Main Idea and Details

1. Main Idea and Details Created by the Kind Kids Crew for Ms. Rich’s 3rd Grade Class

2. What is the Main Idea? • The big idea or central point the author tries to make • Most of the time, the topic sentence tells you the main idea and lets you know what your paragraph will be about.

3. What are the Supporting Details? • They are the sentences that back up your main idea. • They have information that helps explain and prove the author’s point.

4. Let’s take a look… If the main idea is, “We do lots of fun things in Ms. Rich’s class.” What would supporting details be to support that main idea?

5. Let’s take a look… If the main idea is, “Kelly Edwards Elementary is a wonderful school.” What would the supporting details be to support that main idea?

6. Let’s take a look… If the main idea is, “There are three main types of rocks.” What would supporting details be to support that main idea?

7. Main Idea: There are three main types of rocks. There are sedimentary rocks. There are metamorphic rocks. There are igneous rocks. Here is a main idea and detail map showing how you would organize the information.

8. Fossils Fossils are important clues to our past. Fossils are remains of plants or animals that have been buried in the ground so long they have turned to stone. For example, scientists have found fossils of dinosaur bones. Finding fossils is a hard job, but digging them up is even more difficult. Once the fossils are out of the rock, scientists can put all the pieces together to see what the plant or animal was.

9. Main Idea: Fossils are important clues to the past. Supporting Details: Supporting Details: Supporting Details:

10. Now…Let’s take the Brainpop quiz!