Main Idea

the central thought or premise of a passage. 

Standard 2

Progression 

objectives in chronological order with shifts bolded

PK.2.R 

Students will begin to retell or reenact major events or details from a read-aloud. 

In the early years, students begin to understand the major details in a text by acting them out or relaying them orally after the teacher reads the text aloud. 

K.2.R.1

Students will identify the topic or main idea with a supporting detail of a text with prompting.

In kindergarten, as students continue to develop the understanding of important details, they move into recognizing the main idea or topic in a text with a supporting idea.  This is the first time that students are identifying the main idea so they may need support from the teacher, such as questions, anchor charts, or graphic organizers to help them understand how to determine the main idea. They may also need prompts to identify a supporting detail related to the topic.                                                                                   

1.2.R.1 

Students will identify the topic or main idea with some supporting details of a text. 

First-grade students can recognize the main idea or topic from a text more independently. They build on that knowledge by identifying some details that support the topic or main idea of the text.

2.2.R.1 

Students will identify the main idea and supporting details of a text. 

In second grade, after students locate the main idea from a text then they identify key details that support the main idea. Second graders should be identifying several details to support the main idea to build on learning from first grade. 

Students will determine the main idea and supporting details of a text. 

Third grade students recognize the differences between the main idea and supporting details in a text. At this level, students can accurately determine if a statement is the main idea of a text or a supporting detail. 

4.2.R.1

Students will determine the key details that support the main idea of a text.

In the fourth grade, students evaluate details in a text. Emphasis at this level is on the importance of details in relationship to the main idea. Students determine which details are key and best support the main idea.  

5.2.R.1

Students will explain how key supporting details support the main idea of a text.

Fifth grade students continue to expand their understanding of key details (details that are most important and best support the main idea), to now include explaining the relationships between key details and the main idea. 

6.2.R.1

Students will summarize alphabetic and/or multimodal texts, including main idea, to demonstrate comprehension. 

Sixth grade students begin summarizing both alphabetic and multimodal texts. Students move from explaining the relationships between details and main ideas to creating a summary of the text Multimodal texts such as brochures, ads, and picture books challenge students to use other skills, such as inferencing, in order to provide an accurate summary . Teachers ensure that the summary includes the main idea of the texts and that it demonstrates the students’ comprehension of the text.

7.2.R.1

Students will summarize alphabetic and/or multimodal texts, including main idea and key details, to demonstrate comprehension within and between texts. 

Seventh grade student summaries should include the main idea and key details. Key details can be facts, statements, and specific examples that help clarify, explain, expand, or fully illustrate a main idea. Students also begin to summarize multiple main ideas within complex texts or summarize main ideas from more than one teacher-provided text. 

8.2.R.1

Students will summarize alphabetic and/or multimodal texts about similar topics to demonstrate comprehension within and between texts. 

In eighth grade, student summaries will be based on alphabetic and multimodal texts that have similar topics. Students should be able to demonstrate comprehension within each text, but also between them. Although main ideas and key details are no longer explicitly stated in the objective, they should still be the focus of student summaries. 

9.2.R.1

Students will summarize the main ideas and paraphrase significant parts of increasingly complex texts. 

High school students continue to summarize the main ideas of increasingly complex alphabetic and/or multimodal texts. At this level, they also complete paraphrases by altering the vocabulary and structure of the original text while maintaining the author’s intended purpose.

10.2.R.1

11.2.R.1

12.2.R.1