Main Idea and Supporting Details

Her pet is a baby kitten.  It is soft and cuddly.  The kitten likes to sleep a lot.  Mary put a soft blanket in a box for its bed.  Mary plays with her kitten when it is awake.  She never forgets to feed her kitten.
What is the main idea?

• The kitten sleeps a lot.

• Mary plays with her kitten

• Mary’s new pet is a kitten.

• Mary want a new pet.

Many people have not heard giraffes make noises.  Giraffes do not use sounds to “talk” with each other.  When hurt, giraffes make a low moo, something like a cow.  When frightened, they make a short, high sound.
What is the main idea?

• Giraffes do make noises

• Giraffes talk all the time.

• Cows and giraffes talk to each other.

• Lots of people have heard giraffes talk.

What is a statement that tells what a passage is mostly about called?

• Topic

• Claim

• Main Idea

• Transitional sentence

True or False: The main idea does not need supporting details.

• True

• False

What is the best question to ask yourself when you are trying to find the main idea?

• Who is the main character?

• What is the main event?

• What is one important detail?

• What point is the author trying to make?

the central or most important idea about a topic that the writer wants to communicate to readers.

• Main Idea

• Conclusion

• Analogy

• Subject

*to bear or hold up; serve as a foundation for

*any material that serves to prove a claim

• Supporting Details

• Details

• Support

• objective summary

information or facts that support or add more to the main idea

• Supporting Details

• Details

• Facts

• objective summary

Facts, statistics, examples, stories, quotations, definitions, reasons, comparisons which support your main idea; details help make the main idea clear

• Details

• Support

• Facts

• objective summary

Match the following

• Facts, statistics, examples, stories, quotations, definitions, reasons, comparisons which support yo

• Facts

• information or facts that support or add more to the main idea

• objective summary

• a summary free from opinions or bias.

• Supporting Details

• to bear or hold up; serve as a foundation for*any material that serves to prove a claim

• Details

• something that actually exists and can be proven true

• Support