Topic and Main Idea 2014 Teaching Tails Finding the Topic of a paragraph To understand a paragraph its important to find the topic The topic is the idea to which all of the details in the paragraph refer ID: 461595
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Tools for reading and writing paragraphs in the elementary classroom
Topic and Main Idea
© 2014 Teaching TailsSlide2
Finding the Topic of a paragraph
To understand a paragraph, it’s important to find the topicThe topic is the idea to which all of the details in the paragraph referA topic is usually expressed as a word or phraseSlide3
Can you find the topic? Spots was a large grey and white cat. Spots lived in a barn on a farm. Spots liked living in the barn. There were many mice for Spots to chase. Best of all, Spots had a soft place to sleep in the corner of the barn.Slide4
Can you find the topic?
Spots was a large grey and white cat. Spots lived in a barn on a farm. Spots liked living in the barn. There were many mice for Spots to chase. Best of all,
Spots had a soft place to sleep in the corner of the barn.Topic=
SpotsSlide5
We could see that the topic was
Spots because it was repeated again and againThis is a good way to help us find a topic: looking for repeated words or phrasesWhat is the topic?Slide6
Now try this paragraph!
The students had fun on their field trip. They visited the Marine Museum. The class was able to tour a tug boat and they bought souvenirs in the gift shop. After the tours the children ate a picnic lunch in the park and played with their friends.Slide7
Now try this paragraph!
The students had fun on their field trip. They visited the Marine Museum. The class
was able to tour a tug boat and they
bought
souvenirs in
the gift shop. After the tours
the children
ate a
picnic
lunch in the park and played with
their
friends.
Topic =
The studentsSlide8
We could tell that the topic of the paragraph is
the students because they were repeated several times!Slide9
Finding the topic
The topic of a paragraph is not always repeated over and over in the same waySometimes, you need to look for multiple word choices—that is, words or phrases that refer to the same thingSlide10
Looking for multiple word choices
Here is the students paragraph again. Notice how students can be replaced by other words or phrases: The students had fun on their field trip.
They visited the Marine Museum. The class was able to tour a tug boat and
they
bought souvenirs in the gift shop. After the tours
the children
ate a picnic lunch in the park and played with
their
friends.Slide11
The students are referred to in several different waysThey and the class
both refer back to the students.The topic is still the students.Slide12
Look for the topic in this paragraph
Ants are found everywhere in the world. They make their home in buildings, gardens etc. They live in anthills. These small insects are very hardworking. Throughout the summers they collect food for the winter season. These critters live in groups or colonies. Most ants are scavengers they collect whatever food they can find.Slide13
Look for the topic in this paragraph
Ants are found everywhere in the world. They make their home in buildings, gardens etc. They live in anthills. These small insects are very
hardworking. Throughout the summers they collect food for the winter season. These
critters
live in groups or colonies. Most
ants
are scavengers they collect whatever food they can find
.
Topic =
antsSlide14
Authors sometimes refer to the same idea in different ways“Ants
” and “these critters” are really the same creatures.When you are trying to figure out a topic, look for different ways of saying the same thingDid you find the topic?Slide15
Using topics to find main ideasOnce we have figured out the topic of a paragraph, we need to find the main idea of a paragraph.
The main idea is the main point of the paragraphMAIN IDEA = Topic + a statement about the topic.
Finding the Main IdeaSlide16
What is the Main Idea of this paragraph??
Spots was a large grey and white cat. Spots lived in a barn on a farm. Spots liked living in the barn. There were many mice for Spots to chase. Best of all, Spots had a soft place to sleep in the corner of the barn.Slide17
What is the Main Idea of this paragraph??
Spots was a large grey and white cat. Spots lived in a barn on a farm. Spots liked living in the barn. There were many mice for Spots to chase. Best of all, Spots had a soft place to sleep in the corner of the barn.Slide18
Did you find the Main Idea?
The first sentence is the main idea.Spots was a large grey and white cat. The topic = SpotsThe main point about the topic = was a large grey and white cat.Slide19
Ants are found everywhere in the world. They make their home in buildings, gardens etc. They live in anthills. These small insects are very hardworking. Throughout the summers they collect food for the winter season. These critters live in groups or colonies. Most ants are scavengers they collect whatever food they can find.
What about this paragraph??Slide20
Ants are found everywhere in the world. They make their home in buildings, gardens etc. They live in anthills. These small insects are very hardworking. Throughout the summers they collect food for the winter season. These critters live in groups or colonies. Most ants are scavengers they collect whatever food they can find.
What about this paragraph??Slide21
Did you find the Main Idea??
Once again, the main idea was in the first sentenceTopic = AntsMain point about the topic= are found everywhere in the world. Slide22
Is the first sentence always the main idea?
What do you think? Talk about it with your partner or group!Slide23
Think about this paragraph…
Croak, croak, kerplop! What’s that at the water’s edge? It might be a green frog, a creature that’s well-suited for life at the pond’s edge. Green frogs like to live where the land meets the water. This keeps them safe from predators that live on the land. When a predator like a snake comes near, the green frog can quickly leap into the water and get away. Green frogs can eat animals from both places, including crayfish, spiders, fish, and even birds.Slide24
Is the first sentence the main idea?
Croak, croak, kerplop! What’s that at the water’s edge? It might be a green frog, a creature that’s well-suited for life at the pond’s edge. Green frogs like to live where the land meets the water. This keeps them safe from predators that live on the land. When a predator like a snake comes near, the green frog can quickly leap into the water and get away. Green frogs can eat animals from both places, including crayfish, spiders, fish, and even birds.Slide25
That doesn’t make any sense!
Croak, croak, kerplop! can’t be the main idea of the paragraph.This sentence does not express a topic or a main point about the topicSlide26
Let’s find the topic first!What is the topic of this paragraph?
Croak, croak, kerplop! What’s that at the water’s edge? It might be a green frog, a creature that’s well-suited for life at the pond’s edge. Green frogs like to live where the land meets the water. This keeps them safe from predators that live on the land. When a predator like a snake comes near, the green frog can quickly leap into the water and get away. Green frogs can eat animals from both places, including crayfish, spiders, fish, and even birds.Slide27
Let’s find the topic first!
Croak, croak, kerplop! What’s that at the water’s edge? It might be a green frog, a creature that’s well-suited for life at the pond’s edge. Green frogs like to live where the land meets the water. This keeps
them safe from predators that live on the land. When a predator like a snake comes near, the green frog can quickly leap into the water and get away.
Green frogs
can eat animals from both places, including crayfish, spiders, fish, and even birds.Slide28
Let’s look at the second sentence…
Croak, croak, kerplop! What’s that at the water’s edge? It might be a green frog, a creature that’s well-suited for life at the pond’s edge. Green frogs like to live where the land meets the water. This keeps them safe from predators that live on the land. When a predator like a snake comes near, the green frog can quickly leap into the water and get away. Green frogs can eat animals from both places, including crayfish, spiders, fish, and even birds.Slide29
Is it the main idea?
Do you think that the second sentence, What’s that at the water’s edge? is the main idea?This doesn’t make sense either. The paragraph is not mostly about the water’s edge!Slide30
What about the third sentence?
Croak, croak, kerplop! What’s that at the water’s edge? It might be a green frog, a creature that’s well-suited for life at the pond’s edge. Green frogs like to live where the land meets the water. This keeps them safe from predators that live on the land. When a predator like a snake comes near, the green frog can quickly leap into the water and get away. Green frogs can eat animals from both places, including crayfish, spiders, fish, and even birds.Slide31
Is it the main idea?
Is the third sentence, It might be a green frog, a creature that’s well-suited for life at the pond’s edge the main idea?This sentence includes the TOPIC (green frog
) and a main point about the topic (it’s well-suited for life at the pond’s edge)Slide32
Hooray it’s the main idea!!
As you can see, the first sentence is not always the main idea.To find the main idea, you need to think about the topic of the paragraph.Look at each sentence until you find the best main idea sentence.Slide33
Now try this one… What a gorgeous view! Kings Gap State Park is a great place to see the Cumberland Valley. This is because the park was built on top of a mountain. From the mountain top, the fields and farms of the valley stretch out far below. The Doubling Gap, a mountain that curves like the letter s, can also be seen.Slide34
How do we find the main idea?
Start by finding the topic.Then look at each sentence in the paragraph.Look for the sentence that states the topic and gives a main point about the topic.Once you think you have found it, match it against the rest of the sentences.Slide35
Finding the topic
What a gorgeous view! Kings Gap State Park is a great place to see the Cumberland Valley. This is because the park was built on top of a mountain. From the mountain top, the fields and farms of the valley stretch out far below. The Doubling Gap, a mountain that curves like the letter s, can also be seen.Slide36
Finding the topic
The topic, then, is Kings Gap State Park.To find the main idea, we need to understand what the paragraph is saying about Kings Gap State Park.Slide37
Let’s try the first sentence!
What a gorgeous view! Kings Gap State Park is a great place to see the Cumberland Valley. This is because the park was built on top of a mountain. From the mountain top, the fields and farms of the valley stretch out far below. The Doubling Gap, a mountain that curves like the letter s, can also be seen.Slide38
Not the main idea..
The first sentence, What a gorgeous view, does not state the main ideaIt does not state the topic of the paragraph.Slide39
What about the second sentence?
What a gorgeous view! Kings Gap State Park is a great place to see the Cumberland Valley. This is because the park was built on top of a mountain. From the mountain top, the fields and farms of the valley stretch out far below. The Doubling Gap, a mountain that curves like the letter s, can also be seen.Slide40
That makes more sense!
The second sentence, Kings Gap State Park is a great place to see the Cumberland Valley, includes both a topic and a main ideaLet’s see if all of the other sentences in the paragraph relate back to it.Slide41
Do the rest of the sentence relate?
What a gorgeous view! Kings Gap State Park is a great place to see the Cumberland Valley. This is because the park was built on top of a mountain. From the mountain top, the fields and farms of the valley stretch out far below
. The Doubling Gap, a mountain that curves like the letter s, can also be seen.
The rest of the sentences do relate back to the second sentence. It’s the main
idea!!Slide42
What have we learned?
What is the topic of a text?
The topic is the word or phrase that all of the sentences in a paragraph refer
to.
What is a main idea?
The main idea of a paragraph is the topic, plus a feeling or attitude about the
topic.Slide43
What have we learned?
Is the main idea of a paragraph always the first sentence?
No! Sometimes the main idea appears in other parts of the paragraph
How do we find the main idea?
We need to think about the topic, and look for a sentence that includes the topic plus a main point about the
topic.Slide44
Does every paragraph work this way?
Yes! Every paragraph in the whole universe is like this and you will never have to think hard againNo, some paragraphs are different. Sometimes the paragraph has the topic sentence at the end of the paragraph. Sometimes the author leaves out the main idea altogether, and we need to figure it outSlide45
And the answer is….
The answer, of course, is B!While most paragraphs do have a stated main idea, some do not.Sometimes this is because the author wants to make the reader think more carefully.Sometimes it’s even because the author just didn’t write the paragraph very well!Slide46
These guidelines usually do work:
Find the topic of the paragraph.See if the first sentence states the main idea.If not, check other sentences
in the paragraph.Find the sentence that includes the topic and states a main point about the topic.
Make sure that the other sentences in the paragraph
relate back to the main idea.Slide47
Reflect on what you have learned!
What have you learned about topics and main ideas?Write down your answer on a sheet of paper or share with a partner!