Determining Main Idea in 5th Grade Reading
What'due south the big idea?
It may have been a go-to line for the 3 Stooges, but many upper unproblematic teachers are asking the aforementioned question to their students almost every day, and take been for many years.
Today we are going to provide two brand-new strategies for discussing and identifying the main idea. Before we brainstorm though, let's get on the same page.
What is the Main Idea?
The principal idea in its simplest grade answers the question: What is this passage or story about?
In response to the question, we typically summarize the story in most i sentence. In our Principal Idea Game Testify, we ask students to identify the main idea of curt passages on a variety of topics from famous women scientists to extreme sports and bugs. The game tin exist used in its original course for individual or group review, but we've got a couple of ideas for using the passages (and answers) in even more means.
Main Idea Activity #1: Main Thought Math Equations
Oft we teach equations in math, merely equations can work with anything that is formulaic in nature.
Equations provide methods for taking information, sorting it, and creating a final product. If yous can create equations that work (even just some of the fourth dimension) students can employ those equations as a starting identify when attempting to identify the main idea of the passages they're reading.
One thing we have to keep in mind though is that merely as all math equations don't work on every problem and an equation for figuring out the caste of the angles in a triangle won't work to determine the sides of a foursquare, neither volition one equation for determining the chief idea assistance you to identify the principal thought in all types of writing.
I mutual equation for identifying the main idea goes every bit follows…
The Bailiwick + What they do/did + Why they practise/did it = Main Idea
Read the example from the Main Idea Game Show below to see this formula in place.
- The Discipline = Thorn Bugs
- What they practise = camouflage themselves
- Why they practise it = to protect themselves from others
Let'due south cheque out the answer to run into how we did…
Our reply varies a little, only using the formula as a jumping-off bespeak provided a pretty good outcome.
And so why don't we merely utilise this equation all the time?
Because it doesn't work.
Typically, it only works when the subject is a living thing. What happens if the subject is a identify or an item? What would the equation exist so?
To decide other possible formulas, you volition merely reverse engineer the Chief Thought Game Show .
Instead of asking students to determine the chief idea of the passages from the Game Show , give them the passage and the answer (or identified main thought). Inquire them to consider how the main idea is presented and characterization the pieces of it (subject area, verb, detail, etc.). They can also look at the passage and highlight where the data is located in the passage. Any of these discoveries could be clues to determining a theory or formula nigh how the main ideas are determined.
In essence, our students are doing an in-depth written report of the passage and the main thought to consider how they relate. If the student can figure out the human relationship, they can create a formula. Once they have fully investigated their ain passage, they can then group upwardly with others to look for similarities in their findings. If the findings are common amidst students, claiming them to create a formula to present to the class equally function of their learning.
If yous happen to find some equations that work (fifty-fifty if but in sure situations), create posters of them and hang them around the room. If your grade doesn't discover any, they have nonetheless done a deep-dive into determining the primary thought, and that practice lonely volition do good them greatly!
Did you endeavour this activity? What equations did your class notice? Allow us know in the comments.
Primary Idea Action #two: The Main Idea Moving Box
The concept of the Main Idea Moving Box activity is unproblematic. Take all the pocket-size pieces (the details) and pack the important ones into i box. And so determine what you would label the box so that the movers (or other readers) would know what is inside. That is the one statement that all of the *important* details fit inside.
We are going to employ a unlike passage from the Main Idea Game Show to practice this strategy. Read the passage below.
Get-go past making a list of the details as a grade. Once the class has made a listing of the details, cut them out and give each to a different student. These are the details we pulled from the Expressionless Sea passage above.
- Bordered past Jordan
- Bordered by Israel
- Bordered by West Bank
- 1 of the Saltiest Bodies of h2o
- 9X saltier than the body of water
- So salty yous bladder if you swim in it
- May have been function of the body of water, just now land cuts it off.
- Saltier because it doesn't rain much
- Salt is left behind when h2o evaporates
At present we are going to donate, dump, or pack each detail.
The Donation Box
When we donate clothes or items to others, we empathize that those items still have value, simply they no longer are whatever good to us. Frequently, there are truthful, factual pieces of data in the passage that mostly fit the topic, merely merely beingness present doesn't make them important to the principal idea. Those pieces of information get donated, they don't become packed in the moving box.
The Dump
When we ship details to the dump , we are acknowledging that the data is useless to the give-and-take of the topic. Those items do not get packed in the moving box either.
The Moving Box
The only items that go packed into our moving boxes are the details that seem to be significant enough to comport around! We don't want whatsoever extra details weighing us downwardly!
This analogy works well for this type of action because as they work through the details, students can physically manipulate the details and pieces of writing by throwing pieces away, recycling the donated details, and packing up a little box with all of the good details.
A moving box strategy tin can likewise piece of work when helping students with their writing. Ask them to characterization a moving box with their main idea and so list the details of their writing on individual slips of newspaper. Give the slips and the moving box to other students to sort. If the packers decide some of the information should either be donated or dumped rather than packed into the moving box, the original author will know that those details probably don't need to be included in their writing (fifty-fifty if it is they are the almost interesting details or stories).
As we sort the details from the passage about the Dead Sea, we end up with just two boxes as you tin can see below.
Moving Box
- One of the Saltiest Bodies of h2o
- 9X saltier than the ocean
- So salty you float if you swim in it
- May take been part of the bounding main, but now land cuts information technology off.
- Saltier because it doesn't rain much
- Salt is left backside when water evaporates
Donation Box
- Bordered by Hashemite kingdom of jordan
- Bordered by Israel
- Bordered by West Banking company
Although the location of the Expressionless Ocean is interesting and helpful information, these details don't seem to pack well with all the other details. They either need their own box, or they need to be donated.
The items in the moving box all seem to work together to say something. Now, students can piece of work together to label the box with a single argument that seems to 'wrap' up all the important details. That statement is your main idea!
The Dead Bounding main is one of the saltiest bodies of water on World.
That box is now packed and information technology is time to move on (pun intended).
Next calendar week, we are going to talk over the cousin of the main thought…theme.
Source: https://funin5thgrade.com/2-unique-strategies-for-teaching-main-idea/
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