Alex Funt

7th and 8th Grade English

Fourth Period

June 24th, 2008

Objectives:

1. TSW distinguish between stated and implied main ideas of reading passages.  (DOK 2, MSF 2b)

2. TSW infer the implied main idea of a reading passage. (DOK 2, MSF 2b)

3. TSW differentiate between a main idea and its supporting details. (DOK 3, MSF 2b)

Materials: whiteboard, markers, transparency, pens, paper

Do-now:

He be working in Mississippi.

Rewrite the sentence in standard English.  Underline the prepositional phrase.  Draw an arrow from the preposition to the object of the preposition.  Label the subject and verb(s).

Set:  

Have you ever had a friend or family member tell you a story or tell you about something, and they never get to the point?  Suppose you just took a final exam in a class, and you are summoned to a conference with your teacher to find out about your final grade.  Your teacher says, "Well, (insert sleeping student in the class), you have really been excellent in class participation.  You did most of your homework.  You earned some 'A's on your exams, some 'B's, some 'C's.  You forgot to complete a few assignments, but the ones you did, you did well.  You had an 'A' after the first nine weeks, a 'B' after the second nine weeks, and then you had some ups and downs during the second semester.  You had a great attitude."  And so on.  Throughout what your teacher's speech, what do you REALLY want to know?  If this prompts a ridiculous answer, as it may well, or anything other than what I am looking for, the teacher will save face by stating that he would really want to know the final grade.  The final grade is the main idea that would give purpose to the conversation.  The rest is detail.  The same goes for writing.  The main idea is the most important piece of information in a paragraph--the information you really need to know--and the supporting details give evidence to or illustrate--perhaps using some of the figures of speech we have been talking about, like simile or metaphor--the main idea.  By the end of the period, you will be able to identify the main idea in a reading passage, locate its supporting details, distinguish between stated and implied main ideas, and infer an implied main idea from a reading passage.

Procedures:

1.  Do now (7 minutes)

2.  Set (5 minutes)  

3.  Students will read a paragraph about the Pittsburgh Steelers on the transparency and identify the stated main idea, which is the first sentence, as well as its supporting details. (6 minutes)

4.  Students will read another paragraph, which is about an angry mom, on the transparency and identify the stated main idea, which is the final sentence, as well as its supporting details.  (6 minutes)

5.  Students will read a final paragraph on the transparency, which is about animals running away from my angry self, and in which the main idea is implied.  The students will state, in their own words, the main idea and where they would logically place it within the paragraph. (6 minutes)

6.  Intermission for lunch. (20 minutes)

7.  Students will be asked to write a paragraph in which they give an opinion on any topic in five-six sentences.  The teacher will offer the Pittsburgh Steelers paragraph as an example.  Notify students that this assignment will be shared with a partner.  (10 minutes)

8.  Students will trade their paragraphs with a partner.  The partner will read the other's paragraph and underline the main idea, if it is stated, or paraphrase it, if it is implied.  The papers will be collected at the end of the period.  (7 minutes)

9.  Closure (3 minutes)

Closure:

Today you have learned how to identify the main idea and its supporting details, how to distinguish between implied and stated main ideas, and how to infer a main idea from a passage.  Well, the bell is about to ring.  We have no more work to do.  You seem to have learned the lesson to my satisfaction.  You probably are excited to move onto activity club.  I am ready to go home.  You all are sitting quietly.  What is the main idea?  Did I state it or imply it?  I'll state it now: class dismissed.

Assessment:

1.  The student will distinguish between stated and implied main ideas of reading passages.

Informal: The teacher will collect and review the partner worksheets (M) to check that students understand the difference between stated and implied main ideas (C).

Formal: The teacher will check for understanding of stated and implied main ideas (C) through a unit exam (M), with grades recorded (D).

2.  The student will infer the implied main idea of a reading passage.  

Informal: The teacher will check for student ability to generate an implied main idea (C) by gaging student responses to the overhead exercise and by collecting the partner paragraph trades (M).

Formal:  The teacher will check for student ability to infer the implied main idea of a reading passage (C) by administering a unit exam that assesses this skill (M), with grades recorded (D).

3.  The student will differentiate between a main idea and its supporting details.

Informal: The teacher will check for student ability to differentiate (C) by assessing responses during the overhead exercise and by collecting and assessing the main ideas inferred from student paragraphs (M).

Formal:  The teacher will check for student ability to differentiate between the main idea and its supporting details (C) by administering a test that tests this faculty (M), with grades recorded (D).

 Create your own educational wiki!HelpPublic, not yet premium Privacy Policy RSS