Main Idea

1
Main Idea

• LA.910.1.7.3 The student will determine the main
  idea or essential message in grade-level or
  higher texts through inferring, paraphrasing,
  summarizing, and identifying relevant details

2
Lesson 2 Guided Practice

• Review Lesson 1
• Stated, Implied, and Inferred Main Idea
• Supporting Details
• How to Find the Main Idea (stated implied)
• Main Idea Graphic Organizer
• Visual Clues for Main Idea

3
Strategy

• A good strategy is to read the questions before
  reading the passage. This will ensure that you
  are clear about the task at hand before you
  actually read the selection. Lets look at
  question 1.

4
What is this question asking?

• 1. What is the main idea of paragraph one?
• Before pumpkins, people used to carve things like
  potatoes, turnips, and beets.
• Stingy Jack carved a pumpkin and placed a flame
  inside to help him see has he wandered in the
  darkness.
• Stingy Jack was doomed to roam in darkness
  forever because he played tricks on everyone.
• The Jack O Lanterns we carve today, originated
  from an old Irish folklore.

5
Question 1

• The reader is being asked to determine the main
  idea of paragraph 1.
• This is something that you, the reader, will be
  looking for in the article.
• As you find this information, underline it.

6
What is this question asking?

• 2. What is the main idea of paragraph two?
•  
• In Ireland and Scotland, they called their
  lanterns Jack O Lantern after Stingy Jack.
• It was believed that spirits could return to the
  land of the living on Halloween.
• Jack O Lanterns were carved and lit to keep
  wandering spirits from entering their homes and
  towns on Halloween.
• Lanterns with scary faces were carved and a hot
  piece of coal was placed inside them.

7
Question 2

• This question asks the reader to find the main
  idea of paragraph 2.
• As you read, look for clue words that indicate
  the answer to this question. Circle the details
  that seem related to question 2.

8
Lets Read!

• Look for information in question and try to find
  the main idea, as well as answers to the
  questions we read.
• I will read the article with you now, modeling
  how a good reader would attack this challenge.

9
Underline the main idea.
Did you know that before people began carving
pumpkins to make Jack O Lanterns, they used to
carve other things like potatoes, turnips, and
beets? It all began with an old Irish folklore
about a man called Stingy Jack who played tricks
on everyone. Because of his trickery, Jacks soul
was doomed to roam in the darkness forever. Jack
supposedly carved a turnip and placed a flame
inside it to help him see as he wandered through
the dark. The Irish called him Jack of the
Lantern.
10
Underline the main idea.
Did you know that before people began carving
pumpkins to make Jack O Lanterns, they used to
carve other things like potatoes, turnips, and
beets? It all began with an old Irish folklore
about a man called Stingy Jack who played tricks
on everyone. Because of his trickery, Jacks soul
was doomed to roam in the darkness forever. Jack
supposedly carved a turnip and placed a flame
inside it to help him see as he wandered through
the dark. The Irish called him Jack of the
Lantern.
11
Circle details that seems related to the main
idea.
In Ireland and Scotland, people believed that
spirits could return to the land of the living on
Halloween. To keep wandering spirits like Stingy
Jack from entering their homes, people made their
own lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips
or potatoes and placing a hot piece of coal
inside to light them. They called their lanterns
Jack O Lanterns after Stingy Jack. People in
England also carved their own versions of Jack O
Lanterns out of beets to keep spirits away on
this night. They believed that the lanterns would
light the way for the spirits to move out of
their town, keeping them safe until next
Halloween.
12
Circle details that seems related to the main
idea.
In Ireland and Scotland, people believed that
spirits could return to the land of the living on
Halloween. To keep wandering spirits like Stingy
Jack from entering their homes, people made their
own lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips
or potatoes and placing a hot piece of coal
inside to light them. They called their lanterns
Jack O Lanterns after Stingy Jack. People in
England also carved their own versions of Jack O
Lanterns out of beets to keep spirits away on
this night. They believed that the lanterns would
light the way for the spirits to move out of
their town, keeping them safe until next
Halloween.
13
Question 1
What is the main idea of paragraph one?   A.
Before pumpkins, people used to carve things like
potatoes, turnips, and beets. B. Stingy Jack
carved a pumpkin and placed a flame inside to
help him see has he wandered in the
darkness. C. Stingy Jack was doomed to roam in
darkness forever because he played tricks on
everyone. D. The Jack O Lanterns we carve
today, originated from an old Irish folklore.

• A is stated in paragraph 1, but is not about
  the main idea.
• B is not the main idea of the paragraph.
• C a fact stated about Stingy Jack in the
  article, but it is not the main idea of paragraph
  1.
• D is the main idea of paragraph 1.

14
Question 2

• 2. What is the main idea of paragraph two?
•  
• A. In Ireland and Scotland, they called their
  lanterns Jack O Lantern after Stingy Jack.
• B. It was believed that spirits could return to
  the land of the living on Halloween.
• Jack O Lanterns were carved and lit to keep
  wandering spirits from entering their
• homes and towns on Halloween.
• D. Lanterns with scary faces were carved and a
  hot piece of coal was placed inside them.

• A is an accurate statement, but not the main
  idea of paragraph 2.
• B is an accurate statement, but it is a
  supporting detail.
• C is a main point being made in the paragraph,
  but lets check out D to be sure.
• D is also a supporting detail.