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Write down the steps you usually take to determine or identify the
main idea or themes in a passage.
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Rate this process:
5 very successful, I get the answer right every time
4 somewhat successful, I get the answer right most of the time
3 fair, I get the answer right sometimes, but I also get it wrong
sometimes
2 poor, I rarely get the right answer
1 nothing to mention, I get the answers wrong all the time
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What have you found to be the most difficult in identifying
the main idea of a passage in the past?
 Topic/Subject
 Imply/Implicit
 Main
 Explicit
idea
 Details
 Purpose
 Theme
Topic/Subject
Main Idea
Supporting Details
Connection
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Recognize general and specific words
Reduce the selection to a short list of keywords.
Water is an amazing resource. Everyone in the world
depends upon it. Every creature needs water to survive.
Without water, we would not last long. Water makes our
world beautiful.
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Topics of passages are more often stated as phrases rather
than single words. The following list contains a phrase that
is a general topic and three specific ideas related to that
topic. Identify the general topic that could be the subject.
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Turn on the ignition.
Press the accelerator.
Insert the key.
Start the car.
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 Totaling
yearly income
 Subtracting for
dependents
 Filing an income tax
return
 Mailing a 1040 form
 Paying
fees
 Buying books
 Starting college
 Going to class
 Separate
the white and
dark clothes
 Add one cup of
detergent
 Insert quarters into the
machine
 General
topic:_______________
_______________
 Pull
up alongside car
 Back into space
 Straighten out
 General
topic:_______________
___________________
_____________
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The particular point the author is trying to convey.
The main idea can be stated directly (explicit) or implied
(implicit).
The main idea must be expressed as a complete sentence
not just a word or a phrase
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Colonial Williamsburg is a great place to visit. In
Williamsburg, you can see how people lived in colonial
times. There are guides in costumes who can show you to
taverns, shops, and houses. You can even sample some
colonial food at the restored taverns. One visit to
Williamsburg will make you feel as if you have been
transported to the 1700’s.
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What is the main idea?
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We’re often told “He who hesitates is lost,” but we’re also
warned to “look before you leap.” Most of us have heard the
saying, “Out of sight, out of mind,” but then we hear
‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” Everyone talks
about “love at first sight,” but then someone reminds us,
“Marry in haste, repent at leisure.” It’s all very confusing.
The United States calls its basic unit of currency the
“dollar”. Australia and New Zealand also measure their
currency by “dollars”. The money in Great Britain is called
the “pound”. Korea uses the ‘won”. In Russian you spend
“rubles”. Mexico and the Philippines use a ‘peso”. And the
country of Zaire calls its money unit a “Zaire”.
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An accountant who prefers to work alone rather than as a team
member may be an important part of the organization but will not
become a leader.
A CEO who steers a company into increased profits but exhibits
poor people skills by yelling at employees and refusing to listen
will not keep their job.
Companies now demand of the their employees a high level of
emotional intelligence (EI), which refers to skills in adaptability,
self-control, conflict management, and teamwork.
What is the subject?
Which sentence is the main idea? Why?
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Sentences the help support the main idea.
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African American and Hispanic teens are not as likely to use
tobacco as Caucasian adolescents.
Each day approximately three thousand teens start smoking, and
eventually one third of them will die from smoking.
Despite the proven danger, in the past decade tobacco usage
among teens has increased.
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What is the topic/subject?
Which sentence is the main idea?
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Four hundred Navajos were recruited as marine radio
operators, and the codes based on the Navajo language
were never broken by the enemy.
During World War II, over 25,000 Native Americans served
in the armed forces and made amazing contributions
toward the war effort.
The most famous Indian GI was a Pima Indian, the marine
Ira Hayes, who helped plant the American flag on Iwo Jima.
What is the topic?
Which sentence is most likely the main idea?
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On the day Kristy’s father
went off to war, she burst
out the back door and ran
down the path to the
woods. Her eyes hurt. Her
chest burned. She crossed
the bridge over the purling
stream and dashed into
the lean-to she and her
father had built near the
edge of the flower-filled
woodland meadow.
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Subject:
Main Idea:
Detail #1:
Detail #2:
Detail #3:
Connection:
Subject:
Kristy
Main Idea:
Kristy is very upset that her father is leaving
for war.
Detail #1:
Kristy burst out the back door and ran to the
woods.
Detail #2:
Her eyes hurt and her chest burned.
Detail #3:
She crossed a bridge and dashed to the leanto her father had built.
Connection:
Kristy wanted to feel closer to her father so
she went to a place her father had built for
her.
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Preview the passage and predict what it will be about
Summarize the passage in your mind.
Determine the subject of the passage.
Sometimes the main idea will be stated explicitly.
Sometimes the main idea will be implicit.
Beware of answer choices that are merely details from the
passage.
Make connections between the critical details and the main
idea.
Titles and subheadings often help point out the main idea
of a passage.
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Define these words on the paper: internment, sparsely,
conscientious, rescinded.
Write the subject at the top of the passage. Circle words or
phrases that helped you identify the subject.
Write the main idea of the passage in the margins. Block off the
sentence(s) that helped you determine the main idea.
Highlight sentences that support the main idea you identified.
Connections: what supporting details best conveys the idea that
Americans supported the internment camps?
Give the last paragraph a subtitle/heading
At the bottom summarize the passage. (1 or 2 sentences)
Write a theme statement at the bottom of the passage.
(Remember it should be universal).
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Define vocabulary on the paper: harmonium, consented,
melancholy, sixpence, quay.
Write the subject of the passage at the top of the paper. Circle
words or phrases that helped you identify the subject.
Write what the main idea is for paragraph 5.
Highlight sentences that support the idea that Eveline is unhappy
living at home.
Write the main idea of the passage in the margins. Block off the
sentence(s) that helped you determine the main idea.
At the bottom summarize the passage. (1 or 2 sentences)
Homework: Give students the speech “Are Women Persons” by
Susan B Anthony. They will annotate and analyze the speech
to determine if Anthony was effective towards her audience or
not. They will cite evidence to support their claim. They will
also read and annotate Frederick Douglass’ speech on Women
Suffrage. Students will determine if he was effective towards
his audience or not. They will cite evidence to support their
claim. Students will also answer the following questions to be
prepared for a Socratic Seminar on Friday:
a.
b.
c.
d.
What is Anthony’s main argument in her speech? What
evidence does she give to support her argument?
What is Douglass’ main argument in his speech? What
evidence does he give to support his argument?
Who conveyed their argument the best and why?
In a flee map, bullet point a response to this question: Does
simply ending an injustice result in justice, or does achieving
true justice require something more? And if it requires
something more what is that something more? Be sure to state
a thesis statement and give at least three reasons.
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http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/page/video-kidsexplaining-injustice-world-19758528
While you watch identify the subject, the main idea, the
supporting details, and the connections.
After watching discuss your conclusions with a neighbor
What are some other injustices that plague our world today?
Begin the Socratic Seminar discussing the injustice of not
allowing women to have the right to vote.
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Have the student’s problem solve the injustice of unfair
quality of education in the United States. How would they go
about solving this injustice? Have them challenge each
other’s suggestions. Where are the loop holes in their
thinking? Are they oversimplifying the issue, are they
offering slippery slopes, and are they making hasty
generalizations?
 Inference
 Unsupported
 Conclusion
Inferences
 Supported Inferences
 Generalizations
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To make an educated guess based on incomplete
information or to “put two and two together.”
Tip 1: Read between the lines
Ex. April’s mother doesn’t come right out and say how she
feels about her daughter’s eyebrow ring, but she gives April
some pretty strong hints. She tells her daughter that the
new style is “very nice.” Then she rolls her eyes and smiles,
hoping that April will read between the lines.
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How does April’s mother feel about April’s eyebrow ring?
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A reasoned judgment that is made after all the available
information has been considered.
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Unsupported inferences: wild guesses
Supported inferences: careful guesses based on known
facts.
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Inferences are made based upon details and clues found in
the passages.
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Tip 2: Making an inference requires detective work.
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Underline details in the passage that explain why they
residents of Asheville, North Carolina, were embittered
against Thomas Wolfe during his lifetime.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Wolfe’s middle-class family sent him to a private school
and gave him a privileged upbringing.
After graduating, Wolfe moved to New York City to teach
English at New York University.
Wolfe’s autobiographical novels portrayed Asheville and its
people in an unflattering manner.
Thomas Wolfe’s poetic writing style was a result of his
sensitive and brooding nature.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Residents want to honor the memory of the world-famous
writer and to enjoy the fame and revenue his birthday
celebration brings Asheville.
People angered by Wolfe’s novels are no longer living, and
later generations of Ashevillians want to correct the wrong
they feel was done to him.
Many of Asheville’s residents read Wolfe’s novels and
realized the significance of their town on his writing.
Wolfe’s descendants still live in Asheville, and they
organized his birthday celebration in order to keep Wolfe’s
fame alive.
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Tip 3: Support your inferences with information from the
passage.
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A valid inference must be based on something in the
passage, such as details, the author’s tone, or other text
clues.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Aline Berstein was like Wolfe in being sensitive and
brooding and leading a turbulent life.
In addition to supporting Wolfe in his writing, Aline Berstein
probably gave Wolfe greater stability in his life.
Aline Berstein was an established autobiographical
novelist whose work greatly influenced the young Wolfe.
Aline Berstein was the model for many of the heroines in
Wolfe’s autobiographical novels.
What clues from the passage support the inference you
chose?
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Tip 4: Make logical predictions as you read. Ask yourself:
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What will happen next?
Where is the author going with this idea?
What will happen if this character does such and such?
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Making predictions will help you keep your mind focused on
the passage and will help you better remember what you
read.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Wolfe’s personal life will become more important to
scholars than his novels.
Due to their length, fewer people in the digital age will
actually read all of Wolfe’s novels.
Research will show that Thomas Wolfe’s editors did most
of the writing of his books.
Wolfe’s style of writing, with its long meandering
sentences, will become the model for many young writers.
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Tip 5: Add up details and inferences to draw conclusions.
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Generalizations: putting specific details together to come up
with a general statement or principle that applies broadly.
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Why was Wolfe unable to find happiness in his lifetime? List
the ideas you find in the passage.
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What can readers infer about the importance or lack of
importance of editors to Wolfe’s writing?
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Read the passage.
Answer the questions
Cross out the choices that the answer cannot possibly be
Go over the answers
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In order to find out important information when reading
nonfiction, it helps to identify the text structure, i.e., how
ideas have been developed and organized within the text.
 Chronological
 Description
order/Sequence/Time
Order
 Cause and effect
 Problem and Solution
 Compare and Contrast
 Classification
 Exemplification
examples)
(giving
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Each group will be assigned a type of structure.
In those groups students will make a list of signal words to
help determine that type of structure
Students can jigsaw out and complete the list or each group
can present and students can write down the information.
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Exemplification
For instance
In fact
Specifically
To illustrate
Such as
For example
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Cause and Effect
Problem and Solution
Because
Since
Therefore
Consequently
As a result
This led to
So that
Nevertheless
Accordingly
If…then
Thus
One reason for that
For this reason
Question and Answer
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How
When
What
Where
Why
Who
How many
The best estimate
It could be that
One may conclude
Compare and Contrast
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However
Like
Unlike
Likewise
Both
As well as
On the other hand
Not only…but also
Either…or while
Although
Unless
Similarly
Yet
In Contrast
As opposed to
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Description
Sensory details
What we: see, hear, taste,
smell, and feel
Sequence or Time Order
Chronological order
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On (date)
Not long after
Now
Before
After
When
Since
Until
First
Following
At the same time
Finally
During
At last
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Classification
Grouped
Categories
Subgenres
Similar
Sort
Same
Divide
Join
types
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“Drug abusers often start in upper elementary school. They
experiment with a parent’s beer and hard liquor and they
enjoy the buzz they receive. They keep doing this and it
starts taking more and more of the alcohol to get the same
level of buzz. As a result, the child turns to other forms of
stimulation including marijuana. Since these are the initial
steps that usually lead to more hardcore drugs such as
Angel Dust (PCP), heroin, and crack cocaine, marijuana and
alcohol are known as “gateway drugs.” Because of their
addictive nature, these gateway drugs lead many
youngsters who use them to the world of hardcore drugs.”
“The carrying capacity of a habitat refers to the amount of plant and
animal life its resources can hold. For example, if there are only 80
pounds of food available and there are animals that together need
more than 80 pounds of food to survive, one or more animals will
die – the habitat can’t ‘carry’ them. Humans have reduced many
habitats’ carrying capacity by imposing limiting factors that reduce
its carrying capacity such as housing development, road
construction, dams, pollution, fires, and acid rain. So that they can
maintain full carrying capacity in forest habitats, Congress has
enacted legislation that protects endangered habitats from human
development or impact. As a
result, these areas have high carrying capacities and an abundance
of plant and animal life.”
“Middle school gives students more autonomy than
elementary school. While students are asked to be
responsible for their learning in both levels, middle
school students have more pressure to follow through on
assignments on their own, rather than rely on adults. In
addition, narrative forms are used to teach most literacy skills
in elementary school. On the other hand, expository writing is
the way most information is given in middle school. “
“Astronomy came a long way in the 1500s and 1600s. In
1531, Halley’s Comet appeared and caused great panic. Just
twelve years later, however, Copernicus realized that the sun
was the center of the solar system, not the Earth, and
astronomy became a way to understand the natural world, not
something to fear. In the early part of the next century, Galileo
made the first observations with a new instrument – the
telescope. A generation later, Sir Isaac Newton invented the
reflecting telescope, a close cousin to
what we use today. Halley’s Comet returned in 1682 and it
was treated as a scientific wonder, studied by Edmund Halley.”
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“The Rights and Responsibilities of Freedom” by Amy
Charles
Read the passage
Answer the questions, highlight signal words to determine
the structure, remember an author can use a combination.
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Each group will receive a text structure.
Groups will have 25 minutes to write a passage using the
structure and using the prompt.
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Ex. Chronological order: Making the perfect breakfast.
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