Main Idea and Details Extraction
Identify the main idea and two supporting details from an expository passage.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Have the student read the whole passage before saying anything. Three sentences is short enough to hold and long enough that the main idea is not simply the first sentence — the bridge passage in particular puts the main idea first and then two supports, while others do not. Ask which sentence they would delete if they had to lose one, which is a good backdoor into what is central.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- Question promptAsk a story-grammar question: who, where, what was the problem, what happened next?Log as cued
- Two choicesOffer two possible next parts of the story and let the student pick and say it.Log as cued
- ModelTell that part yourself; the student tells it back in their own words.Log as cued
Adjust it
Use fewer parts, and keep a first-next-last visual on the table.
Ask for the retell without the pictures, with a feeling or a reason added to each part.
Matching IEP goal
Given a picture or story prompt, Student will explain a topic with a main idea and supporting details in 4 of 5 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than one question prompt.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Eight three-sentence passages with a main idea and two details to extract: sea turtles hatch on the beach at night and crawl toward the ocean, most never reach adulthood, scientists protect the nests with cages; bridges are built with triangles because triangles do not bend under weight, engineers test models first, a weak joint can bring down a whole span. Longer than the single-sentence board, which makes the main idea harder to see.
What to listen for
Watch whether the student defaults to the first sentence. It is often the main idea and sometimes is not, and a student who always chooses it has a rule rather than a skill. Notice the honeybee passage, where the main idea is about roles and the last sentence is a consequence — students frequently pick the most striking sentence rather than the organising one.
Carrying it home
Ask what the whole paragraph was about, not what happened in it. The difference between those two questions is the difference between summary and recall.
What's in this activity
- Sea turtles hatch on the beach at night and crawl toward the ocean. Most never reach adulthood. Scientists protect the nests with cages. — Main idea + 2 details?
- The Sahara is the largest hot desert on Earth. It gets less than three inches of rain a year. Some animals there never drink water at all. — Main idea + 2 details?
- Bridges are built with triangles because triangles do not bend under weight. Engineers test models first. A weak joint can bring down a whole span. — Main idea + 2 details?
- A honeybee colony has one queen, thousands of workers, and a few drones. Each has a different job. Without workers, the hive dies. — Main idea + 2 details?
- Earthquakes happen when plates of rock slip past each other. Buildings in earthquake zones are designed to sway. Warning systems give people seconds to take cover. — Main idea + 2 details?
- Astronauts exercise two hours a day in space. Without gravity, muscles and bones weaken fast. Even so, they return to Earth weaker than they left. — Main idea + 2 details?
- Owls fly almost silently because of fringed feathers. Their eyes cannot move in their sockets, so they turn their heads. They swallow prey whole. — Main idea + 2 details?
- Rain forests cover a small part of the Earth but hold half its species. Many plants there are used to make medicine. Logging removes thousands of acres a year. — Main idea + 2 details?
Questions
- How is this different from the shorter main idea board?
- Passages here are three sentences rather than one, so the main idea has to be identified across sentences rather than read off a single one.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all eight passages play with no account.
- What grades is it for?
- Third through sixth.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.