Unit: Main Ideas in Non-fiction

Readers can use the headings to figure out what the author is trying to teach them.

Readers can use the pictures and captions to figure out what the author is trying to teach them.

Readers think about the heading of each section and the section to figure out what they author is teaching you in that section.

Readers can sort main ideas into those that are too big, too small, or just right.

Authors use supporting details to give more information about the main idea.

Readers use supporting details in pictures to find the main idea.

Readers use details in text to find the main idea.

Readers study the diagrams and connect them to the main idea of the text.

Readers study maps and connect them to the main idea of the text.

Readers study charts and graphs and connect them to the main idea of the text.

Readers need to understand what each section is about.

Readers think about what the author has taught them in each section and use that information to tell what the text is all about. This is the main idea.

Readers can use the conclusion or the final section to figure out what the author is trying to teach them.

Readers predict the main idea by reading the introduction. Sometimes the introduction is written before the title.

Readers find the main idea by answering a question in the title.

Readers revise their thinking about the main idea if they notice the main idea is too narrow.

Readers understand the key words in an article to fully understand the main idea.

Writers organize their writing to help the reader figure out the main idea. Writers sometimes include a glossary that helps you find key words easily by placing them in alphabetical order.

Writers help their readers understand the text by organizing their text in logical ways. Introductions, tables of contents, headings, and paragraph divisions are tools that they use to help their readers. Readers decide what a paragraph is all about (the MI of the paragraph).

Writers help their readers understand the text by organizing their text in logical ways. Introductions, tables of contents, headings, and paragraph divisions are tools that they use to help their readers. Readers decide what a paragraph is all about (the topic of the paragraph). They make sure the topic of the paragraph isn’t too big or too small an idea.