Bellwork for February 24, 2014

Take handouts from the back counter. Write in your agenda.

Select an appropriate title that reflects the topic of a written selection.

Identify the main points of a piece of writing.

Begin Caught’ya! day 33.

Day 33 Caught’ya!

as the day progressed the 8 freinds met periodically

in the hall to compare gossip and the latest news

flashes me and my friend think that orson odious is

worser than ever this year proclaimed isabelle and

vivian almost in unison

Vocabulary for Week 12

Unison- (noun) simultaneous performance of action or utterance of speech.

Main Idea and Good TitlesNOTES:

Main Idea = Topic and Controlling Idea

Good Titles = Topic and Controlling Idea in a short, concise, and possibly creative way

Main Idea

Remember: When a writer writes a paragraph or text…

They are usually trying to prove a controlling idea about the topic

So, if the controlling idea is not stated in the topic sentence, what should you do?

Identifying Main Idea

1. Read the whole text.

2. Ask, “What facts/details are the author telling me?”

3. Use those facts/details to summarize the controlling idea into your own words

Example

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first men to walk on the surface of the moon, but they were not the last. That was Gene Cernan, the last man to step off the lunar surface. In total there have been twelve men who have walked on the moon, all of whom had done so between 1969 and 1972, which is the most recent non-Michael Jackson moon walking.

Understanding Main IdeaYou must comprehend the text.

Focus on topic and controlling idea.

Armstrong & AldrinFirst Men on the Moon

Cernan was theLast Man on the Moon

12 Men Have WalkedOn the Moon

This paragraph is about moon walkers, so a good main idea statement would be:

There have been many moonwalkers.

Careful…

Test makers may ask you:

“Another good title for this passage would be…”

It’s just a way of asking for the main idea = topic and controlling idea BUT it is much shorter and possibly more creative

Good Titles = topic and controlling idea but short and possibly more creative

What if the controlling idea is not stated?What if there isn’t a title?

Do NOT panic! You got this. Stop and Think

What was the topic?What does it seem like the author is

trying to prove with all these supporting sentences?

Write one yourself!

Title?

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first men to walk on the surface of the moon, but they were not the last. That was Gene Cernan, the last man to step off the lunar surface. In total there have been twelve men who have walked on the moon, all of whom had done so between 1969 and 1972, which is the most recent non-Michael Jackson moon walking.

Good Titles = topic + controlling idea in

a short, possibly creative way

A. Moon WalkersB. Many Moon Walkers

C. Lucky 13D. Men on the Moon

Practice

1. Write the main idea for each paragraphRemember: topic and controlling idea

2. Create an appropriate title for the passage.

Remember: topic and controlling idea, but shorter and possibly creative

An assassination is the murder of a famous person, usually a celebrity or political figure. Many famous assassinations have been attempted, but fewer have succeeded. Here is a brief overview of some famous successful assassins. Lee Harvey Oswald was a former marine who allegedly killed president John F. Kennedy. Ironically, Oswald was himself assassinated a few days later by Jack Ruby. Mark David Chapman was a mentally deranged man who shot and killed John Lennon, lead singer of The Beatles. But, perhaps the most notorious assassin of all is John Wilkes Booth, who killed President Abraham Lincoln while Lincoln attended the theatre.

Nicki Minaj, rap phenomenon hailing from Queens, New York, has a new honor to add to her resume: top searched Halloween costume based on a person for the 2011 season. Nicki edged out other popular costume searches such as Charlie Sheen. Though no commercial Nicki Minaj costume kit is available, there are a lot of helpful hints available online that show people how to get that “Nicki look.” The popularity of the Nicki Minaj costume search was only edged out by the Angry Birds costume search, which was the most searched for costume this year.

The Greek word “deinos” means terrible, powerful, or wonderous. Combine this with the Greek word “sauros,” which means lizard or reptile, and you might get “dinosaur,” which refers to huge creatures that roamed the earth millions of years ago. The term “dinosauria” was coined by English paleontologist Richard Owen in 1842, which was meant to express the idea that dinosaurs were “terrible reptiles” or “fearfully great lizards.” Over the years, “dinosauria” gradually became “dinosaur,” which is the word we use today to describe those giant beasts from the past.

Most people think of submarines as amazing underwater naval transports, not as a refuge for sexual discrimination in the military; however, most navies prohibited women from serving on submarines, even after they had been permitted to serve on surface warships. The Royal Norwegian Navy became the first navy to allow female crew on its submarines in 1985. The Royal Danish Navy allowed female submariners in 1988. Others followed suit including the Swedish Navy (1989), the Royal Australian Navy (1998), the German Navy (2001) and the Canadian Navy (2002). Women may serve on US submarines this year, but the British Royal Navy still does not permit women to serve on its submarines.

The next time you get the sniffles, remember that it could be worse. SARS is an airborne sickness that killed around a thousand people on and after its discovery in 2003. AIDS is one of the most devastating illnesses in human history. It is estimated that there are over two million AIDS related deaths each year in the world. But perhaps the most infamous and devastating outbreak in history was the bubonic plague or Black Death, which is estimated to have killed 75 million people, or one-third of the population of Europe in the 14th century.

Review the Strategy Learned Today

Start with reading the ___ text. To find the main idea, ASK YOURSELF,

“What’s the ______ and the_______.” What do you do if the controlling idea is

not stated? If the test maker asks, “Another good title

for this passage would be…”

What are they asking you for?

More specifically?

I can…

…select an appropriate title that reflects the topic of a written selection.

…identify the main points of a piece of writing.

Now, practice on your own:

“Main Idea and Good Titles” Worksheet

Sentence Sort

Sort the sentences into the correct logical order.

Create an outline for the information in the paragraph.

Create two TCAP-style questions about the paragraph. Some ideas: irrelevant sentence,

transition, sentence combining, main idea, title, logical order.

I can…

…select an appropriate title that reflects the topic of a written selection.

…identify the main points of a piece of writing.

Exit Ticket