Main Idea Lesson Template

Title:
Grade:
Main Idea Overview

Subject:
4th
Designer:
Language Arts- Main Idea

Sarah Worth
Stage 1 Desired Results
Established Goals: Students will demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts through
identifying the main idea and supporting details (4.5j).
Understandings:
Essential Understanding
Students will understand:
Being able to pick out the main idea and supporting

details of texts can help create analytical, forward
thinking learners.
That being able to identify the

main idea and supporting details
will help them become more
analytical and critical thinkers.
Being able to master the ability to
identify main idea and supporting
details will increase effective note
taking skills.
The main idea of a passage is what the passage is

mostly about. Supporting details can be used to help
explain or defend what the main idea is.
Essential Questions:
Students will know
Basic text structures that can be

found in fictional texts.
How can you identify the main idea of a

passage?
Why are supporting details important?
How can you tell which details are
important in a given passage?
Students will be able to

Define the terms main idea and supporting
details
Identify the main idea and supporting details
of a given passage.
Identify which parts of a passage are
irrelevant, based on the main idea and
supporting details.
Stage 2 Assessment Evidence

Performance Tasks: For the next
Other Evidence:
several days, we will talk about what the
main idea is for a piece of writing as well Throughout the week, student comprehension will be
as its supporting details. Throughout the
assessed through small group observation and
next week and a half, you will learn how
whole group instruction. Students will be prompted
to identify the main idea, which details in to recall, review, and explain what the main idea is
a passage are used to support the main
as well as which details in the passage support the
idea, as well as how to tell which parts of main idea. They will need to be able to differentiate
a passage are irrelevent
between necessary and unnecessary information as
well as create supporting details based off of a main
idea. At the end of the week, a short assessment will
be given to assess student comprehension at the end
of the mini-unit.
Stage 3 Learning Plan
Learning Activities:
Monday: Introduction to Main Idea
Tuesday: Table Activity

Explain to students that for todays activity, they will be read a story aloud and will need to
fill out a table cut out with the main idea and supporting details. Place a filled out copy of
yesterdays notes sheets on the Elmo. Point out how the center of the table is found as well as
what each table leg represents. Read the story Stone Soup out loud to the students. Read
slowly so they have time to process and pick apart the information. Pass out the table document
and have students cut out the table. Explain that the teacher will be reading the book again, and
this time students will be filling in the information on their table. Once the story has been read a
second time, students will be allowed to work together to help each other fill out their table.
Have students keep the table in their binder for future references.
Wednesday: Cutting and Sorting main Idea
Today, the students will be looking at different words or phrases that have a common
similarity. Each of the words will be mixed up on the piece of computer paper. Students will cut
out each of the words and organize them into three groupings that makes sense to them. Once
they have three categories, they must figure out what the main idea is, based on that. Remind
students that the main idea is the most important part of a passage. Once they have organized
their sorts, they can glue the sort in three different lists on a sheet of construction paper. Make
sure to remind students to write down what their main idea is, or their sort, at the top of the
paper. Have the students turn in their construction paper in the turn in basket when complete.
Thursday: Rikki Tikki Tavi Passage

Explain to students that today we will be discussing how to pick part the main idea and
supporting details of multi-paragraph passages. Tell the students that the same strategies we
used for creating the table and sorting the terms can be used to find the main idea and
supporting details in this paragraph as well. Give each student a copy of the Rikki Tikki Tavi
passage and have them work independently. This will serve as a measurement of comprehension
to see how well students are able to pick apart a passage similar to that they will see on the SOL
and identify the main ideas.
Friday: Main Idea Flip Chart with unnecessary information.
Open the flipchart to the slide which discusses unnecessary information. Explain to the
students that once they are able to identify what the main idea for a certain passage is, they will
then be able to figure out which sentences are not supporting details and may be irrelevant. Go
through some of the examples with the class all together, asking them to explain how they knew
which sentences were not supporting details. Then, give out the worksheet to each student.
Explain that they will be asked to underline the sentence in the passage that does not relate to the
main idea. Have them turn the papers in to the turn in basket when completed.
Monday Divided computer paper assignment
For this assignment, students will be given a main idea and will need to create their own
details that would support that main idea. Place a sheet of computer paper on the Elmo and
section it off into four quadrants. Write one main idea at the top of each section. Next,
brainstorm with the students what one supporting detail for each section could be. Write that
example down and have the students copy the sentences as well. Explain that they will be
working in pairs to create three additional supporting detail sentences for each of the main idea
sections.
Tuesday: Assessment
Take a few minutes to do a quick review of what the students have studied during the main
ideas and supporting details unit. Pass out the corals and explain to the students that this is an
assessment, which means it will be a zero noise activity. Hand out the assessments and have
students turn in their assessment to the turn in basket when completed.

Main Idea Lesson Template

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Main Idea Lesson Template

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Main Idea Lesson Template

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Title:

Main Idea Overview

Language Arts- Main Idea

Students will understand:

Being able to pick out the main idea and supporting

That being able to identify the

The main idea of a passage is what the passage is

Students will know

Basic text structures that can be

How can you identify the main idea of a

Students will be able to

Stage 2 Assessment Evidence

Monday: Introduction to Main Idea

Tuesday: Table Activity

Thursday: Rikki Tikki Tavi Passage

You might also like