Main+Idea

=**GETTING THE GIST** = In reading groups, give students newspaper articles from a classroom set about the turn of the century. Have students partner read the article, and then together, write down the gist in ten words or less. As a group, have each set of partners share their gist, and then discuss and compare all of their work. As a group, use the students' work to create one big gist that focuses on the main idea of the passage. Then, ask the students if any of their work may have contained supporting details. Talk about how these support the main idea.

=CROSSING OUT DETAILS = Give students a hand-out with a small reading selection on it. Have them read the selection individually and then either work alone or in pairs to complete the activity. Students should carefully go through the selection and cross through any words that are not part of the main idea. Using what words they have not crossed out at the end of the activity, students should write one sentence describing the main idea of the selection. For my standard, I would simply choose a selection on the topic of the turn of the century in America.

=GETTING THE BIG IDEA =

[|Resource Room]

I would use this template, but I would replace the given words with specifics relating to each element in my standard. For example, on the day that we study inventors, one group might include words like: aviation, Kitty-Hawk, and 59 seconds. The answer would be: the Wright brothers.