Hey! What’s the Big Idea?

Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling

• On the top of chart paper write the headings “Before,” “During,” and “After.”
• Explain to students that it is important to look for clues before actually reading by looking at the text and the different graphic features. For nonfiction texts these clues include: the title, headings, table of contents, pictures and labels, captions, graphs/charts, and words in bold. Write these ideas under the “Before” heading.
• Explain to students that during the reading process it is good to stop and think about what the author is trying to tell you and to see what words are being repeated. Write these ideas under the “During” heading.
• Explain to students that after reading you can ask yourself, “What is the author trying to teach me?” “What is this text mostly about?” and “What details support the main idea?” Tell students that details are the key points that support the main idea. Write these ideas under the “After” heading.
• Ask students to share any other clues they might use to determine the main idea of a text. Add their ideas to the chart paper.

Guided Practice

• Project the worksheet John Muir: Father of the National Parks.
• Before reading the nonfiction text, ask students to look at the text to search for clues. Encourage students to look at the chart paper to help remind them of clues to look for before reading.
• Ask students to share any clues they found.
• Read John Muir: Father of the National Parks aloud and ask students to follow along silently.
• Pause throughout the text to ask students, “What words are being repeated?” and “What do you think the author is trying to tell you so far?”
• Finish reading the text.
• Ask students to think about what the main idea of this text is.
• Tell students to turn and talk to a neighbor to share their ideas. Ask students to show you a thumbs up when they are ready to share. Call on volunteers.
• Write the main idea on the board (e.g., "The main idea is that John Muir was a naturalist who supports wildlife conservation and preservation.").
• Call on students to share some details that support the main idea. Write three supporting details on the board (e.g., "He wrote articles and books calling for Yosemite to be made into a national park so it could be protected.").

Independent working time

• Tell students that they will now practice using clues to independently identify the main idea of a nonfiction text.
• Project the worksheet Days of the Dead Around the World.
• Read Days of the Dead Around the World aloud and ask students to follow along silently.
• Ask students to write the main idea of this text and three supporting details using complete sentences on lined paper.