Keywords may be bolded and they provide clues to the main idea. Use Key Words Keywords are a great tool to help find the main idea but, of course, it's a skill that must be taught.

In the upper grades, since we work on topic and conclusion sentences so much during paragraph writing, it makes sense to my students that most writers introduce a passage by telling the reader what it will be about or will conclude it by reminding them what the passage was mostly about.Р”Тђ. Many times, the main idea is openly stated in one or both of those sentences. Students should get in the practice of checking the first and last sentences with the title to see if they match. Look at the First and Last Sentences Besides titles, first and last sentences typically contain the main idea, but not always. Once you've done some practice with titles, then it's time to read the passage and to find the main idea and supporting details.Р”В¤. These types of questions help kids see that if the title is telling you the topic of the passage, only certain types of information will be supporting details for that passage. For the African Elephant example, you might ask if they think that one of the supporting details might be where the elephants live in South America? Could it be about how an elephant uses its trunk? Would it possibly be about what an antelope eats? You can use the titles to help students think about supporting details and how these are smaller ideas but must match the main idea. For example, if the title was African Elephants, would the main idea most likely be how African and Asian elephants are different and alike, how African elephants cool themselves, or information about African elephants? You could give them several options for a main idea based on the title and ask them which one is more likely, and why.

First aid 2017 pdf not finding keywords