Understanding Key Ideas and Details in Informational Text
Understanding Key Ideas and Details in Informational Text Objective: Students will be able to ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, specifically identifying the main idea and supporting details in an informational passage.
Learning Objectives
- Students will identify the main idea of an informational text.
- Students will find supporting details that explain the main idea.
- Students will practice asking and answering questions about the text to deepen understanding.
Materials Needed
- A short informational text suitable for 3rd grade (e.g., a simple article about animals or weather)
- Paper and pencil
- Highlighters or colored pencils
Key Vocabulary
- Informational Text
- A type of writing that gives facts about a real topic.
- Main Idea
- The most important point or message the author wants to share.
- Supporting Details
- Facts or information that explain or prove the main idea.
Detailed Activities
Read and Discuss Informational Text
- Begin by introducing the vocabulary words and their meanings.
- Read the selected informational text aloud with your child, or have them read it themselves if able.
- Pause to discuss what the text is about and ask your child what they think the main idea might be.
- Help your child identify at least two supporting details from the text.
Question and Answer Practice
- Ask your child questions about the text that require them to think about the main idea and details, such as ‘What is this text mostly about?’ and ‘Can you tell me two facts you learned?’
- Encourage your child to ask their own questions about the text.
- Write down the questions and answers together to reinforce comprehension.
Highlighting Main Idea and Details
- Provide your child with a copy of the text and highlighters or colored pencils.
- Ask them to highlight the sentence they think is the main idea in one color.
- Then, highlight supporting details in a different color.
- Review the highlights together and discuss why those parts were chosen.
Parent & Instructor Notes
- This lesson focuses on comprehension skills that are foundational for understanding nonfiction texts.
- Encourage your child to think about what the author wants to teach or explain.
- Be patient if your child struggles; these skills improve with practice and discussion.
Assessment Questions
- What is the main idea of the text we read today?
- Can you name two details that support the main idea?
- Why do you think the author wrote this text?
Extension Ideas
- Have your child find an informational book or article at home or the library and practice identifying the main idea and details.
- Create a simple graphic organizer together to record main ideas and supporting details from different texts.
- Encourage your child to write a few sentences about their favorite part of the text using what they learned.
Frequently Asked Questions
Try breaking the text into smaller sections and ask your child what each part is mostly about. Summarizing smaller sections can make finding the overall main idea easier.
Choose topics your child is curious about, such as animals, sports, or space. Making the content relevant and interesting increases engagement.
Teacher’s Guide
Common Misconceptions:
- Children might confuse the main idea with a supporting detail.
- Some students may rely on prior knowledge instead of the text to answer questions.
Scaffolding Ideas:
For Struggling Students:
- Use shorter texts with clear main ideas and fewer supporting details.
- Provide sentence starters for questions and answers.
For Advanced Students:
- Challenge them with longer texts and ask for multiple supporting details.
- Encourage them to summarize the text in their own words.
Pacing Recommendations:
- Spend more time on vocabulary introduction if the child is unfamiliar with key terms.
- Allow extra time for discussion and question-answering to deepen understanding.
- Adjust reading time based on the child’s reading level and attention span.
Standards
- 3.RI.4 — Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
Printable Worksheet
Plan Your Own Lesson
Looking for a custom lesson plan? Try our Lesson Planning Generator — create standards-based plans for any topic, instantly!
Common Core Aligned Lesson Plans
Looking for another common core lesson? See all of the lesson plans here.
More Free Lesson Plans
We’re adding more every week! Check back soon or explore all our lesson plans here.
Leave a Reply