In my opinion, working with main idea can be one of the most frustrating activities! Sometimes students just can't see the big picture. This intervention series brought success for my 5th and 6th graders so I consider it a winner!
These first two files are a station I used at the computers. They wrote their answers on paper or a white board and could scroll up and down through the pictures at their own pace. There are 5 sets of pictures on each one. The first five are pretty straight forward, and the second five start to get a tiny bit trickier because I cropped some of the pictures. They were to look at the sets of pictures and then write a main idea for the whole set.
These first two files are a station I used at the computers. They wrote their answers on paper or a white board and could scroll up and down through the pictures at their own pace. There are 5 sets of pictures on each one. The first five are pretty straight forward, and the second five start to get a tiny bit trickier because I cropped some of the pictures. They were to look at the sets of pictures and then write a main idea for the whole set.
main_idea_pictures.docx |
main_idea_pictures2.docx |
After we discussed main idea and details and made an anchor chart to reinforce our thoughts, we completed a sort. The sort was a freebie from TPT and can be found here. I liked this one because it consisted of three details and one main idea which is what STAAR tends to do. We used that as a spring board for our discussion of answering Main Idea questions on STAAR.
For STAAR, I like to teach the strategy of using highlighters or tally marks to determine the best answer. That looks something like this:
In the picture above, I used a paragraph from a STAAR passage and typed it out breaking it up sentence by sentence.
Below, I took the answer choices and put each in a box. I like this concept because it gives room to write proof or take notes about the answer choices if needed. Once we have practiced this way a couple of times, then I have them try with a "normal" STAAR style.
I use a lower grade's STAAR when practicing like this with intervention groups.
Below, I took the answer choices and put each in a box. I like this concept because it gives room to write proof or take notes about the answer choices if needed. Once we have practiced this way a couple of times, then I have them try with a "normal" STAAR style.
I use a lower grade's STAAR when practicing like this with intervention groups.
The numbers in the above picture correlate to how many sentences connected to that answer choice.
I think this gives students who may struggle with this concept a concrete way to help them choose an answer. Attached below is how I used an old 4th or 5th grade STAAR to help me teach this.
I think this gives students who may struggle with this concept a concrete way to help them choose an answer. Attached below is how I used an old 4th or 5th grade STAAR to help me teach this.
2014burglar.docx |
2014burglar_paragraph.docx |
2014burglar_answer_page.docx |
I like to use this same concept for summary questions on tests.
We also practiced Main Idea and Details with an outline. I chose a passage for each grade level based on the reading levels of the groups. For 5th grade, our passage was about the Northern Lights and 6th grade we went with Bioluminescent Animals. Both were very interesting topics that neither group knew much about. Because I figured there would be a lack of prior knowledge, I found a couple of videos for each topic to start the groups with.
Videos:
Northern Lights 1
Northern Lights 2
Bioluminescence 1
Bioluminescence 2
From there, we discussed vocabulary that might trip us up and then read the passages. While reading, we would stop with each paragraph and come up with a couple words/a phrase that described that paragraph and then write it out to the side or in a graphic organizer. Then we moved to the outline where we used the passage to find the missing details. Lastly, I created a sort by using sentences from the passages. They sorted the sentences into Main Idea or Details. The passages came from Spectrum Reading books and then I created the outlines. Those are found below.
We also practiced Main Idea and Details with an outline. I chose a passage for each grade level based on the reading levels of the groups. For 5th grade, our passage was about the Northern Lights and 6th grade we went with Bioluminescent Animals. Both were very interesting topics that neither group knew much about. Because I figured there would be a lack of prior knowledge, I found a couple of videos for each topic to start the groups with.
Videos:
Northern Lights 1
Northern Lights 2
Bioluminescence 1
Bioluminescence 2
From there, we discussed vocabulary that might trip us up and then read the passages. While reading, we would stop with each paragraph and come up with a couple words/a phrase that described that paragraph and then write it out to the side or in a graphic organizer. Then we moved to the outline where we used the passage to find the missing details. Lastly, I created a sort by using sentences from the passages. They sorted the sentences into Main Idea or Details. The passages came from Spectrum Reading books and then I created the outlines. Those are found below.
northern_lights_outline.docx |
bioluminescence_outline.docx |
bioluminescent_main_idea_sort.docx |