FINDING THE MAIN IDEA

MAIN IDEA

> The most important sentence in a paragraph. > It tells what the paragraph is all about.

WHERE TO FIND THE MAIN IDEA

• Look at the title or heading.• Look at the first sentence.• Look at names, key words or repeated words.

• Sometimes you will find the main idea in the first sentence , in the middle or in the last sentence. The author states the topic sentence.

• Other times you’ll need to figure out the main idea for yourself. It is not directly stated. The author implies (expresses) the topic sentence

• The rest of the paragraph gives details about the main idea that explain why.

Explicitly stated- the main idea is clearly stated in a paragraph. Implicitly stated- the main is not clearly or directly stated. The reader needs to think of the main idea based on the supporting details in a paragraph.

• To tell the difference between the main idea and supporting detail, you have to ask yourself: Is this what the whole paragraph is about?

Christmas in the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic country is above all, a religious celebration. It is the season to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. For nine days, beginning December 16, Filipinos flock to the church for the traditional Misa de Gallo or dawn masses at four o’clock in the morning. This tradition was introduced by the Spanish friars to allow the farmers to hear the masses before going to the fields early in the morning.

•Some people used Bog Creek farm as a place to dump their old chemicals and paints. These chemicals were dumped into a 150-foot long trench, about half as long as a football field which stretches across the property.

• Some people used Bog Creek farm as a place to dump their old chemicals and paints. These chemicals were dumped into a 150-foot long trench, about half as long as a football field which stretches across the property.

• A few months later, things started to get a little strange. Whenever my daughter and I went on our fishing trips, we began to notice hundreds of dead fish that were floating in rivers and streams near Bog Creek Farm.

• We can say that the main idea of the paragraph is “ There is water pollution caused by chemicals in Bog Creek Farm”.

The hints like getting a little strange, hundreds of dead fish floating in rivers and streams near the farm indicate the main idea.

Christmas in the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic country is above all, a religious celebration. It is the season to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. For nine days, beginning December 16, Filipinos flock to the church for the traditional Misa de Gallo or dawn masses at four o’clock in the morning. This tradition was introduced by the Spanish friars to allow the farmers to hear the masses before going to the fields early in the morning.

Why?Because it summarizes the whole paragraph and it tells what the paragraph is all about.

If you have ever tried to swat a fly, you know it’s hard to hit. That is because a fly can detect moving objects extremely well. Flies view the world through compound eyes – eyes with multiple lenses. Each lens faces a different directions and views a small part of a scene. The parts add up to a complete picture in the insect’s brain, which tells a fly to fly away fast!

What is the topic sentence? If you’ve ever tried to swat a fly, you know it’s hard to hit. What are the details ?-Flies detect moving objects well. - They have compound eyes with multiple lenses. -Lenses face in different directions.-Images are combined in flies’ brains.

James is a well rounded boy. He is in Grade 6, and he excels both in academics and in sports. He has many friends who loved him a lot. They have nothing but praises for him. He is a boy who always extends a helping hand for those who need it.

Main Idea James is a well rounded boy.

Detail 1 He is in Grade 6.

Detail 2 He excels both in academics and in sports.

Detail 3 He has many friends who love him a lot.