Rush Strong School 2011-12
TEAM Lesson Plan Main Idea
Teacher:
Mary K. Morris
Grade/Subject:
3rd Grade
Unit:
Main Idea and Supporting Details
Lesson Title:
What’s the Main Idea?
Reference State GLE's, SPI's, Checks for Understanding, and/or Common Core
STATE STANDARD(S)
Standards
√ 0301.6.4 Identify the main idea and supporting details in text.
LESSON OBJECTIVE
Clear, Specific, and Measurable – NOT ACTIVITIES
Student-Friendly: "The student will…"
Explicitly Stated for Students
Includes Sub-Objectives
I can identify the stated main idea and supporting details of a selection and write them in a graphic organizer.
I can use supporting details from a selection I have read to generate the unstated main idea of that selection.
ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION
Measures Student Master In More Than Two Ways
Aligned with the Lesson Objective
Includes Measurable Formative and Summative Assessments
Requires Written Task
There will be formative assessments in the form of observation, questioning, and the graphic organizer. I will observe
students as they highlight the supporting details and complete their graphic organizers. Throughout the lesson I will also
be using various questioning techniques to ascertain their levels of understanding. The lesson itself is also formative
because the student work for the lesson will be placed in their reading group skill portfolios. (Each group has a folder that
contains student skill work from their guided reading groups.) At the end of the lesson, students will be assessed in the
form of an exit ticket. Students will be given an individualized list of three supporting details. They will have to use those
details to generate the main idea of the selection in the form of a complete sentence and write it down. I will also observe
their written explanations (2-3 sentences) for their answers that will be on the exit tickets as well.
Summative assessment of these objectives will come in the form of a reading story test on Friday of the current week. The
test will contain multiple choice questions that will assess students’ understanding of main idea and details on literal,
critical analysis, and inferential levels.
I will use the information gleaned from the assessments to determine the depth in which I will teach this in the future. If
the majority of the students master the objectives, the topic will only need to be briefly reviewed in reading groups
throughout the year, requiring fewer progress checks. If several students struggle, multiple teaching strategies and
formative assessments will be continually used to insure future success.
MATERIALS
Aligned with the Lesson Objective
Rigorous & Relevant
-Reading sample used for modeling the highlighting of supporting details.
-Reading sample used for highlighting supporting details to be placed into graphic organizer.
-Highlighters for each student
-Supporting Details/Main Idea graphic organizers
-Individualized exit tickets
-Copies of the student objectives for each student
Rush Strong School 2011-12
ACTIVATING STRATEGY
Motivator/Hook
Essential Questions (Higher Order)
Activating Prior Knowledge
Real-World Connections
“Why is it important to be able to identify the main idea and supporting details in a selection?”
“What would happen if the stories and books we read had no main ideas?”
INSTRUCTION
Step-by-Step Procedures/Sequence
Discover/Explain – Direct Instruction
Modeling Expectations – “I Do”
Planned Questioning That Encourages Higher Order Thinking
Grouping Strategies
Differentiated Instructional Strategies to Provide Intervention & Extension
- Begin the lesson by reading the objectives aloud and having the students repeat them after you. Ask the students to help
you define main idea and supporting details.
- “Why is it important to be able to identify the main ideas and supporting details?” Explain how it helps them understand
the story and the author’s purpose. Connect to prior learning by reminding them of how they used main ideas and
supporting details in their writing, and it helped their writing become clearer.
- “What would happen if the stories and books we read had no main ideas?” Wait for student responses and have them
explain their answers.
- Give each student a sample passage and a highlighter. Explain that as you read the passage aloud you want the students
to be listening and looking for the supporting details. After each paragraph is read, stop and do a think-aloud to model
for students how to recognize supporting details. Have them highlight them. After the passage is read, talk about what
the main idea of the passage is. Help them understand why it is the main idea.
- Next, give each student another sample passage and a graphic organizer. This time have the students read the passage
aloud, taking turns one sentence at a time (to avoid time for distraction). Have them highlight what they think are
supporting details as they read. At the end of the selection have the students share with a partner what they highlighted.
After that, come together again as a group and help the students narrow their choices down to 3 primary supporting
details. Have the students write each one in sentence form into the graphic organizer as it is chosen.
- Then, ask each student what they think the main idea may be. After you have heard all answers, have the students
choose the main idea and put it into a sentence form to write into their graphic organizers. Have them justify their
reasoning behind choosing it as the main idea.
- As a final step to the lesson, the students will be given an exit ticket in the form of a large index card. On one side will
be a list of 4 supporting details from an imaginary selection. Each student’s list of supporting details will be
individualized to his or her personal interests to help capture his or her attention. The students will use these supporting
details to determine what the main idea of that selection would be and write it on the back of the card. Underneath their
main ideas they will also have to write explanations of 2-3 sentences justifying their choices. (These exit tickets will go
into their reading group portfolios.)
- Finally have the students repeat the objectives again and ask them to use a thumbs up, sideways, or down to show if
they felt they met those objectives.
Rush Strong School 2011-12
GUIDED & INDEPENDENT
PRACTICE
“We Do”-“You Do”
Student Work Encourages Higher Order Thinking & Problem Solving
Relevance to Students' Lives
Differentiated Strategies for Practice to Provide Intervention & Extension
- Give each student a sample passage and a highlighter. Explain that as you read the passage aloud you want the students
to be listening and looking for the supporting details. After each paragraph is read, stop and do a think-aloud to model
for students how to recognize supporting details. Have them highlight them. After the passage is read, talk about what
the main idea of the passage is. Help them understand why it is the main idea.
- Next, give each student another sample passage and a graphic organizer. This time have the students read the passage
aloud, taking turns one sentence at a time (to avoid time for distraction). Have them highlight what they think are
supporting details as they read. At the end of the selection have the students share with a partner what they highlighted.
After that, come together again as a group and help the students narrow their choices down to 3 primary supporting
details. Have the students write each one in the graphic organizer (in the form of a complete sentence) as it is chosen.
- Then, ask each student what they think the main idea may be. After you have heard all answers, have the students
choose the main idea and put it into a sentence form to write into their graphic organizers. Have them justify their
reasoning behind choosing it as the main idea.
CLOSURE
Reflection/Wrap-Up
Summarizing, Reflecting, Restating, Connecting
Student Engagement
- As a final step to the lesson, the students will be given an exit ticket in the form of a large index card. On one side will
be a list of 4 supporting details from an imaginary selection. Each student’s list of supporting details will be
individualized to his or her personal interests to help capture his or her attention. The students will use these supporting
details to determine what the main idea of that selection would be and write it on the back of the card. Underneath their
main ideas they will also have to write explanations of 2-3 sentences justifying their choices. (These exit tickets will go
into their reading group portfolios.)
- If there is time, have the students share their exit tickets with a partner.
- Once again ask the students, “Why is it important to be able to identify main ideas and supporting details?”
- Finally have the students repeat the objectives again and ask them to use a thumbs up, sideways, or down to show if
they felt they met those objectives.
CROSS-CURRICULAR
CONNECTIONS
During this lesson, students will see a connection between writing and reading. They will be reminded of how main ideas
and supporting details are key to creating well-written pieces.
Also, there is a connection to social studies because the passages the students are reading have history and geography
topics.
NOTES/ SPECIAL
CIRCUMSTANCES
This lesson is taking place in the form of a small group of 4 students. During this guided reading/skill group there will be
three other groups working independently in the classroom as well: spelling, SSR, and writing. Students in these groups
will have explicit instructions and clear expectations, but should a disruption or incident occur in one of these groups, I
may have to briefly leave the small group to address it.