Understanding Key Ideas in Informational Texts
Understanding Key Ideas in Informational Texts Objective: Students will be able to identify the main idea and supporting details in a grade-level informational text to improve reading comprehension.
Learning Objectives
- Identify the main idea of an informational text.
- Find supporting details that help explain the main idea.
- Explain how supporting details connect to the main idea.
Materials Needed
- A short informational text suitable for 5th grade (e.g., article about animals or science)
- Paper and pencils
- Highlighters or colored pencils
Key Vocabulary
- Main Idea
- The most important point or message that the author wants to share in the text.
- Supporting Details
- Facts, examples, or descriptions that explain or prove the main idea.
- Informational Text
- A type of writing that gives facts and information about a topic.
Detailed Activities
Read and Highlight
- Read the chosen informational text aloud or independently with your child.
- Ask your child to highlight or underline sentences they think tell the main idea.
- Next, highlight or underline details that support the main idea using a different color.
Main Idea and Details Chart
- Create a simple chart with two columns labeled ‘Main Idea’ and ‘Supporting Details’.
- Help your child write the main idea in the first column.
- List the supporting details in the second column.
- Discuss how each detail connects back to the main idea.
Explain and Share
- Ask your child to explain the main idea in their own words.
- Have them describe two or three supporting details.
- Encourage your child to share what they learned from the text.
Parent & Instructor Notes
- Keep the reading sessions short and encourage your child to ask questions about the text.
- Use everyday examples to explain the main idea and supporting details, such as describing a favorite movie or recipe.
- Praise your child’s efforts to build confidence in reading comprehension skills.
Assessment Questions
- What is the main idea of the text you read?
- Can you name two supporting details that help explain the main idea?
- Why do you think the author included these details in the text?
Extension Ideas
- Have your child write a short paragraph summarizing the main idea and supporting details of a new informational text.
- Encourage your child to create their own informational text on a topic they enjoy, including a clear main idea and supporting details.
Frequently Asked Questions
Try breaking the text into smaller sections and discuss each part separately. Use questions like ‘What is this part mostly about?’ to guide them.
Read the text together and ask open-ended questions to encourage thinking. Use the provided steps as a guide and focus on making it a fun learning experience.
Teacher’s Guide
Common Misconceptions:
- Students may confuse the main idea with the topic, so clarify that the main idea is a complete thought about the topic.
- Children might list too many details that are not relevant; teach them to focus on the most important supporting details.
Scaffolding Ideas:
For Struggling Students:
- Use shorter texts with clear main ideas.
- Provide sentence starters such as ‘The main idea is…’ to support responses.
- Use visual aids like graphic organizers to organize thoughts.
For Advanced Students:
- Challenge them to identify multiple main ideas and explain how they connect.
- Ask them to compare two texts on the same topic and identify similarities and differences in main ideas and details.
- Encourage writing a summary using their own words.
Pacing Recommendations:
- Spend about 15 minutes reading and highlighting the text together.
- Allocate 15 minutes to complete the main idea and details chart and discuss it.
- Use the last 15 minutes for explaining, sharing, and asking assessment questions.
Standards
- 5.RI.2 — Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.
Printable Worksheet
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