Main+Idea


 * __Main idea:__**
 * A __summary statement__ that includes the other details in a paragraph or longer piece; it is what all the sentences are about.
 * It is __not the most important idea__; rather it is the gist of the paragraph or piecfe, a __one-sentence__ summary.

A main idea helps with comprehension because it breaks down a whole story or text into one descriptive sentence. It also helps the student determine the relative importance of the information provided in the text. This can be very helpful with informative texts.

Steps for constructing a main idea:
 * 1) Use the heading, title, or first sentence to make a hypothesis (careful guess) as to what the main idea is.
 * 2) Read each sentence and see whether it supports the hypothesis. If not, revise the hypothesis.
 * 3) If you can't make a hypothesis about what the main idea is, see what all or most of the sentences have in common or are talking about.
 * 4) Select a sentence or make a sentence that tells what all the sentences are about.

In order to construct a main idea students need to be able to determine what details in a text are important.
 * Techniques for determining important details:
 * Use textual clues
 * Relational expressions such as "most important of all" and "three main causes" etc.
 * a repeated word or concept is an especially useful clue.
 * Use background knowledge
 * For example: having background information about animals will help a student to pick out what information is important to know about a new animal

Graphic organizers:
 * [|Spider Web for Constructing a Main Idea based on equally important supporting details.]
 * [|Enchanted Learning Website full of graphic organizers for constructing a main idea.]

Reinforcement Activities:
 * Cut out newspaper headlines and titles of articles, and have students match them wiht the articles
 * Have students classify lists of items
 * When discussing selections that students have read, include questions that require them to identify and/or construct a main idea

 __Book List__
 * __A Chair for my Mother __ by Vera B. Williams
 * __Blackberries in the Dark __ by Mavis Jukes
 * __Ira Sleeps Over __by Bernard Waber
 * __Polar Express __ by Chris Van Allsburg
 * __The Doorbell Rang __ by Pat Hutchins
 * __The Little Engine that Could __ by Watty Piper
 * __Tacky the Penguin __ by Helen Lester
 * __I Wish I Could Fly __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> By Ron Harris
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">City of Snow: The Great Blizzard of 1888 __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> by Linda Oatman High
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Arctic Lights, Arctic Nights __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> by Debbie S. Miller
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> by Rosalyn Schanzer
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Boy on Fairfield Street __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> by Kathleen Krull
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When Marion Sang __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> by Pam Munoz Ryan