from In the Shadow of Man
by Jane Goodall
Feature Menu
Introducing the Selection
Informational Text Focus:
Synthesizing Sources: Main Idea
and Supporting Details
Writing Skills Focus: Preparing
for Timed Writing
from In the Shadow of Man
by Jane Goodall
Are humans and animals all that different?
from In the Shadow of Man
Introducing the Selection
In an African forest,
scientist Jane
Goodall observed a
group of
chimpanzees
and made some surprising
discoveries.
from In the Shadow of Man
Introducing the Selection
Human beings share certain behaviors with animals.
Why is that fact so significant to us?
[End of Section]
from In the Shadow of Man
Informational Text Focus:
Synthesizing Sources: Main Idea and Supporting Details
The main idea is the central idea of a paragraph,
an essay, or an article.
What’s the
writer’s central
point in this
article?
from In the Shadow of Man
Informational Text Focus:
Synthesizing Sources: Main Idea and Supporting Details
Sometimes you can find the main idea in a topic
sentence, which states the point of the paragraph,
essay, or article.
Read the following paragraph from In the Shadow
of Man. What is its topic sentence?
Most exciting of all, on several occasions they picked small
leafy twigs and prepared them for use by stripping off the
leaves. This
This was
wasthe
thefirst
first
recorded
recorded
example
example
of a of
wild
a animal
wild
not merely
animal
notusing
merely
an object
using as
anaobject
tool, but
as actually
a tool, but
modifying
actually
an
object and thus
modifying
an object
showing
and
thethus
crude
showing
beginnings
theof
crude
toolmaking.
beginnings of toolmaking.
From "First Observations" from In the Shadow of Man by Jane Goodall. Copyright © 1971 by Hugo and Jane van Lawick-Goodall. All rights reserved.
Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company and electronic format by permission of Soko Publications c/o G. T. E. Parsons, Esquire.
from In the Shadow of Man
Informational Text Focus:
Synthesizing Sources: Main Idea and Supporting Details
A main idea might be implied or hinted at, instead
of stated in a topic sentence.
You may have to analyze the writer’s supporting
details for clues to the main idea.
MAIN IDEA
examples
facts
anecdotes
quotations
statistics
from In the Shadow of Man
Informational Text Focus:
Synthesizing Sources: Main Idea and Supporting Details
Good writers use specific details to support their
main idea.
Look for examples, facts, anecdotes, quotations,
and statistics.
MAIN IDEA
examples
facts
anecdotes
quotations
statistics
from In the Shadow of Man
Informational Text Focus:
Synthesizing Sources: Main Idea and Supporting Details
You will often be asked to write about a topic after
reading material from several sources.
You will need to synthesize,
or combine the knowledge and
impressions from several
sources.
Before you synthesize, you
must analyze the central ideas
and details of each source.
from In the Shadow of Man
Informational Text Focus:
Synthesizing Sources: Main Idea and Supporting Details
Use these tips for finding the main idea and
supporting details:
1. Read the title.
What clues does the
title provide?
Your pet is thinking
something.
The main idea may be that
animals are capable of some
level of thought.
from In the Shadow of Man
Informational Text Focus:
Synthesizing Sources: Main Idea and Supporting Details
Use these tips for finding the main idea and
supporting details:
2. Skim the introduction.
Is the main idea
stated in the first
few paragraphs?
What might it be?
Often, writers also give an
overview of some of the details
they will use to support the
main idea.
from In the Shadow of Man
Informational Text Focus:
Synthesizing Sources: Main Idea and Supporting Details
Use these tips for finding the main idea and
supporting details:
3. Read the final paragraph.
Writers often restate the
main idea of the text in
the conclusion to an
article or essay.
[End of Section]
from In the Shadow of Man
Informational Text Focus:
Synthesizing Sources: Main Idea and Supporting Details
Into Action: Use a concept map to help you identify
the main idea and supporting details.
Main Idea
Supporting
Detail
Supporting
Detail
Supporting
Detail
[End of Section]
from In the Shadow of Man
Writing Focus: Think as a Reader/Writer
Preparing for Timed Writing
As you read, note key sentences in which the
writer sums up a major point.
Paraphrase, or restate the
major points in your own words.
Look also for examples,
facts, anecdotes,
quotations, and statistics
that support the main idea.
[End of Section]
Vocabulary
from In the Shadow of Man
Vocabulary
devoid adj.: completely missing; lacking.
belligerent adj.: warlike; fond of fighting.
from In the Shadow of Man
Vocabulary
When you think of the
word devoid, what other
words come to mind?
Examples:
Word:
devoid
Definition:
adj.: completely
missing; lacking.
barren
without
empty
vacant
bereft
Sentence:
After
midnight, the
streets were
devoid of
people.
Image:
from In the Shadow of Man
Vocabulary
Which of these men appears to be devoid of cash?
from In the Shadow of Man
Vocabulary
Which of these men appears to be devoid of cash?
What do you when you’re devoid of money?
from In the Shadow of Man
Vocabulary
Belligerent is the opposite of friendly.
Belligerent means warlike or quarrelsome—
ready to fight.
Describe a situation in which you’ve encountered a
belligerent person.
from In the Shadow of Man
Vocabulary
The belligerent reporter ________________
a. knocked down the
celebrity as she ran for
her limo.
b. politely requested an
interview.
c. stood quietly to one side
as the celebrity passed.
from In the Shadow of Man
Vocabulary
The belligerent reporter ________________
a.knocked down the
celebrity as she ran
for her limo.
b. politely requested an
interview.
c. stood quietly to one side
as the celebrity passed.
[End of Section]
The End