Main Idea and Summary

The main idea is...

• The order in which events happen in a story.
• A series of important details identified in a nonfiction text.
• The big idea or life lesson that the author wants us to take away from a fictional story.
• A brief statement that you create which shows/reflects what a nonfiction text is mainly talking about.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

A summary is...

• A list of key details in the text that are placed in the correct order.
• A short paragraph in a fictional story that reveals the big idea, lesson, or moral.
• A short paragraph that you create which includes the main idea of the text and some key important details.
• A short paragraph that you find in the text which includes the main idea and some key details.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RI.5.9

When would you most likely summarize a book? 

• when you want to forget a book you've read
• when you want to tell a friend your opinion of a book but not what it was about
• when you want to tell a friend the gist or the main idea of a book
• when you don't understand a vocabulary word you read in a book

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.5.9

A summary should

• answer the 5 W's: who, what, when, where, and why.
• describe the details but not the main ideas.
• never mention the plot of the text.
• always mention the age of the author.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

You should write your summary

• in your own words with complete sentences
• in a secret language that your make up
• in one draft without revising
• in fragments without punctuation

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RI.5.9

Tomorrow is Jill's birthday. She is excited because she gets to pick where she will eat dinner. Will it be Mexican food at the Big Enchilada House? Or will it be fried chicken at the Chicken Shack, or a big cheeseburger at Al's Hamburger Palace. She just couldn't decide. Then there was always the Pizza Shop with that great pepperoni pizza. How would she ever decide? Maybe she would just flip a coin.

What is the main idea of this passage?

• Jill has many restaurants to choose from for her birthday.

• Jill loves Mexican food.

• The Pizza Shop has the best pizza in town.

• Jill will choose a place by flipping a coin.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

When some people think about Texas, they think of cowboys on the open range-herding cattle up a dusty trail. However, Texas has much more than open prairie with large herds of cows. There are the mountains of West Texas, the piney hills of east Texas, and the emerald waters off the coast of Padre Island. Texas also has large coastal harbors with numerous sailboats, powerboats, inland lakes, rivers, swamps of southeast Texas with alligators and other exotic wildlife.

What is the main thing the author is trying to tell us?

• There are many different, varied parts of Texas.

• There are a lot of cows in Texas.

• There are alligators in the swampland of southeast Texas.

• Texas is one of the biggest states in the United States.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

Floods can cause tremendous damage.  They can ruin houses, roads and buildings. Floods can take down trees and cause mudslides. It often leaves mud, sand and debris behind.  It can take months to clean up after a flood.
 What is the main idea?

• Floods can cause a lot of damage.
• Floods cause mudslides.
• Floods damage houses and roads. 

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

What does Inference mean?

• finding details in a story
• Use clues and what you already know to come up with an idea
• Giving a reason for your answer
• Using what I know

Tags

CCSS.L.8.4A

CCSS.RL.8.1

You should determine the main idea by combining the supporting details.

• True
• False

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.8.2