Finding Topics and Main Ideas
Tools for reading nonfiction
Finding Topics
 To
understand a paragraph, it’s important to find
the topic
 The topic is the idea to which all of the details in
the paragraph refer
 A topic is usually expressed as a word or phrase
Can you find the topic?
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.
Can you find the topic?
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.
Topic = WATER
We could see that the
topic was water because it
was repeated again and
again
 This is a good way to help
us find a topic—looking
for repeated words or
phrases

Now try this one!
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 1700s.
Now try this one!
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 1700s.

We could tell that the
topic of the paragraph is
Williamsburg because it
was repeated several times
Finding the topic
 The
topic of a paragraph is not always repeated
over and over in the same way
 Sometimes, you need to look for multiple
referents—that is, words or phrases that refer to the
same thing
Looking for multiple referents
Here is the Williamsburg paragraph again. Notice how Williamsburg can be
replaced by other words or phrases:
Colonial Williamsburg is a great place to visit. In this
Virginia town, 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 this
place will make you feel as if you have been transported
to the 1700s.
Williamsburg is referred
to in several different
ways
 This Virginia town and
this place both refer back
to Williamsburg
 The topic is still
Williamsburg

Look for the topic in this paragraph
Assateague Island is a very special place. A
long sandy beach stretches into the Atlantic
Ocean. Windswept dunes are home to foxes and
seagulls. The famous wild horses, or ponies, also
live on this small island.
Did you figure out the topic?
Authors sometimes refer
to the same idea in
different ways
 “Assateague Island” and
“this small island” are
really the same place
 When you are trying to
figure out a topic, look for
different ways of saying
the same thing

Using topics to find main ideas
 Once
we have figured out the topic of a paragraph,
we need to find the main idea
 The main idea is the main point of the paragraph
MAIN IDEA = Topic + a statement about the topic
Can you find the main idea?
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.
Can you find the main idea?
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.
Did you find the main idea?
The first sentence is the
main idea
 Water is an amazing
resource
 The topic = water
 The main point about the
topic = it’s an amazing
resource

Now try this one!
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 1700s.
Did you find the main idea?
Once again, the main idea
was in the first sentence
 Topic = Williamsburg
 Main point about the
topic= it’s a great place to
visit

Is the first sentence always the main idea?
 What
do you think? Talk about it with your
partner!
Think about this paragraph
Croak, croak, kerplop! What’s that at the water’s edge?
It might be a green frog, a creature that’s well-suited for
life at the pond’s edge. Green frogs like to live where the
land meets the water. This keeps them safe from predators
that live on the land. When a predator like a snake comes
near, the green frog can quickly leap into the water and get
away. Green frogs can eat animals from both places,
including crayfish, spiders, fish, and even birds.
Is the first sentence the main idea?
Croak, croak, kerplop! What’s that at the water’s edge? It
might be a green frog, a creature that’s well-suited for life
at the pond’s edge. Green frogs like to live where the land
meets the water. This keeps them safe from predators that
live on the land. When a predator like a snake comes near,
the green frog can quickly leap into the water and get
away. Green frogs can eat animals from both places,
including crayfish, spiders, fish, and even birds.
That doesn’t make sense!
Croak, croak, kerplop!
can’t be the main idea of
the paragraph
 This sentence does not
express a topic or a main
point about the topic

Let’s find the topic first
Croak, croak, kerplop! What’s that at the water’s edge?
It might be a green frog, a creature that’s well-suited for
life at the pond’s edge. Green frogs like to live where the
land meets the water. This keeps them safe from predators
that live on the land. When a predator like a snake comes
near, the green frog can quickly leap into the water and get
away. Green frogs can eat animals from both places,
including crayfish, spiders, fish, and even birds.
What about the third sentence?
Croak, croak, kerplop! What’s that at the water’s edge?
It might be a green frog, a creature that’s well-suited for
life at the pond’s edge. Green frogs like to live where the
land meets the water. This keeps them safe from predators
that live on the land. When a predator like a snake comes
near, the green frog can quickly leap into the water and get
away. Green frogs can eat animals from both places,
including crayfish, spiders, fish, and even birds.
The main idea!
As you can see, the first
sentence is not always the
main idea
 To find the main idea, you
need to think about the
topic of the paragraph
 Look at each sentence
until you find the best
main idea sentence

Now try this one
What a gorgeous view! Kings Gap State Park is a
great place to see the Cumberland Valley. This is
because the park was built on top of a mountain.
From the mountain top, the fields and farms of the
valley stretch out far below. The Doubling Gap, a
mountain that curves like the letter s, can also be
seen.
How do we find the main idea?
Start by finding the topic
 Then look at each sentence
in the paragraph
 Look for the sentence that
states the topic and gives a
main point about the topic
 Once you think you have
found it, match it against
the rest of the sentences

Finding the topic
What a gorgeous view! Kings Gap State Park is
a great place to see the Cumberland Valley. This is
because the park was built on top of a mountain.
From the mountain top, the fields and farms of the
valley stretch out far below. The Doubling Gap, a
mountain that curves like the letter s, can also be
seen.
Finding the topic
What a gorgeous view! Kings Gap State Park is
a great place to see the Cumberland Valley. This is
because the park was built on top of a mountain.
From the mountain top, the fields and farms of the
valley stretch out far below. The Doubling Gap, a
mountain that curves like the letter s, can also be
seen.
Finding the topic
The topic, then, is Kings
Gap State Park
 To find the main idea, we
need to understand what
the paragraph is saying
about Kings Gap State
Park

Let’s try the first sentence
What a gorgeous view! Kings Gap State Park is
a great place to see the Cumberland Valley. This is
because the park was built on top of a mountain.
From the mountain top, the fields and farms of the
valley stretch out far below. The Doubling Gap, a
mountain that curves like the letter s, can also be
seen.
Not the main idea
The first sentence, What a
gorgeous view, does not
state the main idea
 It does not state the topic
of the paragraph

What about the second sentence?
What a gorgeous view! Kings Gap State Park is
a great place to see the Cumberland Valley. This is
because the park was built on top of a mountain.
From the mountain top, the fields and farms of the
valley stretch out far below. The Doubling Gap, a
mountain that curves like the letter s, can also be
seen.
Better!
The second sentence,
Kings Gap State Park is a
great place to see the
Cumberland Valley,
includes both a topic and a
main idea
 Let’s see if all of the other
sentences in the paragraph
relate back to it

Do the rest of the sentences relate?
What a gorgeous view! Kings Gap State Park is
a great place to see the Cumberland Valley. This is
because the park was built on top of a mountain.
From the mountain top, the fields and farms of the
valley stretch out far below. The Doubling Gap, a
mountain that curves like the letter s, can also be
seen.
The rest of the sentences do relate back to the second sentence.
It’s the main idea.
What have we learned?
 What
is the topic of a text?
The topic is the word or phrase that all of the
sentences in a paragraph refer to
What is a main idea?
The main idea of a paragraph is the topic, plus
a feeling or attitude about the topic
What have we learned?
 Is
the main idea of a paragraph always the first
sentence?
No! Sometimes the main idea appears in other parts
of the paragraph
How do we find the main idea?
We need to think about the topic, and look for a
sentence that includes the topic plus a main point
about the topic
Does every paragraph work like this?
A.
B.
Yes! Every paragraph in the whole universe is
like this and you will never have to think hard
again
No, some paragraphs are different. Sometimes
the paragraph has the topic sentence at the end of
the paragraph. Sometimes the author leaves out
the main idea altogether, and we need to figure it
out
And the answer is…
 The
answer, of course, is B
 While most paragraphs do have a stated main idea,
some do not
 Sometimes this is because the author wants to
make the reader think more carefully
 (Dark secret) Sometimes it’s because the author
just didn’t write the paragraph very well!
But these guidelines usually do work
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Find the topic of the paragraph
See if the first sentence states the main idea
If not, check other sentences in the paragraph
Find the sentence that includes the topic and
states a main point about the topic
Make sure that the other sentences in the
paragraph relate back to the main idea
Fun stuff for the end….

Can you find the frog in
this picture?
Fun stuff for the end….

What about this one?
Reflect on what you’ve learned

What have you learned
about topics and main
ideas?