A Fun Way to Remember Main Idea

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A Fun Way to RememberMain Idea

• and Supporting Details too!

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Hi! My name is Micah.

• My teacher, Mrs. Bell, has been talking about
  main idea and supporting details for months. I
  have to admit, I still dont understand what
  shes talking about. Im too embarrassed to ask
  her, so yesterday I decided to ask my friend Ian.

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This is Ian.

• He gave me a great strategy for remembering
  main idea. He told me to remember the time last
  week when I got sent to the principals office.
  At first, I thought he was crazy. What did going
  to the principals office have to do with main
  idea?

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Heres what Ian told me.

• He said, Last week, Kara told the recess
  monitor, Ms. Troyer, that you stole the kickball
  at recess.
• Thats right, I said. Later that day, I got
  called to the principals office to tell my
  story. When I got to Mr. Jenkins office, I told
  him there was no way I could have stolen the
  kickball at recess.

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But I was still confused. What did any of this
have to do with main idea?

• Ian went on to explain, When you told Mr.
  Jenkins that there was no way you could have
  stolen that ball, you were telling him the main
  reason why you were innocent. At that point, you
  hadnt told him the whole story. You just told
  him one sentence that summed up why you were in
  his office.

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• He continued, Thats what main idea is all
  about. It is a general statement that tells the
  most important idea. But, its not the whole
  story. To learn more, you need some supporting
  details to back up your main idea. When you were
  in the principals office, it wasnt enough to
  tell him you couldnt have stolen that ball. You
  needed proof. You needed some help to support
  your innocence. Thats where Shelly and Dan came
  to the rescue.

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Mr. Jenkins said I need more information.

• That day when I was in the office, I could
  tell that what I told Mr. Jenkins was not
  specific enough. He needed more proof. So I asked
  him to call Shelly down to the office. She told
  Mr. Jenkins that I stayed in from recess to help
  her finish her reading project. She gave him
  specific information about what I was doing to
  help support my story.

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• Having one piece of evidence, is usually not
  enough, so I asked Mr. Jenkins if he could ask
  Dan about what happened.
• Dan came down to the office and said Its
  true. Micah didnt steal the kickball because I
  accidentally kicked it on the roof. I was wearing
  the same color shirt as Micah that day. I bet
  Kara got confused and thought I was Micah. Then
  when the ball disappeared, she probably assumed
  it was stolen. But you can check, its on the
  roof.

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Now I was starting to understand.

• Ian said, Shelly and Dan supported your
  story. They proved that what you had said was
  true. Thats what supporting details, and good
  friends, do.

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One more thing

• He added, But it wouldnt have made sense to
  ask Bobby to support you, he was in the nurses
  office. He was in a different part of the
  building and had nothing to do with what went on
  at recess. Remember that with details too. When
  you pick a supporting detail, make sure it comes
  from the same part of the story and gives more
  information about your main idea.

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I get it!

• Now I understand main idea and supporting
  details. I dont know why it was so hard. Ian
  even showed me how I could put my story into a
  graphic organizer like Mrs. Bell does.

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MAIN IDEA Micah did not steal the ball at recess.
Supporting Detail Micah stayed in from recess to
help Shelly with a reading project.
Supporting Detail Dan accidentally kicked the
ball onto the roof of the school.