Think about the Central Idea

Good readers determine the central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details.

When we are reading we want to do the following to find the Central Idea.

1.  Read the Section
------It helps to make a post-it at the end of each paragraph, or section.  This small summary will help you in understanding what's going on.

2.  Figure out what the topic of the section is.  What is the author talking about?

3.  Look at the Pictures and Text Features

4.  Reread the first and the last sentence in each paragraph

5. Ask yourself, "What is the author trying to teach me?  What does the author want me to learn about this topic?"


The cool thing is, you don't have to do these in order, or even do all of them.  Do what works best for you!

When you think you know what the Central Idea is.  Go back through the text and find KEY DETAILS to support your statement:

Now . . .  What if you're having trouble finding the central idea?  What can we do?

1.  Take note of your paragraph summaries
                  
                    and

2. Gather details throughout the section

Can you combine these details to make one large statement?


It goes both ways!  You decide what works best for you.  You can either make your statement first, then add the details, or find the details first to make the statement.

Note Taking

Good readers take notes while they are reading to help keep track of their thinking . . .

Nonfiction Ideas

So far in our Nonfiction Unit we have  . . .

Generated Ideas

Organized our Thoughts

And we tried out the CATEGORY STRUCTURE of Nonfiction

Remember:
We want to pick a NONFICTION topic.
Something we feel we are an EXPERT on.
Something we can teach to others.

We must be able to find research on this topic, and we must be able to WRITE LONG on the topic.
When we can do that, we can continue brainstorming, organizing, and trying out different structures.

Text Features

Before we start our nonfiction unit, it's important to understand text features.

In class, we reviewed the Text Features of Nonfiction.  We discussed the different features that are used throughout nonfiction texts and WHY the author decides to use each particular feature.

When you're reading (a quick review)

Think about the skills good readers practice

These will help you while you are making your Post-it's.

Remember, your post-it's should reflect DEEPER THINKING

You always want to support your thinking with evidence from the text!

Maybe, you'll decide to track character traits . . .

Or track Character Motivation . . .

If you're ready, you can search for the theme . . .

But make sure you understand where you are in the story.

Just remember, as good readers . . .

Welcome!!

Here is how this blog will work . . .

I will post the charts in our room, examples from my lessons and from your classmates, homework, projects, and helpful links.

This will be your place for when you have questions.  If you are ever unsure of what to do for your homework, this is where you will find examples of how to do it.