Stage

Teacher

Introduce the topic

Look at these pictures. What is it?  Let’s put our pictures together.  What is the central idea of these pictures?  

(T writes one sentence on the board that states what the pictures mostly show).

Different countries have different names for currency.

This sentence is called the implied main idea.  

State the objective

We are going to practice finding the unstated main idea. By the end of the lesson you are welcome to choose an appropriate strategy and apply it while reading the given text.

Activate background  knowledge

There are some really effective strategies to identify an implied idea in reading passages.  The Implied Main Idea is one that is NOT clearly stated in any one sentence in a passage. It is only suggested or inferred by the supporting details. The author doesn’t state it directly. Once you think you have formed the implied main idea in your own words, confirm your answer by using some of the following strategies:

Strategy 1. To find an  implied main idea just organize facts, or summarize details

Strategy 2. List details. Then ask: “What do these details have in common?”

Strategy 3. Take all the information you learned in the passage and summarize it. Use simple words, do not include any specific details when summarize. Read out your summaries to see how similar they are.

Strategy 4. Ask yourself: “What is this passage about?” Then ask: “What does the writer assert – or want me to understand - about the topic?”

Strategy 5. Look for general statements. The main idea is a more general statement than the details that support it. Underline the most general statements and then ask: “Which statement best represents the main point of the passage?”

Strategy 6.State the main idea as a complete sentence. A word or phrase can state a topic, but only a complete sentence can make a point about the main idea.

Strategy 7. Read the passage and make inferences

We know that ______________________________

We can infer that ____________________________

Strategy 8. Steps to find unstated main idea

Read the details.

Find a topic that connects or describes the details in general.

Questions to ask:

What is it about?

What are the details trying to describe at the same time?

Then, formulate your main idea.

Finally, check your main idea by asking:

Does each detail support the main idea?

Strategy 9. How to answer the question

1. Choose a key word in the question.

2. Scan the appropriate place in the passage for key word (or related idea).

3. Read the sentence that contains the key word or idea carefully.

4. Look for answers that are definitely true according to the passage. Eliminate that answer.

5. Choose the answer that is not true or not discussed in the passage.

Strategy 10. Look for signal words of cause and effect

Strategy 11. Identify sequence of events

Strategy 12. Draw conclusions

Strategy 13. Think about what the characters say and do throughout the story.

Strategy 14. To determine which details are of major or minor significance, identify the author’s main point and then ask yourself the following questions:

What details are needed to explain or prove the main point?

What details are just included to make the passage more interesting?

Good let us check if they are  effective

Guided practice

Finding the Implied Main Idea

Below are just some of many strategies, examples and explanation of each strategy.

Strategy 1: Add Needed Information

Many times, the main idea is present but the topic is replaced with another noun or pronoun. Look at the example paragraph. The implied main idea is underlined and bold for you.

–Dogs are friendly. Dogs love to play. Dogs like to eat food and run. Everyone should own one.

The topic of this paragraph is dogs. The last sentence in the paragraph above is the main idea. However, the word dog is not used in the last paragraph. The author replaces the word dog with the noun one. The word one means dog in this context. In order to develop the main idea, the reader would need to know to replace the noun one with dog.

Strategy 2: Combining Separate Sentences

Sometimes them main idea is spread over two sentences. In this case, the sentences need to be combined in order to develop the main idea. Look at the example paragraph. The implied main idea is underlined and bold for you.

–It is important that people own dogs. It is also important that people love their dogs.

Consider that dogs are friendly. They love to play. Finally, dogs like to eat food and run.

This paragraph has two main points in two sentences as shown above. In order to create an implied main idea, we combine these two sentences into one. Below is the answer

It is important that people own and love their dogs.

The rest of the paragraph  is supporting details that explain why people should own and love dogs.

Strategy 3: Summarize Supporting Details

In some instances, an author will develop a paragraph that is only supporting details. The author never shares nor even implies a main idea. The reader must derive the point by examining the details. Below is an example. Nothing is bold or underline because there is no answer anywhere in the paragraph.

–Dogs are cute. Dogs are funny. Dogs love to play. Dog like to eat. Why would anyone not want a dog?

In order to develop the main idea, we have to find a way to summarize this information. There are many different answers. One potential answer would be to count the number of supporting details and determine what they have in common. Look at the following potential answer.

There are at least four reasons why people should want a dog.

If you look at the paragraph there are five sentences, four sentences talk about great things about dogs. The last sentence is a question. Main ideas can never be questions but this sentence provides a clue about what the author was trying to tell us. Instead of giving us the main idea, the author gives the answers to a question and then provides the question at the end of the paragraph. Turn the question into a statement and this is one way to get the main idea. Again, this is not the only answer. Someone might see something different in the text and derive a slightly different answer. The goals is to try to determine what you think the author is trying to say.

Conclusion

The implied main idea must be derived by the reader. This requires knowing the different strategies to do this. These strategies are particularly useful for people who are struggling with their reading.

Practice identifying the implied main idea in a paragraph as a whole class.

1. Read actively. This means that while you are reading, you continue to ask yourself questions to anticipate what is coming next.

1.What is the writer trying to say here?

2.What do the details have in common?

3.What can I infer from the information I have read so far?

4.What do these details add up to?

The implied main idea is not stated, it is only suggested. There is not a topic sentence, so you need to be a good detective. Pay attention to the details, and put them together with your own knowledge to determine the main idea. This is called drawing an inference.

You draw an inference to find the implied main idea:

Example: Miguel got an “F” on his history test. He only completed 30% of the classwork, and 0% of his homework. When the teacher called Miguel’s father, Miguel was grounded for a month. He had to bring his books home every night and sit at the kitchen table to study.

DETAILS                                                    

􀁸 Miguel got an “F” on his history test.

􀁸 He only completed 30% of the class work, and 0% of his homework.

􀁸 The teacher called home.

􀁸 He was grounded for a month.

􀁸 He brought his books home every night to study.

YOUR KNOWLEDGE

􀁸 “F” on a test means you fail.

􀁸 You have to do homework to pass a class.

􀁸 Finish your class work to pass a class.

􀁸 You’re in trouble when the teacher calls home.

􀁸 If you fail, you get grounded.

􀁸 A failing grade means study hard at home to bring up your grade.

IMPLIED MAIN IDEA

Miguel failed history class!

2. When the main idea or topic sentence is unstated, you must come up with a sentence that states the author’s point.  Let’s look at an example.

Carefully I pulled my jacket more tightly around my body.  Even the thick sweatshirt I was wearing didn’t help.  The tip of my nose was cold, and my fingers felt too frozen to type.  I looked longingly at my portable heater but didn’t want to use it because I was afraid I’d leave it on by accident.  Sighing to myself, I began to type but stopped when I could almost see my breath in the air.  “Enough for today,” I said to myself.  “I’m headed home.”

Let’s start with the first question: the topic. 

1.Who or what is the paragraph about?

Look at the word choice.  The word “cold” is used once, but what picture is the author painting?  If you said that the topic was a cold office, you’d be right.  There are several clues:  warm clothing, cold nose, frozen fingers, breath in the air.

Now, let’s ask ourselves the key question: 

 2.What is the author saying about the cold office?

  It appears that the author is cold enough that he/she chooses not to stay long in the cold office, so put that idea into a sentence.

IMPLIED MAIN IDEA

The office is too cold for anyone (or the author) to stay very long.

3. The Implied Main Idea is one that is NOT clearly stated in any one sentence in a passage. It is only suggested or inferred by the supporting details. The author doesn’t state it directly. Once you think you have formed the implied main idea in your own words, confirm your answer by using some of the following strategies:

1. • Does every major detail support it?
2. • Does your answer provide a general idea or summary for the details?
3. • Try to mark the major supporting details and notice what they have in common.
4. • If one of your major details talks about something else, you’ll have to rethink the implied main idea so that it is supported by all of them.

One myth about exercise is that if a woman lifts weights, she will develop muscles as large as a man’s. Without extra male hormones, however, a woman cannot increase her muscle bulk as much as a man’s. Another misconception about exercise is that it increases the appetite. Actually, regular exercise stabilizes the blood-sugar level, which prevents hunger pains. Some people also think that a few minutes of exercise a day or one session is enough, but at least three solid workouts a week are needed for muscular and cardiovascular health.

IMPLIED MAIN IDEA

There are many myths about exercises.

4. An implied main idea is one where you have to read closely and use clues to understand what the author is trying to say.

You can determine the implied main idea of a reading by asking four questions:

1. 1.Does the author repeat any words, phrases, or ideas throughout the text?
2. 2.Who or what is the passage about? (What is the topic?)
3. 3.What is the central point the author is trying to make about that topic?
4. 4.Does the information in the passage support the answers to questions 2 and 3?

The main ideas can be directly stated or implied. If the main idea is not clearly presented by the author in the beginning of the text, you know you need to determine it on your own by looking closely at supporting details (any pieces of evidence used to explain and expand upon the main idea. When the main idea is implied, and not clearly stated, you can look at the supporting details to better understand what the author is saying and why. The supporting details of a text should always relate back to the main idea. Reading closely and examining the evidence an author uses often reveals the main point of the text).

Finding Supporting Details

As you read for main idea, you should look at  supporting details. To help you determine what the supporting details are, look for:

• statements of fact
• statistics and data
• expert testimony
• examples
• primary source accounts

Making Connections

In order to determine the main idea, you will need to figure out how all of the supporting details fit together. As you read, ask yourself,

1. How does this detail connect with the detail before it?
2. The detail after? What’s the common theme?

As you see how the details build on one another, you should be able to determine a main idea. This can be done for small sections of the  text, or by looking at the text as a whole.​

 When I was a little girl, I took piano lessons every Monday after school. I walked to Mrs. Siever's house with my tattered sheet music in my school lunch-stained hands. She taught me the scales, the proper way to hold my small fingers, and the theme song from The Pink Panther. She also taught me much more. From her I learned the necessity of practice, the importance of patience, and the joy of achieving a goal after hard work. She also gave me the gift of music. All of that was learned in a half hour lesson on Monday afternoons in Hamel, Illinois.

1. What is the topic of this paragraph?

A. Lessons about life and the piano, learned during piano lessons.

B. Mrs. Siever taught the author the theme song from The Pink Panther.

C. Piano lessons lasted half an hour.

D. The necessity of practice to become a good pianist.

2. What is the implied idea?

A. When I was a little girl, I took piano lessons every Monday after school.

B. Piano lessons can teach a person about music, the love of music and many other life lessons.

C. The gift of music is nice.

D. None of the above

Complete the rule

To identify the implied main idea

• The main idea is not always clearly stated. It is more difficult to identify a main idea when it is inferred or implied. It can be implied through other words in the paragraph. An implied main idea can be found in several ways.

1. Organize facts, or summarize details

2. List details.

3. Take all the information you learned in the passage and summarize it.

4. Ask yourself: “What is this passage about?”

5. Look for general statements. Underline the most general statements and then ask: “Which statement best represents the main point of the passage?”

6. State the main idea as a complete sentence.

Independent practice

Read the texts and complete the  worksheet