CurriculumGrade 5English Language Arts

Two Main Ideas & a Summary

Aligned to RI.5.2 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.

What this lesson teaches

A long text often carries more than one main idea. Find each one, notice the details that support it, then sum it all up briefly.

Worked example

An article on bees has two main ideas: bees make honey, and bees pollinate crops. Details like 'one hive visits millions of flowers' support the second.

Practice questions

  1. Name two main ideas in an informational text.
  2. List one detail that supports each main idea.
  3. Write a three-sentence summary of the whole text.

Watch the lesson

Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.

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En español

Dos Ideas Principales y un Resumen

Un texto largo suele tener más de una idea principal. Encuentra cada una, observa los detalles que la apoyan y luego resúmelo todo brevemente.

Ejemplo: Un artículo sobre las abejas tiene dos ideas principales: las abejas hacen miel y las abejas polinizan cultivos. Detalles como 'una colmena visita millones de flores' apoyan la segunda.

More Reading: Informational lessons

Comparing Text StructureRI.5.5Quoting Facts & Making InferencesRI.5.1How Ideas ConnectRI.5.3Cracking Content WordsRI.5.4Two Accounts of One EventRI.5.6Using Many Sources to Find AnswersRI.5.7

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