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Main Idea and Details

Comprehension

G r a d e 1 ( S e t 1 )

Introduce and Connect Show students a picture in your classroom or a picture in

a book. Ask them to describe what the picture shows.

Write one sentence on the board that states what the picture mostly shows. Point out that this sentence is called the main idea.

Explain that a main idea is what a picture or a text is mostly about and that details give more information about the main idea.

Ask students what they notice about the picture. Guide them to identify details that tell more about the main idea.

Write these details in a list for students to see.

Review the list, and discuss how each detail tells about the main idea.

Teach the Skill Explain to students that they can identify main ideas

when they read.

Say: Finding the main idea can help you understand what you read. Then you know how to describe what you learned.

Explain that students can use titles, pictures, and the words on the page to help them figure out the main idea.

1. Write these sentences on the board, and read them aloud: I like to learn with my class. I have good times with friends on the playground. I play fun games in the gym.

2. Ask students what these sentences are about. (school)

3. Write School on the board.

4. Say: These are all details about school. What are all these details telling readers about school?

5. Encourage students to suggest a sentence that describes what the sentences on the board are mostly about, such as School is fun.

6. Write the sentence on the board above the other sentences, and underline it. Explain that this sentence is the main idea and the other sentences are details.

7. Explain to students that often one sentence in the text tells the main idea.

8. Say: The main idea sentence may be the first or last sentence in a paragraph. As you read, pay attention to which sentence tells what the paragraph is mostly about.

Apply the Skill in ContextModel with the Projectable Display the Model Passage The Busy City.

1. Read the title aloud.

2. Ask students to describe what the people in the picture are doing and predict the main idea of the passage.

3. Read the passage aloud.

4. Say: What is this passage mostly about?

5. Think-aloud (as needed): The children in the city go to parks, but I don’t think most of the passage is about parks. The picture and the passage show that a lot happens in a city. The title has the word busy in it. I think that this is the main idea: A city is a busy place.

6. Remind students that often the first sentence of a paragraph is the main idea.

7. Reread the first sentence, and ask students whether it tells what the passage is mostly about. (yes)

8. Model underlining the first sentence to show the main idea.

9. Invite students to find the details. Highlight them in the passage.

10. Ask students to tell how each detail tells more about why the city is a busy place.

Learning Objective: Identify the main idea and key details of a paragraph.

Key VocabularyNote: This list is for teacher reference; you do not need to pre-teach the vocabulary. Students will learn it in context during the lesson’s activities.

• Main idea: the most important thought, belief, or opinion

• Detail: a specific piece of information

Note: An Answer Key for the Model Passage is attached to the end of the Lesson Plan.

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Main Idea and Details

Comprehension

G r a d e 1 ( S e t 1 )

Practice with the Printable Distribute the Practice Passage to pairs of students,

and have them locate the text titled What Do Police Officers Do?

1. Read the title aloud.

2. Ask students to describe what the picture shows. (a police officer directing traffic)

3. Guide pairs to take turns reading the passage to each other.

4. Ask them to find the main idea in the passage and underline it.

5. Give this tip: To find the main idea, ask: What is the passage mostly about?

6. Instruct students to highlight the details that support the main idea.

7. Invite pairs to share examples and explain their thinking.

8. Reteach (as needed) how details support the main idea. Use a detail that does not support the main idea, such as Children ride bikes, and a supporting detail, such as Police officers teach children how to be careful.

9. Ask students to identify which detail supports the main idea and explain why.

Write and Share Remind students that one detail in The Busy City is about

city parks.

Prompt student pairs to make a list of things that people can do in parks or playgrounds.

Ask them to write or dictate a paragraph with a clear main idea sentence and three details that support it.

Remind them that the first sentence of a paragraph is often the main idea and the other sentences are details that tell more about it.

Encourage students to share their paragraphs with the class.

Invite volunteers to identify the main idea in their classmates’ paragraphs.

Extend the LessonUse links to Graphic Organizers and Leveled Books

on the Comprehension Skill Packs webpage to support teaching Main Idea and Details.

Independent Practice | Interactivities Reading A–Z subscribers: Print and distribute

the Independent Practice activities for students to complete in class or as homework. Answer Keys for the printable Independent Practice Graphic Organizers are attached to the end of the Lesson Plan.

Raz-Plus subscribers: Assign the Interactivities to students to complete using the Kids A–Z student portal.

Discuss answers as a class.

Note: An Answer Key for the Practice Passage is attached to the end of the Lesson Plan.

Raz-Plus subscribers: Assign this activity as an Interactivity using the Kids A–Z portal.

Note: Students can also complete this activity independently on paper (see the Practice Passage’s Write and Share). Answers for this activity will vary.

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Main Idea and Details • Set 1

Name Date

ComprehensionModel Passage Answer Key

Notation Key main idea detail

The Busy City

A city is a busy place. Streets are full of cars and buses. Many people hurry. Children go to parks to play. There is always something to do in a city.

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Comprehension

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Comprehension

Mai

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