How can a reader identify details of a passage

Teachers can later ask students to find text that supports or contradicts their predictions. Asking students different types of questions requires that they find the answers in different ways, for example, by finding literal answers in the text itself or by drawing on prior knowledge and then inferring answers based on clues in the text. Expository text is typically structured with visual cues such as headings and subheadings that provide clear cues as to the structure of the information.

The first sentence in a paragraph is also typically a topic sentence that clearly states what the paragraph is about. Teaching these structures can help students recognize relationships between ideas and the overall intent of the text. A summary briefly captures the main idea of the text and the key details that support the main idea.

Students must understand the text in order to write a good summary that is more than a repetition of the text itself. After all of the students have read the text, the teacher leads a discussion of the questions and answers. Printable K-W-L chart blank. Graphic organizers provide visual representations of the concepts in expository text. Representing ideas and relationships graphically can help students understand and remember them.

Examples of graphic organizers are:. Tree diagrams that represent categories and hierarchies. Tables that compare and contrast data. Time-driven diagrams that represent the order of events. Teaching students how to develop and construct graphic organizers will require some modeling, guidance, and feedback. Teachers should demonstrate the process with examples first before students practice doing it on their own with teacher guidance and eventually work independently.

Honig, B. Diamond, and L. Teaching reading sourcebook, 2nd ed. Novato, CA: Arena Press. Next, have the student write out the details that support the main idea.

Again, help the student use complete sentences to describe the supporting details. Now that your student knows how to pull main ideas and supporting details when reading, see if the student can create his own main ideas and supporting details for writing. Have the student create a word web with the main idea in a bubble in the middle of the page. Then, have the student write ideas down in connecting bubbles that will support the main idea. Each one only needs to be a few words.

Once the student has completed the word web, have the student go back and write out the main idea and each detail in a complete sentence. Looking for more therapy ideas and resources to help you provide the BEST services to your clients? Thanks so much! Perfect timing for one of my students.

I have done some similar things with a student who struggles with the main idea. Your breakdown of each of the steps, along with the visuals, is so helpful. And the extra resource you provide is a lovely, convenient help. I love the way you started out with pictures. I have never thought about the main idea of a single picture. This breakdown and progression makes so much sense. Thanks for the ideas. No problem! This skill is mostly targeted at those students who are expected to identify and use main ideas and supporting details in their reading.

Can you tell me what exactly you would be working on that would involve this skill without literacy? My wife and I have been thinking about finding some pediatric speech therapy for our daughter, and I think that getting the most information we can would be good.

Thank you! You are actually identifying the subject and supporting details. The main idea is the combination of both. I like the activity and think it would work great in helping kids, especially those who need more visual supports!

This explanation is a great source of teaching students on how to identify main ideas and supporting details. I have a question. How to find the main idea in a paragraph? If I asked, what is this paragraph mostly about? Thank you. Textbook chapters, articles, paragraphs, sentences, or passages all have topics and main ideas.

The topic is the broad, general theme or message. It is what some call the subject. The main idea is the "key concept" being expressed. Details , major and minor, support the main idea by telling how, what, when, where, why, how much, or how many. Locating the topic, main idea, and supporting details helps you understand the point s the writer is attempting to express. Identifying the relationship between these will increase your comprehension. A paragraph is a group of sentences related to a particular topic, or central theme.

Every paragraph has a key concept or main idea. The main idea is the most important piece of information the author wants you to know about the concept of that paragraph. When authors write they have an idea in mind that they are trying to get across. This is especially true as authors compose paragraphs. An author organizes each paragraph's main idea and supporting details in support of the topic or central theme, and each paragraph supports the paragraph preceding it.

That main idea may be stated at the beginning of the paragraph, in the middle, or at the end. The sentence in which the main idea is stated is the topic sentence of that paragraph. The topic sentence announces the general theme or portion of the theme to be dealt with in the paragraph. Although the topic sentence may appear anywhere in the paragraph, it is usually first — and for a very good reason. This sentence provides the focus for the writer while writing and for the reader while reading.

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Critical thinking skills are in demand Knowing how to find main ideas allows you to understand and think critically about what you're reading.