Grasping the main idea of a text is like discovering the beating heart of the story. You know, it’s that core message and central theme that ties everything together. But if we are being real, teaching it can sometimes feel like cracking a tricky, potentially unsolvable puzzle. Don’t worry, though—this post will walk you through 4 easy strategies for teaching main idea that work!
What is the Main Idea of the Text?
For example, if the story is about the many ways a fox outsmarts some tricky crows, the main idea is that the fox is really smart. It’s the most important thing to remember about the story.
Sometimes it can take some detective-type strategies to teach kids how to find the main idea of a text. Plus, there are different texts to look at: a sentence, a paragraph, a story and a nonfiction text are a few different texts.
4 Easy Strategies for Teaching Main Idea to Struggling Learners:
1. Hunt for the Topic Sentence:
One of the easiest ways to identify the text’s main idea is to teach students how to find the topic sentence.
We do this by spending some time defining topic sentences and practicing how to identify them.
Explain how they are similar to the concept of main idea- that a topic sentence is a sentence that introduces the main point or central idea of a paragraph or section of text. It serves as a guide for the reader, letting them know what to expect in the upcoming content.
It’s also important to teach students that while the main idea is often found at the beginning or end of a paragraph, it can also be in the middle or oftentimes woven throughout the text. Go through how finding the main idea connects to the author’s style and the organization of the writing, or the text structure.
We have found that these topic sentence task cards are a simple and direct way to help students fully grasp this concept.
2. Ask These 3 Questions about the Text:
Have students ask the following questions while reading a text:
1. What is the topic?
Identifying the big subject matter of the text lays the groundwork for understanding the main idea. It’s zooming out of the text to see what it’s about in general.
2. What is the author specifically telling me about this topic?
Going a step further, students should delve into what aspect or angle of the topic the author is addressing. This helps them narrow down and pinpoint the specific information being presented.
3. Why is this important for us to know?
Understanding the significance of the information is crucial. It prompts students to consider the relevance and purpose of the text.
This framework helps guide students toward the main idea and is another great place to start and look at key details.
3. Look for Repeated Words and Phrases:
When teaching strategies for main idea, we like to give this trick for identifying the main idea of a text- look for any content words or phrases that are repeated throughout the text. When students begin to notice some common keywords, it makes it much easier to find the main idea of an entire text.
4. Look at the Title and Images for Clues:
Another one of the best ways to help kids identify the main idea is to look for obvious clues in the title and any images provided. If it’s a story or nonfiction text with a title, then it was given that particular title for a reason.
For example, if an informational text is called “The Strongest Cat” chances are that the main idea is going to be about a specific cat that is super strong. There will probably be details in the text to back this up.
Activities for Understanding Main Idea:
Now that we’ve gone through strategies for teaching main idea, check out some fun activities to solidify student understanding.
Creating Main Idea Bags
Main idea bags are a creative and hands-on teaching tool designed to help students grasp the concept of main idea and supporting details. They are fun because they provide a tactile way for students to understand how details relate to and support the main idea of a text.
Here is how you make a” Main Idea Bag:”
- Choose a main idea or central concept for the bag. This could be a topic from a book, a historical event, a scientific concept, etc. For example, if the main idea is “Underwater Ecosystems,” the bag should represent this theme.
- Collect small objects or pictures that represent supporting details related to the main idea. In the example of “Underwater Ecosystems,” supporting details could include items like toy fish, shells, seaweed, etc. Each item should somehow relate to the main idea.
- Get a bag, like a brown paper grocery bag. For the first few attempts, we recommend starting by giving the students the main idea. So, write or attach a label to the bag indicating the main idea. In our example, the label would say “Underwater Ecosystems.”
- Bring students up to take an item out of the bag. Have them explain how the item in the bag relates to the main idea. For example, they might say, “This toy fish represents the different species that live in underwater ecosystems.”
Interactive Reading
While reading aloud, pause occasionally and ask the students to share what they think the main idea of the text is up to that point. You can also use picture books with clear, simple storylines.
Matching Game
Create a simple game where students match a short paragraph with its main idea. This can be done with pictures or written sentences.
Drawing It Out
After reading a story, have the students draw a picture that represents the main idea. This reinforces their understanding in a creative way.
Main Idea Resources:
Understanding the main topic of what you are reading is one of the most important skills for reading. These resources include some of the strategies for teaching main idea that will help make this concept more CONCRETE for your students!
FREE Topic Sentence Worksheets
Differentiated Topic Sentence Activities
Summarizing Nonfiction Texts (includes graphic organizers!)
We hope you are able to put these effective teaching main idea strategies to use!
