Lesson: Main Idea (fiction), Lesson 9

Edward W. Brooke Charter School

Problems in Fiction Unit

Mini-Lesson: Readers can use the title and the back blurb to figure out the problem.

Materials:

• Book Baggies with leveled fiction books
• Pinky and Rex and the New Baby (or any other book that has a foreshadowing title and back blurb)
• Pinky and Rex and the New Neighbors (or any other book that has a foreshadowing title and back blurb)
  

Connection: Yesterday you learned that you can use the problem chart  if you have trouble figuring out the problem of a story. Another thing you can do is to look at the title and the back blurb for hints.  

Teach: Sometimes problems can be hard to find. If you have trouble, you can look for clues in the title and back blurb.  Let me show you what I mean. (Hold up the book, Pinky and Rex and the New Baby or any other book that has a foreshadowing title and back blurb). The title of this book says something about a new baby. Let me read the back blurb. It says, “Rex’s parents are adopting a baby, and Rex doesn’t like the idea at all.” There’s our answer right there. The problem in this book is that Rex is not happy about the fact that he is about to get a new sister. Did you notice how quickly I figured out the problem by reading the title and back blurb?

Active Engagement: Hold up the book, Pinky and Rex and the New Neighbors. Read the title and back blurb, then instruct  students to  tell their partner what they think the problem is.

Link: Today and everyday, if you have trouble figuring out the problem, you look for clues in the title and back blurb.

Share: Who used the title and back blurb of their book to figure out the problem? Remember to try this strategy whenever you have trouble identifying the problem of your book.