1. Topics
and
Supporting Details

2. Preview questions for Chapter Two:
Why is it important to determine the topic of a paragraph?
How can I determine the topic of a paragraph?

3. Word, name, or phrase that tells who or what
Topic of a paragraph
Word, name, or phrase that tells who or what
the author is writing about
Determining the topic is important because:
it focuses your attention
helps you understand complex paragraphs precisely
and is an essential first step in understanding
a passage

4. To determine the topic, ask yourself,
“Who or what is this topic about?”
Four clues to help you determine the topic:
1. When the topic appears as a heading or title
2. When the topic appears in a special type such as
bold print
italics
or color by pronouns or other ds

5. Topics in standardized reading tests
Students sometimes miss questions on reading tests because they do not realize what they are being asked.
Learn to recognize certain types of questions
no matter how they are worded.
To identify the topic of a passage, ask yourself,
“Who or what is this passage about?”

6. Topics in standardized reading tests
Use clues for determining topics
titles or headings
words emphasized in special print
repetition
mention of the topic which is then referred to by pronouns or other words

7. Review questions for Chapter Two:
Why is it important to determine
the topic of a paragraph?
How can I determine the topic of a
paragraph?

8. Preview questions: What are supporting details in a paragraph?
Why is it useful to understand supporting details?
How can I identify supporting details in paragraphs?
How can I list supporting details clearly?
What are major and minor supporting details,
and what is the difference between them?

9. Supporting Details
Additional information in the paragraph that helps you understand the main idea completely
Supporting details may include:
Names
Dates
Places
Descriptions
Statistics
Other information explaining, illustrating, or proving the main idea.

10. Supporting details are important because:
Supporting details often lead you to the stated main idea; they contain important information that can help you formulate the main idea when it is implied
Supporting details can help you grasp the overall organization (or writing pattern) of a paragraph
Listing supporting details after you finish reading can help you learn and remember them.

11. To identify supporting details in a paragraph, ask yourself,
"What additional information does the author provide to help me understand the main idea completely?"

12. Signal words that can introduce supporting details:
first
second
next
also
in addition
moreover
for example
to illustrate
numbers and letters
[Not every supporting detail is introduced by a signal of some sort.]
To make supporting details stand out clearly, list them briefly on separate lines.

13. Paraphrasing Restating an author's material in your own words
Paraphrasing supporting details will help you keep them brief.

14. After you have read a paragraph, go back and insert a number next to each detail to make supporting details easier to locate.
This helps you locate all the details.
It helps you remember how many details there were in the paragraph.
It prevents you from overmarking a paragraph by underlining or highlighting too much.

15. Supporting details on standardized reading tests
To answer a test question about supporting details, read the question carefully to determine exactly what information you need.
Skim the passage looking for that information.
When you come to the part in the passage that has what you are looking for, slow down and read more closely.
Look for information in the answer choices that means the same thing as the information in the passage, even if the words themselves are different.

16. Review questions : What are supporting details in a paragraph?
Why is it useful to understand supporting details?
How can I identify supporting details in paragraphs?
How can I list supporting details clearly?
What are major and minor supporting details,
and what is the difference between them?

17. THANK YOU.