Design for Learning

Instructor: Chandler McAlister

Lesson Title: Main Idea
Curriculum Area: Reading

Grade Level/Cooperating Teacher: 4th/Watkins

Date: 4/14/15
Estimated Time: 1 hour

Standards Connection:

11.) Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details;
summarize the text.
Learning Objective(s):
When given three paragraphs the student will be able to describe the main idea with three
supporting details getting no more than 1 incorrect.
Learning Objective(s) stated in kid-friendly language:
Today we are going to review what main idea is.
Evaluation of Learning Objective(s):
The students will be given a worksheet with three paragraphs. They will determine the main idea
and give three supporting details. They will be given a graphic organizer to help them organize
their answers. The graphic organizer they will be given will be used earlier in the lesson to ensure
that misconceptions of the graphic do not cause issues when given the assessment.
Engagement:
The teacher will tell the students that they will be reviewing main idea and will practice finding
the main idea in a variety of different activities. She will show them a main idea Brain Pop video
to engage them. Today we are going to review what main idea is. On the ACT Aspire you are
going to have to find the main idea of different stories. Today we are going to become experts on
main idea! Lets watch this video for a fun, fast review of main idea. Pay close attention to the
information the video gives you. It will be important later. Teacher will play the video. What did
you notice about the video?
Learning Design:

I. Teaching:
Can someone tell me what a main idea is? Thats right; a main idea is what the story is
mainly about. I will tell you that many people get theme or the moral of the story,
confused with main idea. We are going to talk more about theme tomorrow though. We
just watched a short video on main idea. Lets take a look at the paragraph that Moby
wrote. We are going to look at it and break it down together. Teacher will pass out the
worksheet. Ok, can someone read this paragraph out loud for me? Thank you, Karen.
Great job! If you look at the graphic organizer I gave you there is a space for main idea,
and three details. The details support the main idea. They go into deeper detail about the
main idea. Lets work together to fill in the graphic organizer. Someone tell me what the
main idea is. Good, the main idea is the first sentence, how rollercoasters move. Lets
all write that into our graphic organizer. Now, we need three supporting details about
how rollercoasters move. Can anyone tell me what he wrote to support his main idea?
The second, third, and fourth sentence describe the main idea perfectly. What did he do
last? Thats right, the last sentence isnt a main idea sentence or a detail sentence but it
wraps it all together, similar to how I wanted you all to write a closure paragraph on

your expository essays last week. I want you to realize, many times you will find the main
idea in the first sentence if the text is written well. In stories though, this is not always the
case. Dont assume that the first sentence you read is the main idea and the rest of the
sentences are the supporting details. The main idea is what the story is mainly about. The
supporting details are ideas that support the main idea. So lets look back at our graphic
organizer and I am going to ask you some questions. Do the supporting details tell you
how roller coasters move? How? Yes, since the three sentences tell you more specific
details then they tell you how rollercoasters move. Lets look at a passage on the board.
The passage says, Bobby was a good student. He always listened to the teacher. He
always turned his work in on time. Sometimes he was mean to his peers. He was never
late to school. What is the main idea of this passage? Yes, Bobby is a good student is the
main idea. What are the supporting details? Oh my! Did you notice that one of the
supporting details does not support the main idea? Should we take this out of our writing
then? Yes we should. I think you have the idea. I am going to give you a chance to write
your own in just a moment. Someone tell me what main idea is. Now tell me what
supporting detail is.
II. Opportunity for Practice:
I want you to have another opportunity to write. I only want you to write one paragraph
today though. You are going to write one main idea paragraph. Look back at how Moby
organized his paragraph. 1st he wrote a sentence to tell you the main idea. Then he
described three details that support his main idea. Finally he wrote one final sentence to
wrap it all together. Lets first write one together. We are going to write a paragraph
about our school. Lets start our sentence out by introducing the main idea. Does anyone
have a suggestion? We are writing about Tarrant. Good lets write Tarrant is a great
school to attend. Now we need our first supporting detail. Why is Tarrant a great school
to attend? Tarrant IS is a great school that pushes you to be the best person you can be.
Great lets come up with another supporting detail. Does anyone have an idea? The
teachers at Tarrant care about our success. Tarrant is a place I feel safe. Great
supporting details. Finally we need to wrap up our paragraph with one last sentence.
Does anyone have an idea? I cant imagine going to any other school. Tarrant IS is the
place to be. Fabulous. Look at how easy that was. Now, tell me, what is the main idea of
our paragraph? Tarrant being a great school is the main idea. Now, someone tell me
what the supporting details are. Awesome, yall! Now I want you to try this on your own.
Remember you only have to write one paragraph and today I am going to give you the
prompt. I want you to write about if you were a super hero. You need to introduce your
main idea. For example, I may write If I were a super hero I would be able to do really
cool things. Then my supporting details would be about all the cool things I could do.
Then I would wrap up my paragraph. You are going to have seven minutes to do this. I
want you to think and write fast. Make sure you are writing clearly so that I can read it.
When I give you your paper you may begin. Raise your hand when you are done and I
will collect it. Set a timer and allow the students to write their paragraphs. Would anyone
like to share their paragraph with the class? Great, thank you for sharing. When you
come to share please read your paragraph and then tell us what your main idea is as well
as one supporting detail.
III. Assessment
We have practiced reading paragraphs with main idea and writing paragraphs with main
idea. I want you to show me how much you learned today by reading three different
passages. You are going to fill in a graphic organizer with the main idea and three
supporting details. This should not take you long. I want you to focus on your work.
When you receive the passage I want you to read and begin. You have 15 minutes.

IV. Closure:
The teacher will go over the answers to the assessment. Lets take a look at the
assessment. Will someone read the first passage to me? Great, now turn and talk to your
table about what the main idea is. Okay, table 1 please share with us what you thought.
Repeat and re-teach if necessary until you have gone over the entire assessment.
Materials and Resources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9gu9tw1Z7s
BrainPop Graphic Organizer
Assessment Passages
Document Camera
Pencils
Composition Notebooks

Differentiation Strategies (including plans for individual learners):

Extend: Have students use a story/novel of their choice to determine the theme of a story.
Re-teach: Meet with the students in a small group to determine their misconceptions. Using a
passage or two go through them together to see if small group instruction will help them grasp the
concept.
Data Analysis:
The students did a great job on this. I found that some students had a hard time determining
theme and take a general statement out of a passage with details. 15 out of 23 students were
considered proficient. The remaining students need re-teaching and extra scaffolding during
reading lessons.
Reflection:
I feel like their failures in this were partially my own fault. Their assessment had many passages
that they main idea was not in the first sentences like the passages I used to teach with. I should
have used what I did, but then gone a little deeper to help them determine a main idea that wasnt
as obvious. The next thing I should have done is provide more scaffolding during practice section.
They had a hard time being creative in their writing and I could have given them a main idea and
they write supporting details or vice versa. I could have given them a choice in prompts as well.
The students did enjoy the Brain Pop. I was afraid it was going to be too young for them but I
know they enjoyed it and it helped them to connect to the lesson.

Samford University
Design for Learning