© 2002 Addison Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc. Chapter 4: Unstated Main Ideas/ Challenges in Education Joining a Community of Readers: A Thematic Approach to Reading, 2/e Roberta Alexander & Jan Lombardi PowerPoint by JoAnn Yaworski, 2001

© 2002 Addison Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc. Paragraphs without Main Idea Statements Identify the topic. List the points made about the topic. Add up the points listed above to arrive at the main idea.

© 2002 Addison Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc. More Than one Main Idea within a Single Paragraph Write a main idea statement. Include both main ideas. Check to be sure your statement covers all the main points raised in the paragraph.

© 2002 Addison Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc. Writing Main Idea Sentences Identify the topic. List the points made about the topic. Add up the points listed above to arrive at the main idea. Include the topic in the unstated main idea sentence.

© 2002 Addison Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc. Complete Sentences Have: a subject a verb a complete thought that makes sense a capital letter at the beginning a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point at the end

© 2002 Addison Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc. Working in Groups Discuss what you’ve read with other people. Answer questions. Organize ideas graphically. Review for a test.

© 2002 Addison Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc. “Participating in Small Groups” by Larry Sarvovar Read the selection “Participating in Small Groups” in Chapter 4. How do the “task roles” help the groups function? How do the “supportive roles” help the groups function?

© 2002 Addison Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc. “Why Some Students Get As” by Alex Thio Read the article “Why Some Students Get As” in Chapter 4. According to this study, what has the greatest influence over whether kids do well in school? Why do Asian students tend to do better in school than kids from other ethnic groups?

© 2002 Addison Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc. “The Best Teacher in America” by Jerome Jewler & John N. Gardner Read the selection “The Best Teacher in America” in Chapter 4. Why do you think Escalante’s students were so successful? Why did the authorities think his kids cheated on their advanced placement exam?

© 2002 Addison Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc. “A Third of the Nation Cannot Read These Words” by Jonathon Kozol Read the article “A Third of the Nation Cannot Read These Words” in Chapter 4. What is the man in this reading afraid of? Why does he carry the New York Times around with him all the time?

© 2002 Addison Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc. “Blowing Up the Tracks” by Patricia Kean Read the article “Blowing Up the Tracks” in Chapter 4. Do you think that tracking should continue in our schools? What are the two meanings of “tracks?” What is meant by the title of this article?

© 2002 Addison Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc. Visit the Web Citizen’s Campaign for Commercial-Free Schools ( m.html) The Center for Commercial-Free Public Education ( Group Work and Collaborative Writing (

© 2002 Addison Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc. Visit the Longman English Pages