Standard 2: Reading and Writing Processes Students will use a variety of recursive reading and writing processes. 

2.2.R.1 Students will identify the main idea and supporting details of the text.

Student Actions

Teacher Actions

• Students identify the main idea of a text.

• Students identify supporting details related to the main idea of a text. 

• Teachers explain and discuss how to find the topic or main idea in a text.

• Teachers read text and model how to identify the main idea.

• Teachers read a text and prompt students about the main idea if needed. (e.g., “What is this story mostly about?”).

• Teachers provide opportunities for students to  identify the main idea of a text.

• Teachers monitor and provide opportunities for feedback about identifying the topic or main idea. 

• Teachers explain how to find supporting details of a text.

• Teachers demonstrate how to find supporting details in a text.

• Teachers provide opportunities for students to identify supporting details in a text that relates to the topic or main idea. 

• Teachers monitor and provide opportunities for feedback about identifying a supporting detail related to the main idea or topic. 

Recommendations

Key Terms & Related Objectives

When students have difficulty finding the topic or main idea of a text, the teacher can…

• review familiar nonfiction examples and play a matching game with the title on one card and the main idea on another.

• scan through the pictures to see if they can help identify the topic/main idea.

• use an anchor chart listing steps to finding the topic/main idea.  For example, look at the title, headings, graphic/text features, read the beginning, determine topic, and read to confirm.  

When students struggle to identify supporting details related to the main idea of a text, the teacher can…

• ask the student to answer, “The topic is…” and follow up with, “What is the text saying about the topic?”

• make a story web with the main topic/idea in the center. Place supporting details in circles that connect to the center. 

• write details from the text ahead of time that support the topic/main idea and a few that do not support the topic/main idea and have students sort them in a T-chart with the main topic/idea at the top. 

• Main Idea: the central thought or premise of a reading passage.

• Supporting Details: reasons, examples, facts, steps, or other kinds of evidence that back up and explain a main idea. Details make up most of the information in what a person reads, but some details are more important than others. 

• 2.2.R.4: Summarize facts and details

• 2.3.R.5: Draw conclusions/make predictions

• 2.3.R.6: Locate facts