1. Quick! What’s the Story About?
Main Idea:
Quick! What’s the Story About?

2. Imagine This:
Ms. Wilhite has a brace on her wrist, and students ask, “What happened?”
Ms. Wilhite starts telling you this whole story:
“Well I woke up Monday, and it was raining. I took my dogs on a walk, then came home and ate a bowl of cereal and had some tea. After that I got ready and went to work. It was a pretty good day, my students were well behaved. After school, I hung out for a while and chatted with Ms. Carrillo. It was around 3 pm so I decided to go home. When I got home, I had dinner and went to the gym. While I was at the gym, I was putting some 45 lb. plates on a squat rack. I felt something sharp in my wrist, and looked at it and noticed I had dislocated it from picking up the heavy weight wrong.”

3. Did You Really Need to Know ALL of That??
All you asked for was the main point of the story:
What happened to your wrist?
To give all of that information is a waste of time!
Even though all of that is true, and part of the story, it is not important to the main idea.
When we ask for main idea, we are looking for ONE sentence that tells the most important points in the story that tells what it is about.

4. Let’s Find The Main Idea in That Story :
Well I woke up Monday, and it was raining. I took my dogs on a walk, then came home and ate a bowl of cereal and had some tea. After that I got ready and went to work. It was a pretty good day, my students were well behaved. After school, I hung out for a while and chatted with Ms. Carrillo. It was around 3 pm so I decided to go home. When I got home, I had dinner and went to the gym. While I was at the gym, I was putting some 45 lb. plates on a squat rack. I felt something sharp in my wrist, and looked at it and noticed I had dislocated it from picking up the heavy weight wrong.”
Main Idea: Ms. Wilhite dislocated her wrist last Monday by putting weights on a bar at the gym

5. We Will Also Ask You to Find Supporting Details
Supporting details are parts of a story that help us decide what the main idea is.
The main idea is the most important information, the details add to showing us how important the main idea is.

6. Lastly, You Will Need to Find the Subject
Subject (or topic) is easy! It is one or two key words that tell what the story will be about.
In Ms. Wilhite’s story:
the topic is a wrist injury
The main idea is Ms. Wilhite dislocated her wrist at the gym
Supporting details are: She was putting a 45 lb plate on a squat bar, she lifted the weight incorrectly, she felt a sharp pain.

7. Let’s Let Flocabulary Explain 

8. Let’s Practice
Eight planets orbit, or revolve around, the sun. The planets and the sun are parts of our solar system. The sun is a star. It is a giant ball of hot gas. Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. It has mountains, cliffs, and plains. Venus is the hottest planet. It can reach up to 850 degrees. That is hot enough to melt a rocket ship! Earth is our home. It is the only planet that has the oxygen and water that people, animals, and plants need to live. Mars is a cold planet. It is sometimes called the Red Planet because it has reddish soil. Jupiter is the largest planet. It is made of thick gases. If you tried to land a rocket ship, you would sink into the planet! Saturn is the second-largest planet. Like Jupiter, it is made mostly of gases. Its rings are made up of rock, ice, and dust. Uranus is cold and windy. It was the first planet to be discovered with a telescope, in Neptune is called the Blue Planet. It is the coldest planet because it is farthest from the sun. To remember the order and names of the planets, repeat this silly sentence: My very excellent mother just served us nachos

9. How’d You Do? Subject: Main Idea: Supporting Details Examples:
Solar System
Main Idea:
There are 8 very different plants in our solar system that orbit the sun.
Supporting Details Examples:
Venus is the hottest planet.
Jupiter is the largest planet.
Uranus is cold and windy.
Neptune is called the Blue Planet.

10. Let’s Practice 
A study says that kids living in areas with air pollution are more likely to develop asthma than kids who live in other areas. Asthma is an illness that makes breathing difficult. Over 5 million children in the United States suffer from asthma. More than 3,500 kids, ages 9 to 16, who lived in California took part in the study. About half of those kids lived in areas that had lots of air pollution. The other half lived in areas that had clean air. All the children played outdoor sports. After studying the kids for five years, doctors found that about 260 of them developed asthma. Most of the kids who developed asthma lived in towns that had lots of air pollution. Doctors say that breathing too much polluted air caused the asthma. A California health official said the study shows the need to do more to prevent air pollution. Doctors say that children should still play outside but only on days when air pollution isn't bad.

11. How’d You Do? Subject: Main Idea: Supporting Details Examples:
Solar System
Main Idea:
There are 8 very different plants in our solar system that orbit the sun.
Supporting Details Examples:
Venus is the hottest planet.
Jupiter is the largest planet.
Uranus is cold and windy.
Neptune is called the Blue Planet.

12. Once More 
Here, students will come into a circle and will listen to a reading of the Giving Tree. They will then discuss subject, main idea and details.

13. Brain Break!

14. What Should I Learn?
In your groups, I want you to be able to find the main idea (central point) of the story you are reading, by summarizing what the story is about and finding supporting details that help make the main idea the most important part.

15. Practice Time  Please break into your guided reading groups.
You have 10 minutes to find the main idea and supporting details.
Here, students will use a main idea and supporting detail chart to practice finding the main idea and supporting details in their book.

16. Individual Practice

17. What Did You Learn? What is main idea? What is a subject?
What are supporting details?
Why is all of this important?
Main idea helps you to better understand the central message an author is trying to tell you.
In real life, main idea helps you to deeper understand conversations and read into what people are trying to get you to understand.