Understanding Key Ideas and Details in Informational Texts
Understanding Key Ideas and Details in Informational Texts Objective: Students will learn to identify the main idea of a text and explain how specific details support that main idea, meeting the Common Core standard 8.RI.6.
Learning Objectives
- Identify the main idea in an informational text.
- Find and explain details that support the main idea.
- Use evidence from the text to answer questions about it.
Materials Needed
- Copy of a short informational article appropriate for 8-year-olds (e.g., article about animals, space, or history)
- Notebook or worksheet for note-taking
- Pencil or pen
- Highlighter or colored pencils
Key Vocabulary
- Main Idea
- The most important point or what the text is mostly about.
- Supporting Details
- Facts or information that explain or prove the main idea.
- Informational Text
- Non-fiction writing that gives facts about a topic.
Detailed Activities
Read and Identify the Main Idea
- Read the provided informational article aloud together or have the student read it silently.
- Discuss what the article is mostly about and write down the main idea in simple sentences.
- Highlight or underline sentences or phrases that seem important or explain the main idea.
Find Supporting Details
- Ask the student to find 2-3 details in the text that support the main idea.
- Write each detail down and talk about how it helps explain or prove the main idea.
- Encourage the student to use their own words when explaining the details.
Answer Questions Using Text Evidence
- Provide 2-3 simple questions related to the article’s content.
- Help the student find answers in the text, pointing out where the information is found.
- Practice answering the questions using complete sentences and evidence from the text.
Parent & Instructor Notes
- Encourage your child to take their time reading and understanding the text.
- If your child struggles with new vocabulary, explain words using examples they know.
- Praise efforts and remind your child it’s okay to ask questions when something isn’t clear.
Assessment Questions
- What is the main idea of the article?
- Name two details that support the main idea.
- Where did you find the answer in the text?
- Can you explain why these details are important to the main idea?
Extension Ideas
- Have your child write a short summary of the article using the main idea and supporting details.
- Find another informational article on a similar topic and compare the main ideas.
- Create a simple graphic organizer with a box for the main idea and boxes for supporting details.
Frequently Asked Questions
Try breaking the text into smaller sections and ask what each part is mostly about. Summarize each section before finding the overall main idea.
Focus on helping your child find clues in the text itself, such as repeated words or titles, and ask them to explain what they think the text is about in their own words.
Regular practice, about 2-3 times a week, helps build confidence and understanding over time.
Teacher’s Guide
Common Misconceptions:
- Students may confuse the main idea with a detail or a fact.
- Students might think every sentence is equally important rather than identifying key points.
- Some students may focus only on recalling facts without understanding how these details support the main idea.
Scaffolding Ideas:
For Struggling Students:
- Use shorter and simpler texts with clear main ideas.
- Provide graphic organizers to visually separate the main idea from details.
- Read the text aloud and discuss it together before independent work.
For Advanced Students:
- Introduce texts with more complex ideas and multiple viewpoints.
- Encourage students to find conflicting evidence or different perspectives within the text.
- Challenge students to write their own informational paragraph using a clear main idea and supporting details.
Pacing Recommendations:
- Spend about 10-15 minutes reading and discussing the text.
- Allow 15 minutes for identifying and explaining main ideas and details.
- Use the last 10-15 minutes for answering questions and reviewing concepts.
Standards
- 8.RI.6 — Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.
Printable Worksheet
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