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Author: Jane Oh
Categories: 3rd Grade, Reading

Understanding the main idea of a paragraph is an important part of the third grade language arts curriculum, but if can be tough for beginning readers. Here's three exercises you can do at home to help your child to see the forest through the trees!

What You Need:

A paragraph from a non-fiction book

Scissors

Paper and pencil

Index cards

 
Guess The Topic

This is a great way to introduce your child to the idea that all texts have supporting details and main ideas, and that supporting details don't tell you the whole story. Write a paragraph for your child that doesn't have a topic sentence. For example, "They are red and sometimes green. The insides are white and sweet. You can eat them cooked or raw." Have your child guess what you're talking about. Then ask her, "Would this have been easier if I had started the paragraph with 'I love apples'?" Explain that stories work the same way.

 

Cutting Out the Main Idea

Photocopy a paragraph from a nonfiction text that your child enjoys. Have your child to cut up the paragraph into separate sentences and mix them all up. Now, ask your child to find the topic sentence. Hint: If it's a sentence that tells about all the other sentences, it's the topic sentence! Then, ask your child to try to put the sentences back in order to create a paragraph that makes sense.

 

Topic Match-up

Write each topic sentence below on a separate index card:

  • Dogs are loyal animals.

  • I love the summer

  • Chocolate isn't good for you.

  • The tooth fairy likes me.