BONUS ROUND: CENTRAL IDEA

DEFINITIONS

200

DEFINITION: The most important point or interesting aspect of a topic that the author is making.

MAIN OR CENTRAL IDEA

400

FILL IN THE BLANKS:

You can find a MAIN IDEA in every well-written ________________ text, which is different from a THEME which can be found in a ___________ text.

NON-FICTION

NARRATIVE

600

Draw a CENTRAL IDEA rainbow on the whiteboard and label all 3 parts.

TOPIC (one or two words-- who or what the text is about)

MAIN OR CENTRAL IDEA (one sentence-- the interesting aspect or most important point the author is making about the topic)

TEXT EVIDENCE (multiple words, phrases & sentences-- analyze these to find patterns & repeated words)

800

FILL IN THE BLANK: Readers _________ supporting ideas and supporting details to see what they have in common in order to find the main idea.

ANALYZE

1000

What are the four basic tips to use for finding MAIN IDEA?

1. Is it in the headline?

2. Is it in the first sentence?

3. Is it in the last sentence?

4. Look for repeated words & ideas.