Reading Passages for Identfying Key Individuals, Events and Ideas in an Informational Text
READING FOR MEANING: IDENTIFYING THE Primary IDEA OF THE STORY
We accept all been there, though it tin oft experience as futile equally the search for that proverbial needle in a haystack…
Finding the main thought of a piece of writing can exist a claiming, simply information technology is an essential reading comprehension skill for our students to develop. Students that get skilled in this fine art will benefit from information technology far beyond the perimeters of the school gates. From the modest print of an insurance document to writing a book review, the ability to filter a text and identify its central thought is as much a crucial life skill as an essential literacy-based learning objective. Though it isn't ever easy, luckily in that location is much we tin can do to help our students strop their abilities in this surface area.
WHAT IS 'THE MAIN Idea'? DEFINITION
Whether we are talking almost the primary idea of a paragraph, a verse form, a chapter, or a longer text, finding the primary thought requires the reader to identify the topic of a piece of writing and then uncover what the writer wants us to know most that topic.
Every bit is then often the case, information technology is all-time to start small-scale. When working with students on how to identify the main idea, begin past having students locate the main thought in a judgement before building up to locating it in a longer paragraph. As students gradually build their confidence in identifying the main idea in paragraphs, they will soon exist fix to movement onto longer texts in the form of capacity and eventually total-length books.
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A WORD ON PARAGRAPHS
The main idea of a sentence is unremarkably fairly straightforward to place. Oftentimes it is equally simple as identifying the subject of the sentence. Whole chapters or books, on the other hand, tin seldom be easily reduced to expression in the form of a single, primary idea. For these reasons, the paragraph offers the student the well-nigh suitable format in which to practise their main idea identification skills.
Ordinarily, if the author knows what they are doing, we can place a single main idea in every paragraph. We can retrieve of this as the key point that is ordinarily expressed in the form of a topic sentence. It is often institute in the paragraph'due south first sentence, with subsequent sentences providing the supporting details. Information technology tin can, however, occur in the eye, at the end, or even be split across the paragraph. Information technology may even not be at that place at all – at least non explicitly.
Writers are a artistic bunch, and so students will require more sophisticated means to accurately identify the main thought in all cases and that is exactly what this article will help you assist your students to do.
HOW IS A Master IDEA EXPRESSED?
Information technology tin appear to exist a adequately clear-cutting job to define the main idea, so why is it often and then problematic for students to identify it? Well, the truth is that it needn't be so. Frequently the key concept is expressed directly in the text and is as piece of cake to place as your own face in the mirror.
Notwithstanding, the main idea will non ever be expressed so explicitly and students must learn to identify it whether it is expressed directly or merely implied if they are to fully comprehend what they are reading.
THE STATEMENT OF THE MAIN Thought
Attention is the fundamental to pulling the primary idea from a text, whatsoever the genre. Students demand to place the almost relevant information from the work and utilise it to develop a statement that expresses what they perceive the chief idea to be.
Nosotros can refer to this as The Argument of the Main Thought. This statement should be a lean sentence or 2. The process of composing this argument starts with asking questions about the text. Not all questions volition apply to every text, but they will provide a skilful starting betoken for extracting the main idea from any piece of writing.
● Who – Can the educatee identify the person or people the text is about?
● What – Can the student identify the topic or underlying theme of the text?
● When – Can the pupil place a reference to a specific fourth dimension or catamenia?
● Where – Can the student place a specific place or a setting?
● Why – Can the student identify a reason or explanation for what happens in the text?
● How – Can the student identify a method or theory in the text?
These questions, and variations of these questions, tin assist students draw out what the text is well-nigh. The two about important questions of those in a higher place are who and what. These will be sufficient to elicit the information required to place the main idea in about circumstances. Simply, the truthful litmus test of whether the student has been able to blot the text's principal idea is whether or not they are able to summarize what they have read in their ain words.
The Litmus Examination: Summarizing and Paraphrasing
We know through our experience in the classroom that learning-through-teaching is an extremely effective instructional strategy. Information technology also offers teachers opportunities to observe and appraise their students' grasp of the concepts they have been working on. Similarly, when we ask our students to summarize or paraphrase the main idea of an extract, we are creating an opportunity to detect their comprehension of what they accept read and their ability to identify the main idea therein.
Yous can also encourage students to regularly practice these skills by challenging them to paraphrase and summarize things y'all have said or read to them in course, even during lessons entirely unrelated to literacy. Encourage them to be concise and to the signal, you may fifty-fifty wish to set a discussion limit of 10 or 15 words within which they must express the main thought. Go along information technology lean!
STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS IN IDENTIFYING THE Chief Thought
Get The Gist
In this method, give each of your students a copy of a nonfiction paragraph. If yous wish, you can differentiate for students' different abilities past choosing extracts of varying complexities. Regardless of the level of difficulty, the approach will remain the aforementioned. Have students:
1. Enquire themselves who or what the paragraph is about.
2. Ask themselves what is the nigh important information about the who or what.
3. Recapitulate the chief thought in 10 words or less.
You can model this strategy for your students by walking them through the process commencement. Project the text onto the whiteboard for shared reading and, with focused support and prompting, take them reply the initial questions.
Part 3 of the process higher up tin can be undertaken as a slice of shared writing which volition model the correct approach, before students begin to do it independently. After, when students have written independent statements of the main idea, they tin can compare their responses and offer each other feedback. After feedback sessions, they can be given a further opportunity to redraft and modify their statements for accuracy and brevity.
Through these processes, students will better their power to identify the primary idea and express information technology in a articulate and curtailed way.
Get the Gist – Longer Texts
Every bit we mentioned before, it isn't always easy to reduce a longer extract, such as a chapter, down to a single central idea – much less a whole book! There will exist times, however, where students will be asked to practise simply that. They will need a systematic arroyo to assist them in such circumstances. The following procedure provides for an effective approach:
1. Look at the championship – Ofttimes the title provides a good indication of the topic of the text or at least helps to orientate the reader in the management of the main idea.
2. Look at the get-go and last sentences/paragraphs of the extract – Often the main idea volition be introduced and summarized respectively in these parts of the text.
3. Look for repeated words and phrases in the extract -The frequency with which they occur will exist a stiff indicator of their relative importance and will bespeak students in the direction of that elusive main thought.
iv. Instruct students to enquire themselves, "What does the writer want me to know?" – Answering this question successfully volition require the students to uncover the main idea of the text.
As the students work through each of the above steps they can highlight, underline, or circle the keywords and phrases and so employ these to help them form their statement of the principal thought.
HOW TO LOCATE THE MAIN IDEA WHEN IT IS Implied
Inferring the chief thought requires the student to look for patterns in the details as they read. As when the master idea is explicit, the student must first identify what the topic of the writing is earlier determining what it is the writer wants the reader to know virtually that topic. If the main idea is not stated explicitly in a sentence or paragraph, then information technology is implied and students must consciously work to uncover it by analysing the details to infer the main thought. Conscious practise of this strategy volition soon see it get second nature and the student will quickly become skilled in identifying the main thought even when it is not stated explicitly.
Conclusion
To efficiently place the main idea in a piece of writing, students should first make up one's mind what the topic of the text is. Then, they will demand to work out what it is the writer wants u.s.a. to understand nearly that topic. This is the essence of how to identify the main idea. Students should understand that the main idea may not always be explicit and they may demand to work difficult to uncover exactly what the text implies. Regardless of whether the chief thought is explicit or implicit, every paragraph volition have a main thought and students should sympathize that it can be located at the beginning, in the middle, at the end, or even exist separate up throughout the paragraph.
With perseverance and hard-earned experience, students will be able to use a diverseness of methods and, at times, a fusion of these methods, to uncover the main idea with speed and accuracy. Soon they will be able to apply these methods to a broad range of texts over a broad range of lengths and complexities.
Teaching Resources
Utilize the resources and tools below with your students to improve their writing skills through proven education strategies.
THE STORY TELLERS Parcel OF TEACHING RESOURCES
A MASSIVE Drove of resource for narratives and story writing in the classroom roofing all elements of crafting astonishing stories. WEEKS WORTH OF WRITING LESSONS AND RESOURCES including:
Primary Idea GRAPHIC ORGANIZER (Complimentary DOWNLOAD)
VIDEO TUTORIAL ON TEACHING THE Principal Thought
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Content for this page has been written by Shane Mac Donnchaidh. A one-time principal of an international school and academy English lecturer with 15 years of pedagogy and administration experience. Shane's latest Book the Complete Guide to Nonfiction Writing tin be plant hither. Editing and support for this commodity have been provided past the literacyideas team.
Source: https://literacyideas.com/getting-the-main-idea/
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