Design for Learning

Instructor: Ellie Knox

Grade Level/Cooperating Teacher: 3rd/Branyon
Lesson Title: Whats the Big Deal? Date: 4/8/16
Curriculum Area: ELA
Estimated Time: 3 Days
Standards Connection:
Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support
the main idea. [RI.3.2]
Learning Objective(s):
When given a cloze passage, the students will identify the main idea as well as provide
three supporting details from the passage with no errors.
Learning Objective(s) stated in kid-friendly language:
Today boys and girls, we are going to discuss main idea. By the end of the day, you will
read a passage and give me the main idea! You also will be able to give me three details
from the passage that support the main idea.
Evaluation of Learning Objective(s):
The teacher will give the students a worksheet with a cloze passage. Below the passage,
there is a multiple choice question for students to identify the main idea of the passage.
Students must provide three details from the text that support the main idea in the boxes
below. Students must identify the correct main idea as well as provide three supporting
details with no errors to be placed in the green zone. Students who do not identify the
correct main idea regardless of the three supporting details will be placed in the yellow
zone along with students who identify the main idea yet only provide two supporting
details. Students who do not identify the main idea and provide less than two supporting
details will be placed in the red zone for remediation.
Engagement:
The teacher will call the students to the carpet. She will bring her bag of materials with
her to the table. Alright boys and girls, will you please join me at the carpet? Thank you
so much for sitting and showing me that you are ready to listen. Today, I want to show
you my bag that I brought. Now, I have three items in my bag. I am going to show you
each of them. I do not want you to talk, I want you to simply observe and think! The
teacher will pull out the cake mix. Mmmm. Cake mix! You know, this is one of my favorite
types of dessert. I love chocolate cake with white icing. YUM! Ok, I wonder what else is
in my bag. The teacher will pull out the icing. Oh icing! Ok, so I have cake mix and icing
so far. This is interesting. The teacher will pull out the picture of oil and measuring
spoons. Mmm. Now I have some spoons and oil. Now, this is everything I have in my bag.
Now, I did not tell you this at first, but this bag has an idea behind it. The teacher will
have the students turn and talk. I want you to turn and talk to a partner to try to figure
out what the big idea behind this is. I am going to give you a big hint. I am not going to
be making you a cake today unfortunately! So talk to a partner about what you think the

big idea of this bag is. When I begin to count back from 5, I want you to get back in your
spot and look at me. The teacher will give the students one minute to talk. Ok boys and
girls, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Thank you! I want everyone at their spots. Awesome. Now, what do you
think is the big idea of my bag? The teacher will call on three students to share. Awesome
thinking everyone! Our main idea was baking a cake! So now, I want to hear from some
other students on why you said that. The teacher will call on three students to share.
Wonderful sharing. So do you see how the items in the bag showed you what the big idea
of the bag was? Yes! Well today, we are going to look at the big idea, or the main idea, of
a passage. By the end of the day, you will read a passage and give me the main idea! You
also will be able to give me three details from the passage that support the main idea.
Transition to teaching
Learning Design:
I. Teaching:
The teacher will put the anchor chart on the board. Main idea. Main idea is what the
story is all about. Well, the main idea is like an entire hamburger. I know that Student A
said hamburgers were his favorite food! That means you are going to LOVE finding the
main idea! So the main idea is the entire hamburger. The teacher will point to the
hamburger on the chart. It includes everything: tomatoes, pickles, lettuce! It is what a
story is all about! What was the main idea of my bag earlier? Yes! The main idea was
baking a cake. So the whole hamburger was baking a cake. Now, we know that
hamburgers are made up of different pieces of food. We have lettuce, tomatoes, and even
pickles. The teacher will point to these on the anchor chart. These are our supporting
details. Supporting details are details in a story that support the main idea. Wouldnt a
hamburger taste terrible if it did not have anything on it? Yes! We need these details to
make our idea make sense! These are not extra details that are not necessary. These
supporting details show readers what the main idea truly is! Who can share what one of
the supporting details from my bag was? Yes! One of the details was that a person can
use cake mix to make a cake or create one entirely from scratch. Good! So why boys and
girls do we think that this would be a supporting detail? Yes! We need to know that there
are different ways to make a cake. Wonderful! Now, I want you to turn and talk to a
partner to discuss a second supporting detail and talk about why it is so important. When
I count back from 5, I want you to be back in your spot. The teacher will give the students
one minute to talk. Alright boys and girls, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Thank you. I heard some fantastic
discussion here! Who will share a supporting fact that you just discussed? The teacher
will call on a student to share. Ok, yes! So another supporting detail was that cakes have
icing. And why is that necessary for us to know? Yes! If our main idea is baking a cake,
we know that the person should ice the cake after it bakes. Great work everyone! I really
am impressed with you all! So we have discussed what a main idea is and what a
supporting detail is. Who can remind me what a main idea is? The teacher will call on a
student. Yes! The main idea is what the story is all about. Who will share what supporting
details are? Yes! Supporting details support the main idea. They are details that help us
understand the main idea of the story. Remember how lettuce and tomatoes make our
hamburger better? Supporting details make our main idea better. The teacher will now
give a nonexample of a supporting detail. Alright everyone, we have discussed main idea

and supporting details. Now, I have another term I want you to know. The teacher will
point to the French fries on the chart. Now I love French fries. Raise your hand if you are
a fan of French fries! Of course! Well we have some other details in stories that are
really great details. They might be a little salty with good information, but they do not
support the main idea. Think of French fries. We love French fries, but they add to our
meal. We keep them separate from the hamburger and could still enjoy our burger
without the French fries. These details might be good, but they do not support the main
idea. So boys and girls, what if I included birthday hats in my bag? Think about that for
a second. The teacher will give ten seconds of wait time. If I included birthday hats, that
might be interesting. I could say that people eat cakes when they celebrate birthdays.
Would that support my main idea though No! My main idea is baking a cake! So some
details can be good, but I want you to realize that there is a difference between these
supporting details and interesting details. We are focused on the supporting details. The
teacher will read a short passage attached. So now boys and girls, I want to show you how
to find the main idea. I am going to read a passage for you. I want you to listen carefully.
Then I am going to show you how to identify the main idea. The teacher will read the
passage. Ok now, I want you all to give me your full attention. So what was this passage
about? Yes! It was about hurricanes. We read about that earlier this week! So when I
look at this, I am going to think about what the main idea could be. I want to look at all
of the details and words used. Ok, now I want you to think on your own for a few seconds
about what you think the main idea could be. The teacher will give the students 15
seconds to think. So now that we have thought about this, I am going to share my
thinking with you. The passage talks a lot about hurricanes. I know that there is a main
idea about hurricanes. Some words that really stick out to me are intense, dangerous, and
surge. The teacher will circle these words for the students to see. So looking at that, I am
going to say that the main idea is that hurricanes are dangerous storms. Now, I want you
to turn and talk to a partner to discuss supporting details from the text for the main idea.
The teacher will give the students 2 minutes to talk. Alright 5, 4,3, 2,1. Ok come back to
your spot please. I want two people to share their thoughts. The teacher will call on two
students. Good thoughts! So, when we want supporting details, we go back to the
passage. One supporting detail is Hurricanes are large, intense storms. The teacher
will underline this. This gives support to the main idea. We know that hurricanes are
dangerous storms that are described as intense! Another point I saw was Winds and
waves also contribute to the damage caused by these surges. The teacher will underline
this. So this supporting detail shows us that hurricanes are dangerous with winds and
waves that cause damages. Good work everyone! So we see that supporting details are so
important, because they contribute to the main idea. Now, I am going to have you explore
this more with some nonfiction. The teacher will hold up Whats So Special About Planet
Earth to the students. Ok, I am going to read a story to you. I want you all to look at me
and listen very well, because you will be doing something with the story afterwards! The
teacher will read the story. I liked that! So now boys and girls, I want you to look at this.
What we are going to do now is such a fun activity! You need to listen to get the
instructions. The teacher will hold up the Ziploc bag. These are our suitcases. What you
are going to do is write some points from the book here. I want you to list details that you
remember from this book. You each have flashcards to write on in these bags. When you
are finished with that, I will tell you what to do. The teacher will dismiss the students to

their seats. She will have two students help her pass out the Ziploc bags. Now, I have
Student A passing out your suitcases. I want you to get out your flashcards and write
details from the story. The teacher will circulate the room as the students do this. If you
have a question, raise your hand but I want you to write the details that you think are
important. When the students are finished, the teacher will use equity sticks to pair the
students together. Alright boys and girls, now we have an issue. I went around and looked
at our suitcases, but they are just too large. You know what you are going to have to do? I
want you to find three of the details that you think share the main idea of the story here. I
do not want you to write any more, I want you to pick three details that you included in
your suitcase. Take the other ones out of your suitcase. I am going to call your names,
and I want you all to find a spot in the room to share your suitcases with one another. As
you do this, I want you to discuss the main idea of the book. Discuss to see if your details
support the main idea or not. The teacher will call the students names as she uses equity
sticks. Find a spot around the room now. The teacher will circulate the room as the
students share their suitcases. She will ask students to tell her the main idea of the topic.
She will ask how the details that the students chose support the main idea. Alright boys
and girls, excellent conversations. Put your suitcases back on your desk and come back
to the carpet please. The teacher will wait. Student B, thank you for coming right away
and for being quiet as you came. I really appreciate that. Wonderful job everyone! So, I
first want to talk about the main idea of our book. What did you all discuss with your
partners? The teacher will ask three students. Alright, it looks like you are on the right
track with finding the main idea! The main idea here is that the Earth is the perfect place
for us to live, unlike other planets! Now, lets talk about some supporting details that you
found from the story. The teacher will call on three students to share their supporting
details. Wonderful job! So, we have our main idea, and you thought of specific details
from the book that discussed how the Earth is perfect for us to live on unlike other
planets! Was it hard to figure out which three of your points helped support the main
idea? It is sometimes difficult, but you all have done a wonderful job. Good questions to
ask when trying to see if a detail is interesting or supportive is asking if it adds to the
main idea. The teacher will ask the students if they have questions. Are there any
questions about the main idea and the supporting details? The teacher will answer
questions. Alright everyone. The teacher will transition to practice
II. Opportunity for Practice:
Alright everyone! Today we have been discussing identifying the main idea and the
supporting details. So we know that the main idea is what the story is about. When we
look at a hamburger, what part of a hamburger represents the main idea? Student C?
Yes! The whole hamburger represents the main idea. Ok, so what represents the
supporting details? Student D? Yes! The pickles, the tomatoes, and the lettuce! Wonderful
job everyone. The teacher will introduce the news article. So now you are going to read a
news article on your own. We can read all different types of articles to determine the
main idea and supporting details. I found an article that I think you are going to LOVE!
This article has to do with pizza and robots. So what you are going to do now is work in
partner pairs. I will assign these to you. I want you to identify the main idea of the article
on the handout I give you and give me three supporting details from the article. I
attached the article for you to look back on to look if you need a reminder. The teacher

will partner the students through use of equity sticks. She will give each group a handout.
Alright groups, I want you and your partner to spread throughout the room and work on
this. Bring a book to have a hard surface to write on! The teacher will circulate the room
as the students work. She will give the students 10 minutes to complete the practice.
Alright boys and girls, excellent job! Come back to the carpet please. Put your handouts
back on my table on your way. The teacher will wait. Awesome everyone. I loved seeing
you all work so hard. I want to compliment Student D and Student E for working so
diligently. I really appreciate that! The teacher will wait. So, you all just read the article
about a new pizza delivering robot! Lets talk about the main idea here. I want to hear
what you discussed with your partner. The teacher will call on three students. I loved
your thoughts here. So the main idea here is that there is a robot that can deliver pizza.
Good! So what were some supporting details here from the reading? The teacher will call
on two students. Excellent! So we see that a robot delivered its first pizza in March. That
shows us that the robot can actually deliver pizza. Another supporting detail is that the
robot uses navigation to get to the houses. That shows us how the robot can deliver pizza.
Awesome job! So you all have read and identified the main idea and supporting details of
many different articles and stories so far. Wonderful job! Transition to assessment
III. Assessment
The teacher will review. So earlier I told you that were going to discuss main idea. I said
that by the end of the day, you would read a passage and give me the main idea! You also
would be able to give me three details from the passage that support the main idea. So
now, it is your turn to do this on your own. I want to see how you identify the main idea. I
am going to give you this passage. The teacher will hold up the passage. I am reading the
directions now for you, but you can look back for help on your own. Read the passage.
Circle the main idea below. Then, identify three supporting details from the passage that
support the main idea of the passage in the boxes below. The teacher will send the
students to their seats. She will pass out the assessment. Boys and girls, I want you to
quietly walk back to your tables. I will pass this out to you when you are quiet. The
teacher will pass the assessment to the students. When you are finished, turn this into the
box. The teacher will give the students 12 minutes to complete the assessment.
IV. Closure:
The teacher will call the students to the carpet. She will refer back to the anchor chart.
Alright everyone, come back to the carpet please. I am very impressed by you all! You
were wonderful listeners and worked diligently. I really appreciate it! So lets talk about
the main idea. What does it mean when I say that the main idea is the whole hamburger?
The teacher will call on a student. Yes! It means that the main idea is the point of the
whole story. So why are supporting details important? The teacher will call on a student.
Yes! Supporting details support the main idea. They help us understand the main idea.
Good job everyone! So what I want to do now is take this a step further. The teacher will
write I USED TO THINK on the board. Lets talk about what you thought main idea
meant before this lesson. Turn and talk to a partner for a second to discuss what you used
to think about main idea and details. The teacher will give the students one minute to
discuss. Alright, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Back to your spots please. Ok, what are some things that
you used to think about main idea? The teacher will call on five students to share. She

will write their responses on sticky notes and stick them to the board. Wonderful. Now I
want to know what you think now about main idea. The teacher will write NOW I THINK
on the board. She will call on five students to share their responses on sticky notes and
stick them to the board. Excellent job! It looks like you really have an understanding of
main idea! The teacher will dismiss the students back to their desks.
Materials and Resources:
Bag
Cake mix
Icing
Picture of measuring spoons and oil
anchor chart
white board
expo markers
hurricane passage (attached)
Whats So Special About Planet Earth
Flashcards (5 per bag)
23 ziploc bags
practice news article from DOGO news (attached)
handout for practice
assessment
Differentiation Strategies (including plans for individual learners):
Students in the green zone:
The students will look at the main idea handout where they must match sentences to the
different main ideas.
Students in the red zone:
The teacher will give the students main idea task cards to complete in a small group.
Data Analysis:
I was able to assess the practice. Due to time constraints, the students were not able to
write five details from the story, but I used what we had. The students did surprisingly
well on this, because main idea and supporting details is a hard concept to grasp. The
majority of these students are in the yellow zone. Nine students were in the yellow zone.
These students were able to identify one to two supporting details that supported the main
idea. I saw that they understood the main idea, but they still need support to ensure that
they understand that supporting details help us understand the main idea. There were six
students in the green zone. I was completely impressed with these students responses.
They identified three supporting details, and all of these reflected the main idea. There
were six students in the red zone. These students possibly identified the main idea and
wrote that down, but their details either had nothing to do with the main idea or there
simply were no details altogether. I see that another lesson would benefit the majority of
these students, but I am very pleased with the data from this lesson.

Reflection:
I was honestly unsure how this lesson would go at the beginning. I have always
heard that main idea is incredibly hard to teach, so I wondered how I would teach this to
the students. I am very pleased with how the students took this, and I think that my
examples and teaching gave them more clarity. If I was the teacher, I would continue to
review main idea with the students, but I believe that students understood how to identify
the larger idea of main idea as well as the difference between supporting details and
interesting details.
I was so proud to see that my turn and talks actually worked! I originally said that
I did not like them, but I know the importance of having students talk and engage in a
lesson. I wanted to allow the students to have time to share their ideas and discuss how to
identify supporting details. The students all had wonderful conversations. I wish that
there was a way I could hear all of these conversations, but I think that talking helps
students process their thoughts. Also, I included the suitcase activity in the teaching, and I
think it kept the students engaged throughout the teaching. I only made it to the teaching
section, but this helped me understand their understanding.
If I could change anything, I think I would have explained main idea even more. I
am not entirely sure how I would have done this, but I think I should have explained that
main idea is not necessarily one word, such as hurricanes, but an idea. I still am unsure of
how this would work, but I think the students needed a further explanation. I did not
provide the students enough time to do the suitcase activity, and I wish that I had had
more time to do this with them.

Dr. Bluiett was very encouraging. She was kind and really supportive. I asked her
about suggestions or recommendations, and she did not have any to give me. That was
good to hear! She really encouraged me with my anchor charts and visuals. She also
loved my engagement. She told me that I kept the students engaged the entire time, and
that was wonderful! I was very encouraged by her compliments about my classroom
management. That is something that I have been trying to work on, so that was very
reassuring!
Evaluation
I attached my evaluation behind my resources. She was very encouraging and uplifting
for the whole lesson. I am very pleased with how this lesson turned out, and I appreciated
hearing her feedback.

Hurricanes

Hurricanes are large, intense

storms that begin over the
ocean, where they gather
heat and energy from the
water. Hurricanes move
slowly toward land, usually
moving 10-20 miles per hour
for more than one week. The
most dangerous part of the
hurricane is the storm surge,
when it reaches land and
causes flooding. Wind and

Meet DRU- The Worlds First Pizza Delivery Robot!

What's more exciting than having a fresh hot pizza delivered to
your door? How about having it brought to you by a robot?
Thanks to Dominos Robotic Unit or DRU, that just became a
reality! On March 8, the three-feet tall robot delivered its first
pizza to some lucky residents in Brisbane, Australia.The fully
autonomous DRU is the result of a collaboration between
Domino's Pizza Australia and Sydney-based startup Marathon
Robotics. The 450-pound machine that travels at a maximum
speed of 12.4 miles an hour can traverse a distance of up to 12miles and back, before requiring a battery recharge. LIDAR, a
laser-based sensor technology similar to the one used in selfdriving cars, enables DRU to detect and avoid obstacles, while
traditional sensors, much like those used in vacuum robots
ensure its path is safe as it heads to its destination. Though
Domino's has thus far built just a single prototype, they expect
additional DRU's to be ready for service in their various
Queensland locations within the next six months. But don't
expect these super cute robots to replace humans anytime soon.
According to Domino's the DRU still needs extensive testing,
which the company believes could take up to two years. And then
there is also the issue of regulations. The public use of
autonomous vehicles is still banned in most countries. But Don
Meij, the CEO and Managing Director of Dominos Pizza Australia
New Zealand Ltd, is not worried. He is "confident that one day
[DRU] will become an integral part of the Dominos family. We
for one cannot wait!
Meet DRU- The Worlds First Pizza Delivery Robot!
What's more exciting than having a fresh hot pizza delivered to
your door? How about having it brought to you by a robot?
Thanks to Dominos Robotic Unit or DRU, that just became a
reality! On March 8, the three-feet tall robot delivered its first
pizza to some lucky residents in Brisbane, Australia.The fully
autonomous DRU is the result of a collaboration between
Domino's Pizza Australia and Sydney-based startup Marathon
Robotics. The 450-pound machine that travels at a maximum
speed of 12.4 miles an hour can traverse a distance of up to 12-

miles and back, before requiring a battery recharge. LIDAR, a

laser-based sensor technology similar to the one used in selfdriving cars, enables DRU to detect and avoid obstacles, while
traditional sensors, much like those used in vacuum robots
ensure its path is safe as it heads to its destination. Though
Domino's has thus far built just a single prototype, they expect
additional DRU's to be ready for service in their various
Queensland locations within the next six months. But don't
expect these super cute robots to replace humans anytime soon.
According to Domino's the DRU still needs extensive testing,
which the company believes could take up to two years. And then
there is also the issue of regulations. The public use of
autonomous vehicles is still banned in most countries. But Don
Meij, the CEO and Managing Director of Dominos Pizza Australia
New Zealand Ltd, is not worried. He is "confident that one day
[DRU] will become an integral part of the Dominos family. We
for one cannot wait!

Whats the Main

Idea???
Names:
Directions: Read the article attached. Then identify the main idea
with your partner. Search the article to then find three supporting
details that support the main idea.

Main Idea:

Supporting Details:

1.

2.

Name:___________________________

3.

Directions: Read the passage below. Circle the letter of the

correct answer to the question about main idea. Then, write
three supporting details from the text that support the main
idea in the boxes below!

Giraffes
Did you know that giraffes are the tallest animals in
the world? They are unique in other ways, too. For
one thing, they sleep only about 20 minutes each
day, and usually not more than five minutes at a
time. They have to remain alert for predators! Also,
every giraffes coat is unique, and varies in color
from white to nearly black, depending on what they
eat and where they live.
What is the MAIN IDEA of this passage?
a. Giraffes do not sleep much
b. Giraffes are unique animals
c. Giraffes are the tallest animals in the world
d. Giraffes have different coats
Give three supporting details from this passage that support
the main idea: