Students will
Learning objectives
- Identify the main idea of a short nonfiction paragraph.
- Tell a main idea apart from a supporting detail.
- Write a detail that supports the main idea.
- Write a title that sums up a whole paragraph.
Main Idea Worksheet
Students read three short nonfiction paragraphs, choose each one's main idea from three options, write a supporting detail, and title one paragraph.
Format
- Colour PDFThe full-colour resource, ready to print or projectAvailable
- PrintablePrinter-friendly, uses less inkAvailable
- Fillable PDFStudents type answers right into the fileAvailable
- Google ClassroomAssign and share digitallyComing soon
Only the colour PDF is ready for this resource so far. The other formats are on the way.
At a glance
- Years
- 3–5
- Pages
- 2
- A4
- Type
- Worksheet
- Includes
- Answer key
Last updated
Page 1 of 2
Main idea and details in three nonfiction paragraphs
Students read three short nonfiction paragraphs, about a hummingbird's nest, lighthouses and maple syrup, and for each one choose the main idea from three options and write one supporting detail. A tip at the top gives them one test for every choice: what is the paragraph mostly about? The maple syrup paragraph has no topic sentence, so students work out the main idea from the steps, then give it a title. Any title that names the whole process counts, with "From Tree Sap to Syrup" as the model.
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From the creator
Teaching tips
1
In paragraph 2, wrong choice A ("Lighthouse keepers once tended the lamps") is copied almost word for word from the text, so students who match words rather than meaning pick it. Use the key's test: does almost every sentence tell more about this choice?
2
Some students pick "Hummingbirds drink nectar from flowers" for paragraph 1 because it is true. Point out that it is true but not in the paragraph.
3
For the title, students often name one step, such as drilling holes. Ask them to check the title against the first and last sentences of the paragraph.
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Skills covered
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Differentiation
Meet every learner.
Ways to adjust the three paragraphs for different readers.
Support
Read and talk first
- Read each paragraph aloud and have students say what it is mostly about before they look at the choices.
- Cross out one wrong choice together for each paragraph.
- Highlight the first sentence of paragraphs 1 and 2, which states the main idea.
On level
Teach as written
- All three paragraphs, the detail lines and the title.
- Students mark the sentence each detail came from.
Extension
Write the main idea
- Cover the choices and write each main idea in their own words first.
- Write a topic sentence for the maple syrup paragraph.
- Give titles to paragraphs 1 and 2 as well.
Curriculum alignment.
Each one is checked against the official document. Where the resource covers only part of a standard, the note says so.
England national curriculum, English · Years 3–5
Years 3–4Reading - comprehension
Students choose the main idea of three short nonfiction paragraphs, write one detail for each, and give one paragraph a title. Each paragraph is read on its own, so finding a main idea across more than one paragraph is not practised.
Years 5–6Reading - comprehension
Students pick the main idea and write a detail that supports it. As above, the work stays inside single paragraphs and does not ask for a summary.
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