1. Main Idea Mini Lesson ELA6R1: The student produces evidence of reading that: f) Identifies and analyzes main ideas, supporting ideas, and supporting details.

2. Main Idea The MAIN IDEA is the most important idea in the paragraph or passage.

3. Main Idea The MAIN IDEA is the most important idea in the paragraph or passage. The writer can position the MAIN IDEA anywhere in the passage.

4. Main Idea The MAIN IDEA is the most important idea in the paragraph or passage. The writer can position the MAIN IDEA anywhere in the passage. Sometimes the MAIN IDEA isn’t stated - it’s implied, so the reader must pay attention.

6. How can I find the main idea? In many of the paragraphs that you read, one sentence is more important than the others. In many of the paragraphs that you read, one sentence is more important than the others. This sentence states the main idea of the paragraph. This sentence states the main idea of the paragraph. The main idea is the idea that is most important in the paragraph. The main idea is the idea that is most important in the paragraph. It tells what the paragraph is about. It tells what the paragraph is about.

7. Steps for looking for the stated main idea in a paragraph...  Usually found in the first sentence.  It can be found in the last sentence used as a summary.  Can sometimes be found in the middle of the paragraph

8. What are details?  Details give more information about the main idea.  They are called supporting details because they support the main idea.  Always remember a detail or supporting detail is NEVER the main idea.

9. Example #1 Fifty years ago, one boy saw a volcano begin. He was living on a farm in Mexico. Out in the fields with his father, he saw the earth suddenly begin to split open in front of him. He saw ash and rock shoot up from the ground. Frightened, he and his father ran to warn people in town.

10. Example #1 Fifty years ago, one boy saw a volcano begin. He was living on a farm in Mexico. Out in the fields with his father, he saw the earth suddenly begin to split open in front of him. He saw ash and rock shoot up from the ground. Frightened, he and his father ran to warn people in town.

11. Example #2 Kids are collecting more than stamps and stickers these days. Some collect coins and bills from around the world. Others collect miniature houses and mansions. Still others collect baseball cards and autographs. An eighth-grade girl in Detroit, Michigan, collects spiders.

12. Example #2: Main Idea Kids are collecting more than stamps and stickers these days. Some collect coins and bills from around the world. Others collect miniature houses and mansions. Still others collect baseball cards and autographs. An eight-grade girl in Detroit, Michigan, collects spiders.

13. Example #3 Have you ever heard the saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”? There are a number of stories from people who have found valuable antiques at auction sales, rummage sales, or Salvation Army resale shops. Next time you think about throwing or giving something away, perhaps you should determine its value.

14. Example #3: Main Idea Implied: Some things are more valuable than others

15. Example #4 Would you like to travel through time? If so, you are not alone. Books, movies, and television shows have explored this idea. Time travel seems impossible, but who knows what the future holds? Once people thought that humans would never fly. Now a jet can take us from one ocean to another in hours. Going to the moon seemed impossible. Today a spaceship can get us there. Someday time travel may be possible, too.

16. Example #4: Main Idea Would you like to travel through time? If so, you are not alone. Books, movies, and television shows have explored this idea. Time travel seems impossible, but who knows what the future holds? Once people thought that humans would never fly. Now a jet can take us from one ocean to another in hours. Going to the moon seemed impossible. Today a spaceship can get us there. Someday time travel may be possible, too.

17. Example #5 No one is ever prepared for an earthquake, since there is no precise early warning system for this type of natural disaster. Earthquakes are sudden, violent shifting movements in the earth’s crust. They can occur at any time and in any place, although some areas of the earth are more prone to earthquakes than others. Some earthquakes are quite small and go mostly unnoticed. Other earthquakes release more energy than a nuclear bomb blast.

18. Example #5: Main Idea No one is ever prepared for an earthquake, since there is no precise early warning system for this type of natural disaster. Earthquakes are sudden, violent shifting movements in the earth’s crust. They can occur at any time and in any place, although some areas of the earth are more prone to earthquakes than others. Some earthquakes are quite small and go mostly unnoticed. Other earthquakes release more energy than a nuclear bomb blast.

19. Example #6 When the elephant arrived in England, people at the zoo thought it would be amusing to call him Mumbo Jumbo. The name “Mumbo Jumbo” derived from a poor pronunciation of an African phrase: “mama dyambo.” In Africa, “mama dyambo” meant a person who practiced traditional African medicine. Often, such people inspired fear in others, and in the English language, “mumbo jumbo” came to mean anything scary. The English hoped that Mumbo Jumbo the elephant would grow to a frightening size.

20. Example #6: Main Idea When the elephant arrived in England, people at the zoo thought it would be amusing to call him Mumbo Jumbo. The name “Mumbo Jumbo” derived from a poor pronunciation of an African phrase: “mama dyambo.” In Africa, “mama dyambo” meant a person who practiced traditional African medicine. Often, such people inspired fear in others, and in the English language, “mumbo jumbo” came to mean anything scary. The English hoped that Mumbo Jumbo the elephant would grow to a frightening size.