Finding the Central Message with Annotations

What is the central message in a text?

• The number of pages in the text

• The setting of the story

• The big idea or what the text is really about

• The main character's name

What is the first step in finding the central message?

• Read the text aloud

• Write a summary of the text

• Annotate the text and underline important events

• Guess the main idea

After underlining important events, what should you ask yourself?

• Who is the author?

• How many characters are in the story?

• What did the character learn?

• What is the title of the text?

What should you do with the important events you underlined?

• Highlight them in a different color

• Ignore them

• Erase them

• Use them to support your answer

What is the final step in identifying the central message?

• Write the big idea or central message of the story

• Draw a picture of the main character

• Count the number of paragraphs

• Rewrite the story in your own words

In the example story, why was Jody upset?

• She didn't get a birthday present

• She missed her best friend

• She got a C minus in PE on her report card

• She lost her favorite toy

What did Jody learn from her experience?

• She should always be perfect

• She wasn't perfect at everything, but her dad was proud she did her best

• Her dad was disappointed in her

• She should quit sports