Main Idea
What is main idea?
What a text is mostly about.
What is theme?
A lesson or message you learn from a text.
It can be applied to situations outside of the text.
True of False:
When you summarize a text, you want to include as many details about the text as you can.
False
You only want to include the most important details.
What is an inference?
An educated guess about something that the author did not state.
What is a noun? Give 2 examples.
A person, place, or thing.
Find the main idea of the following passage. Choose at least one quote to support your answer.
When it gets cold at night, you might reach for a quilt to keep you warm. Many quilts today are produced in factories, but some people enjoy sewing their own quilts. Some people like blankets better than quilts. Making a quilt can mean more than just making something to keep people warm; it can be a way of preserving memories. Today's quilt might be made from pieces of a worn-out football jersey or a baby's first blanket. Similarly, quilts made in the past were made from scraps of cloth or pieces of old clothing.
Quilts can be made in different ways.
(Responses may vary)
What was the theme of Save Me a Seat?
Explain your answer.
Assumptions are often wrong.
What 2 things should you include in a summary?
1. Main idea
2. Details
What 2 things do you need to use in order to make an inference?
1. Background knowledge
2. Clues from the text
Label the parts of speech in the following sentence:
Ms. Perdew loves spotted dogs.
N V ADJ N
Ms. Perdew loves spotted dogs.
What is the main idea of the following passage? Choose at least one quote to support your answer.
Life in Zambia
The mother eats with the girls and the younger boys. This is because all of the children below the age of seven are under the guidance of their mother. Almost all learning takes place through daily activities in the home. The mother, who is in charge of the kids' learning, has to take care of their learning at meal time. This is changing, especially in towns and cities. The trend now is that members of the family all eat together.
Mothers are responsible for many household duties.
(Responses may vary)
What is the theme of the following passage?
Once, there was a man who owed lots of money to the king. The man did not have the money to pay the king back, so he was going to be put in prison. "Please! Be patient with me!" the man cried. "I will do whatever I have to to pay you back if you give me the chance!" The king felt compassion, and decided not to make the man pay back the money.
Later that day, the man went and visited his brother. The brother owed this man money. The man hit his brother and threatened to take all his things. "Please! Be patient with me!" the brother cried. "I will do whatever I have to to pay you back if you give me the chance!" The man felt no compassion for his brother and began taking his things.
When the king found out what the man had done, he was furious. His men brought the man back to the king. "Why is it that you have threatened your brother when I forgave your huge debt? Because of this, I will punish you."
The king then put the man in prison for the original debt he owed.
Treat others the way you wish to be treated.
(Answers may vary)
In your own words, summarize Save Me a Seat.
Answer may vary.
Joe walked up to the boy in the class and said,
“Welcome; I hope you like it here."
What can you infer about the boy? How do you know?
The boy is new to the school.
We know this because Joe says "welcome" which you would only say if the person had not been there before.
Label the parts of speech in the following sentence:
The small boy quickly ran.
ADJ ADJ N ADV V
The small boy quickly ran.
What is the main idea of the following passage? Use at least 2 quotes to support your answer.
Living creatures survive in all types of environments. Each environment creates different challenges for animals that live there. Some living creatures survive at the bottom of the sea where it is dark as night and very cold. Other plants and animals live in dry, hot environments. People can use tools like flashlights or fans to help them survive. Animals and plants, however, must rely on nature to help them survive.
Living creatures survive in all types of environments.
E.g.
Some living creatures survive at the bottom of the sea
Other plants and animals live in dry, hot environments.
What is the theme of the following passage?
One bright day in late autumn a family of Ants were bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.
"What!" cried the Ants in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?"
"I didn't have time to store up any food," whined the Grasshopper; "I was so busy making music that before I knew it the summer was gone."
The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust.
"Making music, were you?" they cried. "Very well; now dance!" And they turned their backs on the Grasshopper and went on with their work.
Possible answers:
There is a time for work and a time for play.
Get your work done ahead of time.
Playing around can have bad consequences.
In your own words, summarize Among the Hidden.
Answers may vary.
The little girl sat on the sidewalk crying, her skates lying beside her. When the neighbor boy walked by, he noticed her and helped clean up her bloody knee. "Don't worry," he said while smiling. "Everyone makes mistakes at the beginning. You'll get there."
What is an inference we can make about the text? Explain your answer with details from the text.
The girl was learning how to skate.
Label the parts of speech in the following sentence:
Lately I have watered plants with cold water.
ADV N V V N PREP ADJ N
Lately I have watered plants with cold water.
What is the main idea of the following passage? Choose at least 3 details from the passage to support your answer.
There are eight planets in the Solar System,
and each one is very different. Some planets,
like Jupiter and Saturn are very large. Others,
like Mercury and Mars are smaller. Jupiter has
moons that are larger than Mercury. The planets
also have different atmospheres. Uranus, Jupiter
and Saturn have atmospheres of hydrogen and
helium. The atmosphere on Venus is made up
of carbon dioxide. Earth has a nitrogen and
oxygen atmosphere. Neptune’s atmosphere is
mostly hydrogen. The planets also have different
temperatures. Uranus is the coldest and Venus
is the hottest.
The planets are different.
-Jupiter is large while Mercury is smaller.
-Planets have different atmospheres.
-Planets have different temperatures.
Which of the following is a theme?
Josie loves to play hockey.
Hard work pays off.
Hard work pays off.
In your own words, summarize your commercial project.
Answers will vary.
Read the Preamble to the United States Constitution.
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
What can you infer about the goals of our country?
Use details from the text to support your answer.
I can infer that we want to provide safety and freedom for US citizens.
Details:
Domestic tranquility , blessings of freedom, promote general welfare, etc.
Label the parts of speech in the following sentence:
Some dogs rarely lick orange cats, but other dogs lick
squirrels often.
ADJ N ADV V ADJ N ADJ N
Some dogs rarely lick orange cats, but other dogs
V ADJ N ADV
lick the cats often.