Reading nonfiction: main idea and key details (grade 5) · lesson

Main ideas and claims

💡 A text can have two or more main ideas, and each is backed by several details.

A main idea is a big point that several details support. A longer text may have two main ideas.

In an argument, the main idea is called the claim. It is what the author wants you to believe. It is often near the end of the first paragraph.

Test a main idea. Can you find more than one detail that supports it? If only one sentence talks about it, it is a detail.

🧠 Let's work it out

A text about the moon says: moonlight brightens the night; the moon's pull makes ocean tides; astronauts walked on it in 1969; they brought moon rocks home.

Ask: which ideas have more than one detail?
The moon changes things on Earth. People have explored the moon.
So those are the two main ideas.

What do you think comes next?

main idea: a big point that details support
claim: the main point an author argues for

🔗 Key ideas and details, long passages (grade 5) · Khan Academy ↗

Find exact details

💡 When a question asks for a fact, find the exact words and answer with them.

Some questions ask for one fact, like a year, a place, or how often something happens.

Scan for a key word from the question. Then read the whole sentence. Make sure it answers the question asked.

Watch out for nearby facts that are close but wrong. A text may give two dates or two places.

🧠 Let's work it out

Question: In what year did the bridge open? Text: Work began in 1931. The bridge opened in 1937.

Ask: which sentence has opened? The second.
So the answer is 1937, not 1931.

What do you think comes next?

scan: to look quickly for a key word

Explain why events happen

💡 Explain events by linking each one to its cause.

Science and history texts explain why things happen. One event leads to another.

Look for cause words: because, so, as a result, this meant that.

One event can set off a chain. A change causes a second change, and that causes a third. Ask what came right before each change.

🧠 Let's work it out

Text: A storm knocked down the old bridge. As a result, the school bus had to drive the long way around the river, and kids got to school late.

Ask: why were kids late?
What came right before? The long drive.
And why the long drive? The bridge fell.
So the storm started the whole chain.

What do you think comes next?

cause: why something happens
effect: what happens as a result

Match details to ideas

💡 Each detail supports one idea, so match the detail to the idea it proves.

Authors use details to support each point. Facts, numbers, and examples are all details.

A detail can be true but support a different point. Read the paragraph that starts the point you need.

Ask: does this detail prove this exact idea?

🧠 Let's work it out

Idea: Dance class builds strength. Details: Kids hold hard poses that work their legs. They meet new friends. They jump again and again.

Ask: which details prove strength? Holding poses and jumping.
Meeting friends is a good thing, but it supports a different idea.

What do you think comes next?

support: to back up an idea with facts or examples

Summarize a text

💡 A summary tells the beginning, middle, and end of a text in a few sentences, without small details.

A summary is a short version. It includes the main ideas and leaves out details like exact numbers.

For a history text, tell what started it, what happened, and how it ended.

A summary uses your own words. It does not add opinions.

🧠 Let's work it out

Text about a town's first library: it opened in a church basement, grew too big, moved to a new building, and is now the largest in the county.

Ask: start, middle, end? A small start, growth, a big new home.
So the summary is: the library began small, grew fast, and moved into a large building.

What do you think comes next?

summary: a short retelling of the main ideas