Main Idea
The main idea is the most important idea of a paragraph
or work. It is the main point the author wishes to make.
Finding a Main Idea in a Paragraph
• Taken altogether, all of the sentences in a
paragraph express one large thought. When
you’ve found that thought, you’ve found the
subject of the paragraph.
• Find the subject. What is the paragraph about?
• Every paragraph also contains a main idea. The
main idea is what the writer is saying about the
subject.
• Find the main idea. What does the author say
about the subject?
Where to Look to Find the Subject
• Look at the title or heading.
• Look at the first sentence.
• Look at names, key words, or repeated
words.
Find the Subject of This Paragraph
What clues can you find in the title, first sentence, key
words, or repeated words to identify the subject?
from “The Cowboys Arrive”
As ranching grew in the Southwest in the mid
1800’s, a new figure arose – the cowboy. Many
cowboy stories tell about brave men who captured
wild horses by day and told jokes around campfires at
night. But real cowboys worked long hours for little
pay. They risked their lives in blizzards to guard herds
on the open prairies. They rounded up cattle and
branded them by burning their ranch’s mark into the
animals’ hides. And the cowboys drove cattle
hundreds of miles to railroads so that they could be
shipped across the country.
Subject: cowboys
Find the Main Idea of a Paragraph
• Sometimes you’ll find the main idea in the first
sentence or in the last sentence. The author
states the main idea.
• Other times you’ll need to figure out the main
idea for yourself. The author implies the main
idea. You will have to make an inference to find
the main idea if it is implied.
• The rest of the paragraph gives details about
the main idea that explain why.
• To tell the difference between the main idea and
a detail ask yourself: Is this what the whole
paragraph is about?
Find the Main Idea of This Paragraph
From “Split-Screen View”
If you’ve ever tried to swat a fly, you know it’s hard
to hit. That’s because a fly can detect moving objects
extremely well. Flies view the world through
compound eyes – eyes with multiple lenses. Each lens
faces a different directions and views a small part of a
scene. The parts add up to a complete picture in the
insect’s brain, which tells a fly to fly away fast!
What is the subject? a fly
What is the main idea?
Flies are hard to hit.
What are the details?
• Flies detect moving objects well.
• They have compound eyes with multiple lenses.
• Lenses face in different directions.
• Images are combined in flies’ brains.
Use An Organizer
Subject:
Main Idea:
Detail #1:
Detail #2:
Detail #3:
Connection:
Remember: Connect your own ideas to the
text you have read to make a connection.
Lets Find the Implied Main Idea
From: “The Birds Peace”
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.
Draw An Organizer
Subject:
Main Idea:
Detail #1:
Detail #2:
Detail #3:
Connection:
Check Your Answer
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.
Her eyes hurt and her chest burned.
Detail #2:
Detail #3:
She crossed a bridge and dashed into a
lean-to 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.
Main Idea for Longer Text
• In longer text, a paragraph does not stand by itself.
• Every paragraph is related to the other paragraphs
around it and to the larger chapter or book as a whole.
• Each of the paragraphs in the larger work adds a little
bit of meaning.
• In longer text the main idea can usually be found in the
first or last paragraph.
• Sometimes you have to infer the implied main idea.
• You can use the same main idea organizer to find the
main idea of a longer text as you used in paragraphs.
Find the Main Idea of a Page in a Story
1. With your partner choose a story we have read
in your textbook.
2. Draw an organizer and identify the main idea
of the first page of the story.
3. Read the rest of the story.
4. Draw another organizer and identify the main
idea of the entire story.
5. Be prepared to share your main ideas with the
class.
Review Main Idea
• Altogether the sentences in a paragraph
express one large thought. When you’ve found
that thought, you’ve found the subject of the
paragraph.
• Every paragraph also contains a main idea. The
main idea is what the writer is saying about the
subject.
• Details support the main idea and explain why.
• Remember to check your main idea ask
yourself: Is this what the whole text is about?
If your answer is yes you have the main idea.