Determining the Topic

1
Determining the Topic

• The first step to reading comprehension

2
Whats a topic?

• The topic is the something or the someone
  that an author writes about.
• It is simply who or what the author is writing
  about.
• The topic is always a word, a phrase, or a name.

It is never written as a sentence because that is
called the topic sentence!
3
How do you find the topic?

• Ask yourself, Who or what is the paragraph
  about?
• Use the title, headings, first sentence, and
  graphics to help you.
• Be precise.

Careful accurately determining the topic is the
key to the main idea of a paragraph.
4
More about the topic

• The topic is called the subject or the subject
  matter.
• Determining the topic is the important first step
  in comprehending any paragraph that you read.
• Finding the topic is not a new skill for you
• When you walk up to a group of friends who
  are talking, you listen a minute to figure who or
  what theyre talking about. In other words, you
  determine the topic of the conversation.
• FACT You are already good at determining the
  topic.

5
Clues to the Topic

• 1. Look for a heading or title.
• 2. Look for words in special print, such as
  bold, italics, or coloror some combination, such
  as bold italics.
• 3. Look for repeated words in a paragraph.
• 4. Look for something mentioned at the beginning
  of the paragraph and then referred to throughout
  the paragraph by pronouns or by other words.

6
Cadence for Remembering the Clues to the Topic

• First look for this easy clue
• A title or heading to help you.
• Second, its no accident
• Topic appear in special print.
• A third clue thats really neat
• Look for words that repeat.
• One last clue, dont you doubt
• Anything discussed throughout.

7
Create a Mnemonic Device to Remember the
Clues

• Besides the cadence, you can create a
  sentence to help you remember the clues
• The head printer repeatedly mentioned the
  beginning of the paragraph.
• head using heading or title.
• printer look for words in special print.
• repeatedly look for repeated words
• mentioned look for something mentioned at the
  beginning
• and then referred to by
  other words.

8
Pointers about Determining the Topic

• Be sure to know what the words in the topic mean.
• Find the whole topic it may have more than one
  part.
• Even though the heading or title is often the
  topic, do not assume that the heading always
  indicates the exact topic.
• Heading can sometimes be misleading.
• Headings and special print are especially helpful
  in determining the overall topic of longer
  passages.
• Determining the topic is a skill that underlies
  the main idea, which in turn, underlies certain
  other skills (such as summarizing and outlining).

9
Whats the topic?

• Most New Orleans residents say they still face
  serious problems in finding housing, arranging
  home repairs, obtaining medical care and getting
  such basic city services as garbage pickup. But
  six months after Hurricane Katrina, three of four
  of those now in the city say they're optimistic
  about its future.

10
Its the positive attitude of New Orleans
residents!

• Most New Orleans residents say they still face
  serious problems in finding housing, arranging
  home repairs, obtaining medical care and getting
  such basic city services as garbage pickup. But
  six months after Hurricane Katrina, three of four
  of those now in the city say they're optimistic
  about its future.

11
Whats the topic?

• Republican governors are openly worrying that the
  Bush administration's latest stumbles from the
  natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina to those of
  its own making on prescription drugs and ports
  security are taking an election-year toll on
  the party back home.

12
Its Republican governors worries about Bush.

• Republican governors are openly worrying that the
  Bush administration's latest stumbles from the
  natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina to those of
  its own making on prescription drugs and ports
  security are taking an election-year toll on
  the party back home.

13
Whats the topic?

• Suspected Maoist militants triggered an explosion
  near a truck jammed with passengers Tuesday in
  central India, killing at least 20 people and
  injuring 30, police said. The blast occurred near
  the town of Darphaguda in rural Chattisgarh
  state.

14
Its about a terrorist explosion in India.

• Suspected Maoist militants triggered an explosion
  near a truck jammed with passengers Tuesday in
  central India, killing at least 20 people and
  injuring 30, police said. The blast occurred near
  the town of Darphaguda in rural Chattisgarh
  state.

15
Whats a topic?

• The topic is the something or the someone
  that an author writes about.
• It is simply who or what the author is writing
  about.
• The topic is always a word, a phrase, or a name.

It is never written as a sentence because that is
called the topic sentence!