Main Idea
What is Main Idea?
What the text is mostly about
What part of RACE is for text evidence?
C: Cite evidence from the text
What are the 3 kinds of point of view?
1st person
2nd person
3rd person
What makes a drama or play different from a story?
The name of the characters are placed differently.
The story is told entirely through dialogue.
Stage directions are included.
How can you find main idea?
Use text clues, use details to create a main idea statement, find the first and last sentence in a text or paragraph, use text features.
Why do you look for text evidence?
To prove that our answer is correct.
What is 1st person point of view?
A story that's told by a character in it. I, me, and my is used because the character is talking about themselves.
What is dialogue?
The words a character is speaking.
Find the main idea...
Tom and Jerry went to the store to get some pickles. On the way, they argued about what kinds of pickles to get. They couldn't agree on what kind to buy, so they had to turn around and go home.
Tom and Jerry couldn't get pickles because they didn't agree.
Johnny waited on the corner early in the morning before the sky was light. His backpack was heavy with books that felt heavier the longer he stood there. Finally, he heard the engine and the sound of the tires on the ground, and the squealing of the brakes. Johnny was relieved to board the vehicle and sit down.
What was Johnny waiting for? Give evidence to support your answer.
The bus
"Finally, he heard the engine and the sound of the tires on the ground, and the squealing of the brakes."
What is 3rd person point of view?
When a story is told by someone outside the story. Uses he, she, they, her, his because it is not a character in the story describing what they are experiencing.
What is a cast of characters?
A list of all the characters with roles in the story.
Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb. Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went. Mary went. Mary went. And everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go.
It followed her to school one day, school one day, school one day. It followed her to school one day, which was against the rule.
It made the children laugh and play, laugh and play, laugh and play. It made the children laugh and play to see the lamb at school.
Mary brought her lamb to school and all the children enjoyed it.
Violet creeped around the corner with a playful smile. A long tail flicked from behind the next wall. She slowly snuck up and grabbed the tail. There was an angry hiss, and the next thing she knew, there was a stinging scratch on her hand.
What animal did Violet sneak up on? Give a line from the text that supports your answer.
A cat.
"There was an angry hiss, and the next thing she knew, there was a stinging scratch on her hand."
"A long tail flicked from behind the next wall."
Imagine you are reading a story about the Galveston Hurricane, but it is told in the 1st person. Why might the author choose to write the story this way instead of just giving us facts on the hurricane?
It connects the reader to the events in a more personal way and makes the story more interesting or relatable.
What are stage directions?
The words that tell the characters how to act.
There are eight planets in the solar system, but Earth is the most unique. It's different from the others because it has abundant fresh water, a good balance of gaseous elements, and is neither too far not too close to the sun. These all allow for Earth to have life, something the other planets can't have.
Earth is unique because it is able to sustain life.
Today was a special day. Martin walked down the stairs with excitement, and looked at the kitchen table expectantly. There he saw a gift wrapped in bright colors with a card and a balloon that was shaped like a 10. Martin gleefully opened his present. It was a special day indeed!
What day was it? Give evidence to support your answer.
Martin's birthday.
"There he saw a gift wrapped in bright colors with a card and a balloon that was shaped like a 10."
"Maria glared at the boy on the other end of the rope as she pulled. She just knew she would win!
But the boy was thinking the same thing as they continued their tug-of-war. He was sure that Maria wasn't strong enough!"
How does 3rd person point of view help us understand what multiple characters are thinking?
Because it isn't told by someone in the story (using I, me, and my), we are able to see other characters' perspectives about what is going on.
[She opens the door and slowly sticks her head out.]
What is this line for?
To direct the character on how to act. They're stage directions.