Main Ideas and Supporting Details

Main Ideas and Supporting Details : 

Main Ideas and Supporting Details

What’s the main idea? : 

What’s the main idea?

A paragraph is a group of related sentences about a single topic: : 

A paragraph is a group of related sentences about a single topic: MAIN IDEA: the point that the whole paragraph makes DETAILS: the sentences that explain the main idea

Then ask yourself:What does the author want us to know about the main idea? : 

Then ask yourself:What does the author want us to know about the main idea? To find the main idea, ask yourself: “Who or what is this paragraph about?”

General vs. Specific : 

General vs. Specific The main idea in a paragraph is a general idea. In contrast, the supporting information in a paragraph is made up of specific ideas and details. To improve your skill at finding main ideas, you need to practice distinguishing between general and specific ideas. The general idea includes all the specific ideas.

Check It Out… : 

Check It Out… See if you can identify the general word in each group. A) ants, cockroaches, mosquitoes, insects B) geology, science, chemistry, biology Answers and Explanations A) The general idea is "insects" because it includes all of the others as examples. B) The general idea is "science" because it includes all of the others as examples.

Which are general? : 

Which are general? milk, coffee, beverage, juice, iced tea dog, poodle, collie, boxer cartoons, news, sports, tv shows dog, cat, mouse chipmunk, animals

Finding the Main Idea : 

Finding the Main Idea Locate the Topic--person, place, object, idea Locate the Most General Sentence--the topic sentence Topic Sentence First (usually) Topic Sentence Last (second in frequency) Topic Sentence in the Middle Study the Details—all the sentences in a paragraph must relate/support/explain the main idea.

Types of Supporting Details : 

Types of Supporting Details Examples, Illustrations Facts and Statistics Reasons Incident Descriptive Details Steps or Procedures Comparison or Contrast

Types of Supporting Details : 

Types of Supporting Details Finding the Main Idea and the Supporting Details will make it easier for you to understand what the author of the paragraph is saying. In this lesson, you will get practice finding the Main Idea and the Supporting Details.