Main Idea

Kindergarten Unit »

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Lesson 1
Identify and describe what a book is mainly about using the title, text, and pictures
  • Amazing Tigers!
  • Ladybugs
Lesson 2
Identify pictures that describe what the book is mainly about
  • Amazing Tigers!
  • Farm Animals
  • Amazing Whales!
Lesson 3
Create a title for a book using textual details
  • Amazing Gorillas!
  • In the Wild: Leopards

1st Grade Unit »

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Lesson 1
Choose the best main idea
Lesson 2
Identify and describe the main idea of a nonfiction book using the title
Identify and describe the main idea of a nonfiction book using textual details
  • Animal Hearing
  • Animal Sight
Lesson 3
Identify and describe the main idea of a fiction book using the title
Identify and describe the main idea of a fiction book using textual details
  • The Wedding
  • Wemberly Worried
  • Princess Lily

2nd Grade Unit »

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Lesson 1
Identify and describe the main idea of a nonfiction text using section headings and textual details
  • The Shark: Silent Hunter
Lesson 2
Identify and describe the main idea of a chapter in a fiction text using chapter titles and textual details
  • Pinky and Rex and the Perfect Pumpkin
Lesson 3
Identify and describe the main idea of a chapter in a fiction text using textual evidence
Use the main idea to create a chapter title for a chapter in a fiction text
  • Pinky and Rex and the Perfect Pumpkin

Unit Reading Passages

  • Celebrate National Nutrition Month!
  • Is It Time For a New Toothbrush?
  • Let's Explore Caves!
  • Now That's a Big Bird!
  • Where Does Food Go?

3rd Grade Unit »

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Lesson 1
Identify the main idea of a paragraph using the first or last sentence
Lesson 2
Identify the main idea of a passage using the first or last sentence of each paragraph
Lesson 3
Use the main idea of a passage to create a title for the passage

Unit Reading Passages

  • Gasping for Air
  • Leading Lady
  • Saving Hawaiian Monk Seals
  • Trouble in the Amazon
  • Explore Our Solar System

4th Grade Unit »

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Lesson 1
Identify the main idea of a paragraph using the topic sentence of the paragraph
  • Buckle Up?
Lesson 2
Distinguish main details from secondary details in a paragraph
  • Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?

Unit Reading Passages

  • Catch the Breeze
  • Device May Help Blind People See
  • School of Skate
  • Time for Change

5th Grade Unit »

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Main Idea lesson can be found in the following fifth grade units:
Leaf by Leaf:  Autumn Poems
Words with Wings:  A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art

Unit Reading Passages

  • Healing Paws
  • Juiced
  • Leaping Lizards
  • Mammoth Fossil Found
  • Marathon Kids

6th Grade Unit »

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Main Idea lessons can be found in the following sixth grade novel units:
Home of the Brave
Keeping the Night Watch and Chess Rumble

Unit Reading Passages

  • City of Broken Records
  • Heavy Metal
  • New Lives for Old Buses
  • News Shorts Tomb Raiders
  • Pete vs. the Python