Main Ideas and Supporting Details

What is the author trying to say about the following

topic?

Read these examples:Skateboarding is thebest sport ever. Bothgirls and boys enjoydefying gravity. It isgreat exercise, and funto watch besides. That'swhy so many townsbuild skateboard parksfor recreation.

Skateboarding is theworst sport ever. Itis very dangerousand often harmsinnocent bystanders.Skateboarders dodumb things like grabonto cars, and skatein the street. Itshould be outlawed.

What is the first main idea of the first paragraph?

(The main idea of a story tells you what the entire story is about. You should be able to tell the main idea of a story in just one sentence.

You can also think of the main idea as the reason a story was written.)

Let’s look again…

:Skateboarding is thebest sport ever. Bothgirls and boys enjoydefying gravity, it isgreat exercise, and funto watch besides. That'swhy so many townsbuild skateboard parksfor recreation.

The main idea of the first paragraph is…..

Is there other, more specific information in the paragraph that supports this main idea?

Supporting details are examples and extra information that help you understand the main idea.

What are supporting details?

When you are looking for the main idea of a paragraph and the supporting details think of a hand.

What is the first main idea of the second paragraph? Let’s look again…

Skateboarding is theworst sport ever. Itis very dangerousand often harmsinnocent bystanders.Skateboarders dodumb things like grabonto cars, and skatein the street. Itshould be outlawed.

The main idea of the second paragraph is…..

What are supporting details?

Sally went shopping after school Friday and all day on Saturday, and she bought a lot of new outfits. On Sunday her mother took her to the outlet mall so she could finish buying clothes for the new school year. She also bought school supplies so she would be prepared for her classes.

Let’s look at the this paragraph.

Sally bought new outfits.

Sally bought school supplies.

What is the main idea of this paragraph? What are some

supporting details in this paragraph?

Supporting details help you get a better picture of the story.

They give you more information.

Often, this information will reach one or more of your five senses.

Why do we need supporting details?