Primary Type: Lesson Plan
Status: Published
This is a resource from CPALMS (www.cpalms.org) where all educators go for bright ideas!
Resource ID#: 50863
Differientiating Instruction: Finding the Main Idea and
Supporting Details in Informational Texts
This lesson is meant to be done in small groups at the students' individual reading levels. Students will read an informational text, will identify the main
idea and supporting details, and record their findings on a graphic organizer. They will use the informational text and their graphic organizer to create
a summary based on the text. The students will also answer questions based on the text. As a summative assessment for the lesson, the students
will repeat this activity using a different informational text and will conduct the work alone, rather than in a group.
Subject(s): English Language Arts
Grade Level(s): 4
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Document Camera,
Interactive Whiteboard, Overhead Projector
Instructional Time: 45 Minute(s)
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: differentiated reading groups, informational text, main idea, writing a summary
Instructional Design Framework(s): Direct Instruction, Writing to Learn
Resource Collection: CPALMS Lesson Plan Development Initiative
ATTACHMENTS
Main Idea Template.docx
Main Idea graphic organizer 2.docx
Main Idea graphic organizer 3.docx
LESSON CONTENT
Lesson Plan Template: General Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
The student will be able to:
identify the main idea and supporting detail of an informational text at their independent reading level.
comprehend and read fluently an informational text at their independent reading level.
write a paragraph summarizing the informational text using the main idea and the supporting details.
answer multiple choice questions based on an informational text at their independent reading level.
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
The student should be able to:
identify the reoccurring idea in a paragraph.
identify unimportant details in a passage.
write a paragraph on topic.
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
How can we determine the main idea of a text?
What topic keeps occurring in the text?
page 1 of 4 What details in the passage are related to the main idea?
Can you eliminate the sentences that do not support the main idea?
How can you organize the main idea and supporting details into a paragraph summarizing the text?
Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?
The "Hook" and Activation of Prior Knowledge:
Ask students, "What holds up the roof (the main idea) of a house?" Show students the Main Idea Graphic Organizer and point out that the supporting details "hold up"
the Main idea.
1. The teacher will read an informational passage, Saving Hawaiian Monk Seals, aloud to the group. To access this text, teachers will need to register for a free
account with ReadWorks.org.
2. Each student will receive the Main Idea graphic organizer (attached) and a copy of Saving the Hawaiian Monk Seals.
3. The teacher will read the passage aloud to the students. I have provided a possible script to use when modeling read aloud/ think aloud.
Teacher: Let's skim the passage first paying attention to the title, picture, caption, and bold words. The title tells us that the passage is about what topic?
Students: Saving Hawaiian Monk Seals.
Teacher: What does the picture show us?
Students: It shows us what a Hawaiian Monk Seal looks like.
Teacher: The bold words introduce words we should know to understand the passage better. What happens when we read a word we don't know the meaning of?
Students: We use context clues to help us understand what they mean in the passage.
Teacher: Okay, so now that we have skimmed the text, what do you think the text is about?
Students: The passage is about saving the Hawaiian monk seals.
Teacher: Good! Sometimes the title is also the main idea of the passage. Now, as we read, let's underline all the supporting details that directly support the main
idea, saving the Hawaiian monk seals. Underline any sentence that describes how or why we are going to save the Hawaiian Monk Seals. (If students have difficulty
with this a good practice is to eliminate the sentences that do not support or relate to the main idea.)
4. Once the passage has been read completely ask students to share what they underlined. The three supporting details for this passage are:
1. Experts fear the population will drop in the next five years.
2. Experts worry they are not getting enough food.
3. Experts are monitoring the Hawaiian Seal Monks habitat for pollution.
5. Remind the students to circle the main idea and underline the supporting details.
6. Next, write the main idea and the supporting details on the graphic organizer.
7. After everyone has completed the graphic organizer the teacher and students can work together to answer the questions following the passage. The teacher can let
the students complete this on their own and then share their answers with the group. If a student answers a question incorrectly a good practice is to ask them to
show you how they got that answer. Ask them to show the teacher the evidence behind their thinking. Then provide correction as needed to help them locate the
correct answer.
8. Using the graphic organizer the teacher will create a summary based on the main idea and supporting details of the passage. At this point it is a good idea to show
the students the writing rubric you will use to grade their independent assignment. Explain to them that the summary needs to include a strong beginning that includes
the main idea, the following sentences have to support the main idea, the sentences or ideas need to be linked correctly with transitional words or phrases, and there
needs to be a closing statement.
Teacher: Now we are going to create a summary using the graphic organizer. A summary is only the important parts of a passage, leaving out anything that does
not relate to the main idea. So, our first sentence should be introducing the main idea of the passage. The next sentences that follow will be the supporting details,
and in between the supporting details you need to include transitional or linking words. Finally, include a closing statement related to the main idea to close or end
the paragraph.
The summary should only be a paragraph. Here is an example of a summary for this passage:
Scientists are working hard and fast to find out why the Hawaiian monk seal is dying. Experts have to work fast to solve this problem because they fear that in five
years the seal population will drop considerably. One possible reason the seals are dying might be due to their habitat being polluted. Another reason for the decline
in their population could be they are not getting enough food. In closing, experts need to act fast in order for the Hawaiian monk seals not to become extinct.
Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?
1. The students will be grouped by reading levels. There should be no more than four students in a group.
2. Give each student in the group the same passage. Please see Further Recommendations section for informational texts for each guided reading group.
3. Each student gets a blank Main Idea graphic organizer. There are several to choose from in the uploaded attachments.
4. Students will read the passage quietly.
5. Once everyone is done reading the passage, the teacher will ask the students what idea keeps occurring in the passage. Remind students that the main idea may
be in the title or the first sentence of a passage. The main idea also keeps being repeated in the text. Allow time for students to discuss their answer in their groups.
The teacher should circulate and provide feedback as needed to individual groups.
6. Next the teacher will ask the students to underline the supporting details. Give students time to underline the details and then talk about what they underlined with
the rest of their group. The teacher should circulate and provide feedback as needed to individual groups.
7. The students will then fill out their graphic organizer.
8. The students will work together to answer the questions following the passage. They can discus their answers and give reasons why they chose that answer.
9. Finally, as a group, they will create one summary based on their graphic organizers and follow the writing rubric as they write their summary. Student groups can
share their summary with the rest of the class and the teacher can provide correction and feedback as needed.
page 2 of 4 Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the
lesson?
1. The students will receive an informational text at their reading level and a Main Idea graphic organizer. Please see Further Recommendations section for articles to
use.
2. The students will go back to their seats and read the text on their own.
3. They will circle the main idea and underline the supporting details.
4. They will write this information on the Main Idea graphic organizer.
5. The student will answer the multiple choice and written response questions related to each passage. Students should be reminded to use evidence from the text in
their written response.
6. They will write a paragraph summarizing the passage using the main idea and supporting details.
7. The teacher will collect the passage, the summary, and the graphic organizer for each student and assess their work.
Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?
The teacher will share with the class (using a document camera) a few exemplar summaries showing the students what makes these good examples. The teacher can
point out structure and organization, details, transition words or phrases, opening and closing statements.
The teacher can also (using a document camera) show an article and point out how the students correctly determined the main idea and supporting details.
Summative Assessment
There will be two assessments at the end of this lesson.
First, each student will be asked to write a summary based on the main idea and the three supporting details of the informational text they read. The teacher can use
the attached Writing Rubric to assess students' work.
Second, they will also be asked to answer multiple choice and written response questions for an informational text at their independent reading level. They will use
evidence from the text when responding to the written response questions.
Please see the Further Recommendations section for links to specific informational texts at a variety of Lexile levels provided by ReadWorks.org.
Formative Assessment
The target goal for this lesson is for the students in all levels of a guided reading group to be able to summarize an informational text by identifying the main idea and at
least three supporting details.
Small Group: In guided reading groups, the students will be given an informational passage at their reading level and they will need to identify the main idea and three
supporting details using a graphic organizer. The students will be reading the passage quietly on their own and highlighting the main idea and underlining the
supporting details. The students will then share with their group what they have identified as the main idea and supporting details. At this time the teacher will be
taking anecdotal notes on the students who are struggling with this and the students who can easily find the main idea and supporting details. For those that are
struggling, the teacher can provide more modeling on these concepts and give the students additional practice before students complete the summative assessment
activity.
Feedback to Students
If a student is having difficulties finding the main idea, remind them that the main idea is the concept that is repeated throughout the passage. The supporting details
have to support the main idea; they have to be ideas that are related to the main idea. The graphic organizer is shaped like a house to reinforce the idea that the roof
needs to be supported by the columns (the main idea has to be supported by the details).
Please see Main Idea graphic organizer attachments 1, 2, and 3 as different options for students to use to record their information. Teachers can provide feedback on
the organizers as needed to help students further their understanding of main idea and details in the text they are reading.
ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Accommodations:
This lesson can be done with students at any reading level in your class. I have linked to several non-fiction passages provided by ReadWorks.org ranging from low
third grade Lexile level to a high fifth grade Lexile level.
I have also attached 3 different graphic organizers that range in complexity as well.
To help students with writing their summaries the teacher can create a writing frame for the struggling writers to use.
Extensions: As an extension of this lesson, students and teacher will continue to use the Main Idea graphic organizers when reading from the science book, their
reading basal, or novels read in class in order to reinforce what they learned in their guided reading groups.
Suggested Technology: Document Camera, Interactive Whiteboard, Overhead Projector
Special Materials Needed:
Main Idea graphic organizer (see attachments)
Several informational texts ranging in reading complexity, see links below in Further Recommendations section
Further Recommendations: This is lesson is meant to be done in your Guided Reading groups. I have linked to five informational reading passages provided by
ReadWorks.org in the links below. Please note: teachers will need to sign up for a free account with ReadWorks in order to access these texts.
If a group is reading at a 3rd grade reading level, this passage should be used for this group:
Leading Lady (Lexile Level 830)
If a group is reading at grade level, these passages should be used for this group:
Device May Help Blind People See (Lexile Level 880)
page 3 of 4 Catch the Breeze (Lexile Level 1050)
If a group is reading above grade level, these passages should be used for this group:
Marathon Kids (Lexile Level 830)
Leaping Lizards (Lexile Level 1050)
Also, I have included three different Main Idea graphic organizers, depending on the reading readiness of the group.
Main Idea graphic organizer 1
Main Idea graphic organizer 2
Main Idea graphic organizer 3
SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION
Contributed by: Susanette Kettinger
Name of Author/Source: Susanette Kettinger
District/Organization of Contributor(s): Miami-Dade
Is this Resource freely Available? Yes
Access Privileges: Public
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial
Related Standards
Name
LAFS.4.RI.1.1:
LAFS.4.RI.1.2:
LAFS.4.RI.4.10:
LAFS.4.W.1.2:
LAFS.4.W.2.4:
Description
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from
the text.
Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.
By the end of year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical
texts, in the grades 4–5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
a. Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs and sections; include formatting (e.g.,
headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples related to
the topic.
c. Link ideas within categories of information using words and phrases (e.g., another, for example, also, because).
d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
e. Provide a concluding statement or section related to the information or explanation presented.
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and
audience. (Grade­specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
page 4 of 4