Main Idea + Theme
Is Main Idea found in fictional or non-fiction texts?
Non-Fiction!
What are the 3-5 literary elements in fictional stories?
- plot, characters, setting, figurative language, (theme)
List the 5 types of text structures
- chronological
- cause/effect
- problem/solution
- compare/contrast
- description
How can you find the main idea?
- 1st or last sentence of a paragraph
- Find common words shared by all the relevant details
(Example: Norway is cold and wet. Norway had famous sailors known as vikings. Norway's people eat a lot of fish because it is close to the ocean. Norway has melted glaciers called Fjords.) = all sentences talk about Norway and what is in Norway or what Norway is like so the MAIN IDEA = Norway is a cold and wet environment.
Where can you find the relevant details in a text?
Following the main idea in an introduction or in the body paragraphs of an essay.
(3 magic pieces of evidence = relevant details)
instead of using text structure for fictional stories, what do we use to structure our story?
plot
What has to happen in a story for a theme to occur?
The character has to change or the conflict in the plot must be solved.
What do the relevant details support?
The main idea in a non-fiction text!
What are the most important plot points we have to look for? (5 total)
- introduction to characters and setting
- rise in conflict
- conflict
-resolution
- ending
What is the definition of theme?
the lesson or moral of the story that either the character or reader learns
How many relevant details do author's typically have supporting their main idea?
MAGIC NUMBER #3!!
Describe each of the 5 text structures and how you know when it is being used:
- chronological
- problem/solution
- cause/effect
- compare/contrast
- description
Chronological (used for expository, recipes, timelines, sequence events, step by steps, after, before, then, next, dates)
Problem/Solution (usually argumentative, words like problem, issue, solve, resolve, solution)
Cause/Effect (both types of argumentative/expository texts, uses words like because, as a result, due to)
Compare/Contrast (typically used by argumentative, comparing one thing to another, using words like however, similarly, differences, unlike)
Description (either fictional or expository, using a lot of details like adjectives and adverbs or figurative language)
Is theme found in non-fiction or in fiction texts?
Fiction!
If the main idea of a text is that "Rainforests are important habitats for animals" what would a good relevant detail be?
examples about how animals use the rainforest for their homes
What do the plot events and characters both reveal at the end of a fictional story?
the theme!