Download
1 / 17
E N D
Central Idea “Hey, what’s the big idea?”
Just imagine… You are on your way to Mraz’s class, and your friend asks you about the movie you saw last night (Finding Nemo). Your friend doesn't have time to hear about the whole two hours of the movie (because, of course, you really want to get to Mraz’s class because you love it!), but you can tell your friend in a few sentences what the movie is about. What would you tell her?
So what is the central idea? • The central idea is like the heart of the text or paragraph. • The central idea of a text/paragraph is what all the sentences are about (or in a movie, what all the scenes in the movie are about). • It is the controlling idea • It’s the “big point” or the most important idea that the writer is communicating to the reader. • It explains what the whole passage is about
Stated and Implied Central Idea • Sometimes, a paragraph has a stated central idea usually in the topic sentence. This means the paragraph “says” what the central idea is. • Sometimes, a paragraph doesn’t have a stated central idea, but has an “implied” central idea. This means that you need to state the central in your owns words because it doesn’t actually “say” it in the paragraph. Let’s take a look at two examples:
Examples 1. “The students had fun on their field trip. They visited the Marine Museum. They were 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 with their friends.” • The underlined portion of the sentence is the central idea and is stated for the reader. 2. “The Native Americans used the trees to build their houses. They hunted and trapped animals in the forest for food. They found roots and berries that they could eat. Some plants found in the forest were used for medicine.” • In this paragraph, the central idea isn’t stated. However, by reading the paragraph, the reader can determine the main idea: Native Americans used resources in the forest to survive.
Did you know? • The central idea of a text is usually found in the topic sentence of the paragraph. • Ask yourself, “What is this text about? What is the author getting at?" • Or, my favorite: “WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?”
Let’s try it out Soccer players learn many skills when playing soccer. Soccer players learn how to dribble and pass the ball. They also learn how to control the ball so they can eventually score. Most importantly, soccer players learn how to work together with their teammates. What is the central idea of this paragraph? a. They also learn how to control the ball so they can eventually score. b. Soccer players learn how to dribble. c. Soccer players learn many skills when playing soccer. d. If someone practices soccer, they will be good at it.
Answer C
Someday we will all have robots that will be our personal servants. They will look and behave much like real humans. We will be able to talk to these mechanical helpers and they will be able to respond in kind. Amazingly, the robots of the future will be able to learn from experience. They will be smart, strong, and untiring workers whose only goal will be to make our lives easier. Which sentence from the paragraph expresses the central idea? • Someday we will all have robots that will be our personal servants. b. We will be able to talk to these mechanical helpers and they will be able to respond in kind. c. They will look and behave much like real humans. d. Amazingly, the robots of the future will be able to learn from experience
Answer A
KEEP ON IMAGINING… Your friend was really interested in hearing more about Finding Nemo. What else would you tell her about the movie?
So what are key/supporting details? • All key/supporting details in the text/paragraph should tell us more about the central idea • These key/supporting details make the central idea stronger • Not every detail is a key/supporting detail • Just because a detail is interesting, it doesn’t mean it’s important • Ask yourself, “Does this detail help explain the central idea?”
Let’s go back to our old example: Soccer players learn many skills when playing soccer. Soccer players learn how to dribble and pass the ball. They also learn how to control the ball so they can eventually score. Most importantly, soccer players learn how to work together with their teammates. • What are the key/supporting details (details that support the main idea)?
A graphic organizer would really help us organize our thoughts!
Let’s try a longer passage with our groups • Read the Mindset Article • We’ll use the graphic organizers to sort through the central idea and key/supporting details.
