music in my school lunch-stained hands. She taught me the scales, the proper way to hold my small fingers, and the theme song from The Pink Panther. She also taught me much more. From her I learned the necessity of practice, the importance of patience, and the joy of achieving a goal after hard work. She also gave me the gift of music. All of that was learned in a half hour lesson on Monday afternoons in Hamel, Illinois.

• The author loves playing the piano.

• Mrs. Siever taught the author how to play The Pink Panther theme song.

• Mrs. Siever taught lessons about life as well as the piano.

• The author took piano lessons for half an hour every Monday.

Supporting Details

Supporting details are additional information within a text or paragraph that explains, defines or proves the main idea.

Supporting Details

• Supporting details help prove the point of the main idea.

• Without supporting details, the main idea isn't as strong.

• Cardi is the star of the show but her supporting details (hair stylist, nail stylist, publicist, manager, producer, etc) support her star power and help her to shine brighter.

Multiple Select

What details support the main idea in this passage?

(Main Idea: Mrs. Siever taught life lessons and piano lessons.)

When I was a little girl, I took piano lessons every Monday after school. I walked to Mrs. Siever's house with my tattered sheet music in my school lunch-stained hands. She taught me the scales, the proper way to hold my small fingers, and the theme song from The Pink Panther. She also taught me much more. From her I learned the necessity of practice, the importance of patience, and the joy of achieving a goal after hard work. She also gave me the gift of music. All of that was learned in a half hour lesson on Monday afternoons in Hamel, Illinois.

• From her, I learned the necessity of practice.

• I walked to Mrs. Siever's house every Monday.

• Mrs. Siever taught me scales and the proper way to hold my fingers.

• She also taught me much more.

Multiple Select

Find the supporting details.

(Main Idea: Summer is a wonderful time at West Beach.)

Summer is a wonderful time to spend at West Beach. It is a beach with light- colored, soft sand. The coastline goes on for a long way and many people enjoy walking along it. Children like to play in the surf and walk along the rocks that are visible at low tide. This is a fun beach for people of all ages.

• The coastline is long and peole enjoy walking there.

• The beach is fun for people of all ages.

• Children play in the surf.

• It is a beach with light-colored sand.

Poll

How well do you think this lesson went as far as increasing your understanding of main idea and supporting details?

• Great, I understand it completely and am ready to test!

• I am pretty confident but would like to practice more.

• I kind of get it but am not ready to test yet.

• Main Idea what?!!! Supporting details who?!!

  New phone, who dis?