Main Idea LA : The student will determine the main idea or essential message in grade-level or higher texts through inferring, paraphrasing, summarizing, and identifying relevant details;

Day 1 Time Frame: Approximately 10 minutes Materials: All needed materials are included in this section of slides. Optional Materials: A student copy of the passage and questions for students to mark up.

Theme Our theme this week will be Halloween. We will be reading passages related to Halloween and traditions that surround the holiday.

Main Idea The central idea within a written passage or sentence-what a story is about. Implied or Inferred Main Idea The main idea within a written passage that is not directly stated by the author and left up to the reader to draw conclusions in order to find a central idea.

Supporting Details Supporting details supply evidence or back up the main point the author is making in the passage. There will probably be three or more supporting details to any main idea. If not, the reader needs to rethink the main idea.

How to Find the Main Idea Decide what the topic of the paragraph or passage is. The topic is sometimes a short title for the passage and is often only a few words in length. If no title is given, the reader should create a short title based on the reading. Often a main idea question will ask “What is a good title for this passage?” Decide what is said about a topic. Check what the rest of the sentences tell you about the topic. Then write a sentence that includes the topic and what is said about the topic. This will be the main idea. Go through each sentence in the paragraph and ask yourself this question: “Does this sentence go with or support the main idea? If it does, it is a SUPPORTING DETAIL that supports the main idea. If you cannot find several supporting details, go back to step 1 and start over-you have not found the main idea.

Finding an Implied Main Idea Find the subject. Look at the heading or title. Read the first and last sentences. What does the author say about the subject? Look at what the details say about the subject. Decide what the details add up to. Sort the subject from the main idea. Infer what the main point is that the author wants you to know about the subject. This is the main idea.

Finding the Main Idea Subject: Detail 1:Detail 2:Detail 3:Detail 4: Main Idea:

When it comes to pumpkins, there are other world records, too. They include the word's largest pumpkin pie, and the fastest pumpkin carver. Bold print Italics Headings Footnotes Illustrations Sidebar Bulleted Items Captions Visual Clues for Main Idea

Model Look specifically for the main subject and any supporting details. If you find any of these, underline them. A good strategy is to read the questions.

Questions 1. What is a good title for these paragraphs? a. Pumpkin Shortage Could Make Texan Jack-o-Lanterns Cry b. Pumpkins: Halloween’s Vegetable c. An Abundance of Pumpkins d. California: Pumpkin Country 2. Which statement is a supporting detail of the passage? a. The size of the gourd may be smaller. b. Illinois, California, New York, and Ohio are the leading pumpkin producing states. c. Pumpkin production in Texas has been sliced nearly in half by the drought. d. New York appears in the rankings.

If the drought hasn't been scary enough already, it's now darkening the outlook for Halloween festivities by making Texas pumpkins scarce. Pumpkin production in Texas has been sliced nearly in half by the drought; and while retailers might find enough pumpkin substitutes in other states, the price could be higher and the size of the gourd may be smaller. “It's kind of a bear this year,” said Nando Gonzalez, a partner in River City Produce in San Antonio who has called on growers as far away as California and Michigan to provide specialty pumpkins for contracts he normally fills with homegrown pumpkins. “It's a lot harder (to find pumpkins) this year than it's been in the last 20 years,” Gonzalez said. Texas has seen its pumpkin acreage fall over the years from more than 3,300 in 2002 to 1,834 acres in the 2007 agricultural census conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Illinois, California, New York and Ohio are the leading pumpkin-producing states, the department reports. Texas no longer appears in the rankings. Overall, $116.5 million worth of pumpkins were sold last year. Still, a short crop in Texas combined with the damage Hurricane Irene did to pumpkin growers in the Northeast are expected to increase pumpkin prices, Russ Wallace, the extension service's vegetable specialist in Lubbock, said in a news release this week.

Now, let’s look at each question. 1. What is a good title for these paragraphs? a. Pumpkin Shortage Could Make Texan Jack-o-Lanterns Cry b. Pumpkins: Halloween’s Vegetable c. An Abundance of Pumpkins d. California: Pumpkin Country A: is what the article is mainly about, but keep reading to make sure. B: although a pumpkin is a vegetable, the passage doesn’t even mention it C: there are plenty of pumpkins in Illinois, New York, California, and Ohio, but not in Texas. The passage is talking about pumpkins in Texas. D: there are pumpkins in California, but it is only mentioned in the passage. The BEST answer is ___.

Now, let’s look at each question. 1. What is a good title for these paragraphs? a. Pumpkin Shortage Could Make Texan Jack-o-Lanterns Cry b. Pumpkins: Halloween’s Vegetable c. An Abundance of Pumpkins d. California: Pumpkin Country A: is what the article is mainly about, but keep reading to make sure. B: although a pumpkin is a vegetable, the passage doesn’t even mention it C: there are plenty of pumpkins in Illinois, New York, California, and Ohio, but not in Texas. The passage is talking about pumpkins in Texas. D: there are pumpkins in California, but it is only mentioned in the passage. The BEST answer is A.

Now, let’s look at each question. 2. Which statement is a supporting detail of the passage? A. The size of the gourd may be smaller. B. Illinois, California, New York, and Ohio are the leading pumpkin-producing states. C. Pumpkin production in Texas has been sliced nearly in half by the drought. D. New York appears in the rankings. Knowing that the main idea is about a pumpkin shortage in Texas, look at the details that support that thought. A: the pumpkins are smaller, but that doesn’t lead to a shortage. B: this sentence was taken from the passage, but doesn’t support the main idea. C: is a detail that supports the Texan pumpkin shortage D: is a point made in the article, but is not a supporting detail. The BEST answer is ___.

Now, let’s look at each question. 2. Which statement is a supporting detail of the passage? A. The size of the gourd may be smaller. B. Illinois, California, New York, and Ohio are the leading pumpkin-producing states. C. Pumpkin production in Texas has been sliced nearly in half by the drought. D. New York appears in the rankings. Knowing that the main idea is about a pumpkin shortage in Texas, look at the details that support that thought. A: the pumpkins are smaller, but that doesn’t lead to a shortage. B: this sentence was taken from the passage, but doesn’t support the main idea. C: is a detail that supports the Texan pumpkin shortage D: is a point made in the article, but is not a supporting detail. The BEST answer is C.