Direct Instruction Lesson Plan Template

Central Focus: Main Idea and Details

Essential Literacy Strategy: Understanding main idea and details of a
Grade Level/Subject: 3 grade/ Reading
biography through describing the relationship between a series of
historical events.
Essential Standard/Common Core Objective: RI.3.2. Determine the main
idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main Date submitted:
Date taught:
idea.
Daily Lesson Objective: Students will describe main idea and detail of a biography. To be successful students must
rd

21st Century Skills:

Academic Language Demand (Language Function and Vocabulary):

Prior Knowledge: Based on standard 3 students should know how to find the key idea of a text and supporting details as
well as asking and answering questions to understand to help understand a text. In order to be successful students must
Activity
1. Focus and
Review
2. Statement of
Objective
for Student
3. Teacher
Input

Description of Activities and Setting

What does it mean when we say we want to find the key idea and supporting details in a
text?
Today we are going to learn how to identify the main idea and details of a biography. By the
end of class you will be able to identify the main idea and details in a biography on your own.
Good readers want to be able to find the main idea and details in all different types of text,
this helps us to understand why the text we are reading was written.
Today we are going to learn about main idea and details of a biography. Main idea is the
most important or central thought of a paragraph or a section of a book. In order to figure out
the main idea we have to look at the details in the text as well. What is the idea that the details
in the text are supporting? Good readers want to know the main idea of a story because it
helps them understand the purpose of what they are reading. Can anyone tell me what a
biography is? A biography is the account of someones life written by someone else other
than the person who is written about. Now we are going to look at how we find the main idea
and details in a text by reading a short text and making an anchor chart.
(Teacher will make anchor chart with students and read passage with students to help
identify the main idea and details).

Lets think about main idea and details as a table, (draw a table with four legs), what is the
most important part about a table? (The top). What do the legs of the table do? (Support the
bouncy part). This is what main idea and details are. The main idea is the most important part
of the text and the details will support the main idea. It is important to remember that
when reading the main idea will either be in the first sentence or towards the end of a
passage. If the main idea is first the details will follow, if the details are first the main idea
will follow.

Time
1
minute
1
minute
20
minute

Now I am going to show you how to find the main idea and supporting details. (Teacher
will go over article with students identifying the main idea and 5 supporting details.
http://teacher.depaul.edu/SkillFocusedReadings/documents/Grade3Nonfiction_ChicagoChanges_ChicagoSettlementReadin
g.pdf
As we read this article we want to pay close attention to see what the article is mainly
about. (Read first two paragraphs, then stop) Hmm, I dont think we have read the main
idea yet. (Continue reading the rest of the article). Now that we have read the entire passage
I think we can find our main idea, can anyone tell me what they think the main idea is? The
main idea is that Chicago is a changing place. We know this is the main idea because all of
the details in the text tell support this by telling us how Chicago has changed. We know this
because without that idea there would not be a purpose for the text.. Now that we know our
main idea we have to go back through the text to find out what details support this. ( Go
through body of paragraph and high light the details)
More people moved to Chicago
People built more homes
After many years, there were more people here and many changes
Now we are going to do this in a biography.

4. Guided
Practice

5. Independent
Practice
6. Assessment
Methods of
all
objectives/skill
s:

Now we are going to read a chapter out of a biography about Benjamin Franklin. After we
read we are going to figure out the main idea and detail together (Read chapter three to
students). After reading, ask students can anyone tell me what they think the main idea is?
Throughout the chapter we read a lot about what? (many problems that Benjamin Franklin
saw in his community). What happened when Benjamin Franklin saw problems in his
community? (he fixed the problems.) So what is the most important part of this chapter, the
20
trampoline? (When Benjamin Franklin saw a problem in his community he fixed it). Now
minute
what supports this main idea, the legs to our trampoline? (Streets not paved so he paid to have
s
them paved, fires were breaking out so he helped build a fire fighting team, saw problems in
education so he helped start a new school).
Now that I have modeled how to identify a main idea and details, and we have found the
main idea and details of a biography together, you are now going to go back and read a small
passage of a biography and identify the main idea and details on your own.
Students will read the article The U.S. Constitution. After reading the pages students will
15
identify the main idea and 3-4 supporting details by writing them on a sheet of notebook
minute
paper.
s
Students will be assessed based on the rubric attached in the following link
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=PrintRubricDownloadFile&rubric_id=2522045&

What did we learn today about what main idea and detail is, and how to find it?
7. Closure
8. Assessment
Results of
all
objectives/skill
s:
Targeted Students
Modifications/Accommodations:

2
minute
s

Student/Small Group Modifications/Accommodations:

Struggling readers will be assisted by working in a small group with
the teacher during independent practice.

Materials/Technology:
(Include any instructional materials (e.g., worksheets, assessments PowerPoint/SmartBoard slides, etc.) needed to implement the lesson at the end of the lesson plan.)

References:
Reflection on lesson (if taught):