Finding the Main Idea Lesson Plan Topic: Main Idea (Explicit Instruction) Grade Level: Grade 6 Resource

e Room Time Estimate: 40 minutes Common Core Learning Standard: 6.RI.2. Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details Learning Objective: Given a lesson on main idea and a passage, students will identify the main idea in a sentence and highlight details in the text that support it. Materials: Traps, Mazes, and Secret Chambers Passage Only in Egypt Passage Pyramids Article Grave Robbers Article Strategy Sheet Highlighter EXPO marker Pencil

Anticipatory Set: Begin discussion on Egyptian pyramids since students are starting to learn about Egypt in Social Studies. Hook: Watch a minute clip on the Secret Chambers of the Great Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt. Model: Hand out the packet of passages. Read the passage, Traps, Mazes, and Secret Chambers as a class. Main Idea: Whats the point of the passage? What is the author trying to tell you? Why should you be able to figure out the main idea of a passage? (this shows that you understand the point of the article, that you get the jist of the passage, for tests, so you can answer people when they ask you what the article youre reading is about)

Hand out strategy sheets. Discuss the steps to finding the main idea. Use self-talk to explain your thinking process. 1) Read the passage 2) Look at the title, topic sentence, concluding sentence, side text, pictures a. Have a visual of a passage with stars next to places you should check 3) Guess the main idea 4) Highlight supporting details 5) Check The author is trying to tell me that pyramids were created to safeguard the pharaohs bodies. This is the main idea. NOT The author is trying to tell me about the pyramids. Well, what about them? The main idea is more than one word. In this example, pyramids would be the topic and the pyramids were created to safeguard the pharaohs bodies would be the main idea. The topic is usually one or two words and the main idea is a sentence telling you something ABOUT the topic. TTYN - What are the 5 steps you should go through when determining the main idea of a passage?

Guided Practice: Read the passage, Only in Egypt. Go through each step as a class. Ask students what they would do for each step and ask them what the next step would be. Allow them to reference the strategy sheets. Put an emphasis on looking at the different parts of the page for clues (title, topic sentence, pictures, etc.). Project 3 choices of main ideas onto the board. Have the students hold up the number of fingers that corresponds to their choice (assessment). Why isnt the main idea Only in Egypt? Why isnt it great supplies of raw materials were needed to build the pyramids? Main Idea: Ancient Egypt was a perfect place to build pyramids.

Read the passage, Pyramids. Go through each step as a class. Ask students what they would do for each step and ask them what the next step would be. Allow them to reference the strategy sheets. Put an emphasis on looking at the different parts of the page for clues (title, topic sentence, pictures, etc.).

Main Idea: The ancient Egyptians built pyramids to hold the royal tombs of their kings during the Old Kingdom.

Independent Practice: Read the passage, Grave Robbers. Students will go through the strategy steps independently, referencing the strategy sheet. Ask students what the main idea is and allow for wait time (assessment). Main Idea: Grave robbing was the most horrible crime in Ancient Egypt. Students will apply this strategy to any passage that is being read in academic classes.

Closure: What are the steps to finding the main idea of a passage? (read, look, guess, highlight, check) When might you use this strategy? (when finding the main idea, tests, when someone asks you what the article youre reading is about) Whats one new thing you learned today Egypt?

Lesson Extensions: The strategy lesson must extend past this lesson in order for it to be effective. Students will expand this strategy from finding the main idea of a shorter passage to that of an entire article. Students will put the strategy sheet in their binder to reference when needed in content area classes.