Determination
What single sentence tells the reader what a passage is mostly about?
Main/Central Idea
What phrase means, "quotes or lines from the text that support your idea?"
Text Evidence
What does it mean to summarize a text?
Restating the main idea or purpose of the passage in your own words.
What is an example of an "unimportant detail" in a text?
Small/minor details that do not support the main/central idea of a text.
What does it mean to "cite" evidence?
Quoting specific details or facts from the text.
Name two words or phrases authors often use to signal the main idea.
"Mainly..."; "Overall..."; "The purpose..."; "In conclusion..."
True or False. Text evidence can include facts, examples, or details from the text passage.
True
Summarize the text in one sentence.
Every morning, Mia packs her backpack with books, pencils, and her homework before leaving for school. She checks her schedule to make sure she has everything she needs for the day. When she arrives at class prepared, she feels calm and ready to learn.
Something like... Mia prepares for school each morning so she can feel calm and ready to learn.
What helps you find the main idea in a text?
- a repeating detail
- single fact
A repeating detail.
Show a simple way to cite a direct quote from the text.
Bees are important insects that help plants grow. When bees move from flower to flower, they spread pollen, which helps plants make fruits and seeds. Many foods people eat, like apples and strawberries, depend on bees. Without bees, it would be harder to grow these foods, so protecting bees is important for nature and people.
Something like... according to the text, "..." or the text says, "..."
What is the best one-sentence main idea for this paragraph?
Bees are important insects that help plants grow. When bees move from flower to flower, they spread pollen, which helps plants make fruits and seeds. Many foods people eat, like apples and strawberries, depend on bees. Without bees, it would be harder to grow these foods, so protecting bees is important for nature and people.
Along the lines of... "Bees are important because they help plants grow and support the food people eat."
From this passage, what is the strongest piece of evidence for the main idea?
Bees are important insects that help plants grow. When bees move from flower to flower, they spread pollen, which helps plants make fruits and seeds. Many foods people eat, like apples and strawberries, depend on bees. Without bees, it would be harder to grow these foods, so protecting bees is important for nature and people.
"Many foods people eat, like apples and strawberries, depend on bees."
List two things a good summary should NOT include
1. Direct quotes
2. Unimportant information/minor details
From the text, pick 1 important detail and 1 unimportant detail.
Bees are important insects that help plants grow. When bees move from flower to flower, they spread pollen, which helps plants make fruits and seeds. Many foods people eat, like apples and strawberries, depend on bees. Without bees, it would be harder to grow these foods, so protecting bees is important for nature and people.
Important
1. Bees spread pollen, which helps plants makes fruit and seeds
Unimportant
1. Many foods people eat, like apples and strawberries, depend on bees
Write one sentence about the main idea and cite evidence.
Bees are important insects that help plants grow. When bees move from flower to flower, they spread pollen, which helps plants make fruits and seeds. Many foods people eat, like apples and strawberries, depend on bees. Without bees, it would be harder to grow these foods, so protecting bees is important for nature and people.
The main idea is that bees are important because they help plants grow and support the food people eat. I know this because the text says, "many foods people eat, like apple and strawberries, depend on bees."
Identify the difference between the main idea and the theme.
- Never give up on something that is important to you.
- She knew she had to work hard, but Jana had always wanted to win the spelling bee.
- Theme
- Main Idea
Explain why direct quotes are sometimes better evidence than a single summarized sentence.
Something like... Quotes show the author's exact words. This makes the evidence more accurate and prevents changing the original meaning. Quotes make clear that the information comes straight from the text, which makes evidence stronger and more trustworthy.
Summarize this passage.
Bees are important insects that help plants grow. When bees move from flower to flower, they spread pollen, which helps plants make fruits and seeds. Many foods people eat, like apples and strawberries, depend on bees. Without bees, it would be harder to grow these foods, so protecting bees is important for nature and people.
Something like... Bees help plants grow by spreading pollen from flower to flower. Many foods people eat depend on bees, so they are important to protect.
Explain how to decide whether a detail supports the main idea or is just background information. Give an example.
Something like... seeing if the text still makes sense if you remove the detail.
Explain the difference between quoting and summarizing when you cite evidence.
Quoting uses the exact words from the text. Summarizing restates the text in your own words.