Main Idea & Key Details

What does the MAIN IDEA of a story tell the reader?

• The lesson or moral 
• The conflict of the story
• What the story is about 
• The beginning, middle, or end

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RL.3.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

Key details give important information to support the main idea.

• True
• False

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RL.3.2

CCSS.RL.4.1

CCSS.RL.5.2

The main idea is what the story is ______________ about.

• mostly
• only
• never
• very

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RL.3.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

A key detail is...

• A life lesson that the author is trying to communicate to us.
• An important point in the text that can help us find the main idea
• Reveals the main characters in the story.
• Is the main point the author is trying to make about the topic.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RL.3.1

CCSS.RL.4.1

CCSS.RL.5.1

One dinosaur had a brain that weighed about as much as three pencils. Its body weighed ten tons and was over twenty feet in length. As you can guess, this dinosaur did not think too clearly. It wasn't the world's brightest dinosaur! What is the main idea of this paragraph?

• How big one dinosaur was

• What one dinosaur's brain was like

Tags

CCSS.RI.2.2

CCSS.RI.3.2

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RL.3.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

What is the main idea of this passage?

It was backwards day at school. The students had to do things backwards. Some wore their t-shirts backwards. Dessert was served first at lunch. They turned their papers upside down to write. They tried to write backwards.

• Dessert comes after lunch.

• The students had backwards day at school.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Why are key details important?

• They help me understand the main idea
• They are names of characters
• They are always written in bold print
• They are not important

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.1

CCSS.RL.7.2

What is the difference between Main Idea and Supporting Details?

• Main Idea is the end, and Supporting Details are the beginning.
• Main Idea is what the passage is about, and Supporting Details help describe/explain the Main Idea.
• Main Idea is in every passage, but Supporting Details are only in some. 
• Main Idea is what supports the supporting details. 

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RL.4.1

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.5.2