Reading skills

1. Main Idea&
Supporting
Details

2. Main Idea
•
•
•
Themain idea is the “big point”
or the most importantidea that
the writer is communicating to
the reader.
Often the reader can find the
main idea just by looking atthe
title.
For example, apassagetitled:
“Why Students Should HaveLess
Homework” will include reasons
for that idea.

3. • Readthis short paragraph:
Engineers create wealth for society.So,
tennis is agame and the resources of
the earth are scarce. Haveyou gone
mad?Thusthe only solution is to
educate the public on being socially
responsible.
DID THIS MAKESENSE?????
What’s thePoint?

4. • It didn’t have aMAINIDEA!
• We would go crazy if texts were written
like this all thetime.
• It was difficult to understand because it
was made of different ideas that did not
link. There wasno commonthread.
• Thegood news is that normal passages
have main ideas!
OFCOURSE NOT!

5. MainIdea
• Main Idea - is like the heart of the text or
aparagraph.
• It is the controllingidea.
• All the other supporting details in the
text or within aparagraph should tellus
more about the mainidea.

6. Ask Yourself….
WHOor WHAT
is this passage
about?”

7. TheTopic Sentence
•
•
Many paragraphs have topic
sentences that indicate themain
idea.
Find the topic sentence inthis
paragraph:
Homelesspeople have many
problems. In winter, it’s hardto
stay warm and itgets too hot in
summer. It’s also hard to keep
things safe without ahome.
Worst is the lack of privacy.

8. SupportingDetails
• Supporting details prove the
value of the main idea. What
are they here?
Homelesspeople have
many problems. In winter, it’s
hard to stay warm and it gets
too hot in summer. It’s also
hard to keep things safe
without a home. Worst is the
lack of privacy.

9. SupportingDetails
Homelesspeoplehavemany problems. In
winter, it’s hard to staywarm andit getstoo
hot in summer. It’s alsohard to keepthings
safewithout a home. Worst isthe lackof
privacy.
Thesupporting details are in bold. Thereare
THREEpoints to support the topic
sentence/main idea.

10. • Sometimes, aparagraph hasastated main idea
usually in the topic sentence. This meansthe
paragraph “says” what the main ideais.
• Sometimes, aparagraph doesn’t have astated
main idea, but hasan “implied” main idea. This
meansthat you need to state the main idea in
your own words becauseitdoesn’t actually “say”
it in theparagraph.
• Let’s take alook at twoexamples…
Stated andImplied Main Idea

11. “The students had fun on their field trip. They
visited the Marine Museum. Theywere able
to tour a tug boat and they bought souvenirs
in the gift shop. After the tours they ate a
picnic lunch in the park and played withtheir
friends.”
Theunderlined portion of the sentenceis the
main idea and is stated for thereader.

12. “Samantha, I can’t eat or sleep when you are
gone. I need to hear your soothing voiceand
seeyour lovely smile. I missthat special way
you sing. Pleasecomehome soon.”
In this paragraph, the main idea isn’tstated.
However, by reading the paragraph, thereader
candetermine the main idea: Theauthor
missesSamantha.

13. Toomuch information…
• All of the sentences in aparagraphshould
support the main idea of that paragraph.
• Information that does not support the main
idea does not belong in thesameparagraph.
• Takea lookat the example onthe next slide.
Findthe “extra” information that doesnot
supportthe main idea…

14. “Maria offered to help her mother clean the
house. Shevacuumed the living room and
dusted the furniture. Shepicked up the toys
in the playroom. Sheate a ham sandwich for
lunch. Then,shemopped the kitchen floor.”
Whichsentencedoesnot
supportthe mainidea?

15. “Maria offered to help her mother clean the
house. Shevacuumed the living room and
dusted the furniture. Shepicked up thetoys
in the playroom. Sheateahamsandwichfor
lunch. Then,shemopped the kitchen floor.”
Whichsentencedoesnot
supportthe mainidea?

16. Findthe sentencethat doesnot
supportthe main idea…
“Winter provides the opportunity for many
outdoor activities. Many people enjoy ice
skating on apond. Swimming in the pond in
summer canalso be fun. Skiingcan be a
thrilling experience too. After anew snowfall,
you can even build asnowman!”

17. Findthe sentencethat doesnot
supportthe main idea…
“Winter provides the opportunity for many
outdoor activities. Many people enjoy ice
skating on apond. Swimminginthepondin
summer canalsobe fun. Skiingcan be a
thrilling experience too. After anew snowfall,
you can even build asnowman!”

18. Youtry it…
“The rain forest is home to many creatures.
Monkeys, toucans and macaws live in the rain
forest. Butterflies and anteaters also live inthe
rain forest.”
What isthe main idea?
A)Sloths and tapirs are othercreatures
that live in therain forest.
B) Therain forest is home to manycreatures.
C)Monkeys, toucans and macawslive in the rainforest.

19. Youtry it…
“The rain forest is home to many creatures.
Monkeys, toucans and macaws live in the rain
forest. Butterflies and anteaters also live inthe
rain forest.”
What isthe main idea?
A)Sloths and tapirs are othercreatures
that live in therain forest.
B) The rain forest is home to many creatures.
C)Monkeys, toucans and macawslive in the rainforest.

20. Tryanother…
“Soccer players learn many skills when playing
soccer.Soccerplayers learn how to dribble and
passthe ball. Theyalso learn how to control the
ball sothey can eventually score. Most importantly,
soccerplayers learn how to work together with
their teammates.”
What isthe main idea?
A)Theyalso learn how to controlthe
ball sothey can eventually score.
B) Soccerplayers learn how to dribble.
C)Soccerplayers learn many skills when playingsoccer.

21. Tryanother…
“Soccer players learn many skills when playing
soccer.Soccerplayers learn how to dribble and
passthe ball. Theyalso learn how to control the
ball sothey can eventually score. Most importantly,
soccerplayers learn how to work together with
their teammates.”
What isthe main idea?
A)Theyalso learn how to controlthe
ball sothey can eventually score.
B) Soccerplayers learn how to dribble.
C) Soccer players learn many skills when playing soccer.

22. Let’sdoone more…
“Swimming is one thing that can be done atthe
beach. Snorkeling is another thing that can be
enjoyed. Playing beach volleyball can bea lot of
fun. It is also fun to look for shells. Somepeople
simply like to sunbathe.”
What is the implied mainidea?

23. Let’sdoone more…
“Swimming is one thing that can be done atthe
beach. Snorkeling is another thing that can be
enjoyed. Playing beach volleyball can bea lot of
fun. It is also fun to look for shells. Somepeople
simply like to sunbathe.”
There are many fun
things to do at the
beach.
What is the implied mainidea?