Last week we were on the hunt for the "Main Idea" of the stories we read. In class we discussed how the main idea is what the story is all about. It is a few short sentences that summarizes everything we read. If you are familiar with the Hokey Pokey, (Don't lie you know you are starting to hum it), we changed the words to help us with the main idea: The main idea is what it's alllllllllllll about!
The students were taught several strategies for catching this sometimes tricky idea. First, we discovered a trend: The title of a book sometimes tells you the main idea. Example-Arthur's Loose Tooth was about a boy who had a loose tooth and wanted it out. Also, we saw that the pictures and first sentence of a story give you a clue. The students were shocked to find how easy it was to figure out the main idea by using these clues!
Later on in the week, they were taught to catch the main idea with their hands. Students used each finger to answer the WHO WHAT WHERE WHEN and WHY to grab the main idea.
Finally we used a 'thinkmark' (bookmark that requires them to think and write on) to find the Somebody, Wanted, But, So of the story. On this 'thinkmark' they wrote who the Somebody-Character, Wanted-What they wanted but can't do/get, But- the problem, So-What the character did to fix the problem...AKA...the solution!
Ask your child to practice these reading comprehension strategies on the books they read at home. Understanding the main idea will help them understand the purpose of their readings and clarify any confusion they might have had with the story.
Happy reading!
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