Reading nonfiction: central idea and key details (grade 7) · lesson

The central idea

💡 The best statement of the central idea covers the whole passage: what happened, why, and what came of it.

The central idea is what the whole text is about. A good statement often includes the main event, its cause, and its result.

Many answer choices will be true details. A detail only covers one part.

Check each choice against every paragraph. The central idea connects to all of them.

🧠 Let's work it out

Passage: a bridge in a town shakes in strong wind (paragraph 1).

Engineers find its design is too light (paragraph 2).
The bridge is rebuilt with braces, and new bridges copy them (paragraph 3).
"A weak bridge design was found and fixed, which changed how bridges are built" covers all three.

What do you think comes next?

central idea: the main point of a whole text

🔗 Khan Academy: Key ideas and details, longer passages (grade 7) · Khan Academy ↗

Key details and causes

💡 When a question asks "why" or "how" according to the passage, find the sentence that explains it.

Find the key word from the question in the passage. Then read the whole sentence and the one after it.

Cause words help: "because," "so," "as a result," and "this made." The cause is often right next to these words.

Pick the choice that matches what the passage says, not what sounds smart.

🧠 Let's work it out

Question: "Why did the lake freeze early?" Passage: "Cold air came down from the north. As a result, the lake froze two weeks early."

"As a result" links the cause to the effect.
The cause is the cold north air.

What do you think comes next?

cause: the reason something happens

Tracking the order of events

💡 Dates, time words, and causes help you put real events in the order they happened.

History passages are not always told in time order. Some start with the result, then go back.

Use dates and time words like "before," "later," and "that summer." A cause always comes before its effect.

🧠 Let's work it out

Events: a dam breaks; heavy rain falls for a week; the town builds a stronger dam; the river floods the town.

Rain comes first, then the dam breaks, then the flood.
Building a stronger dam is a response, so it is last.

What do you think comes next?

sequence: the order in which events happen

Claims, reasons, and evidence

💡 An argument's claim is what the author wants, and every reason should explain why.

The claim is usually stated early and repeated at the end. It tells what the author thinks should happen.

Reasons support the claim. Each one answers the question "why?" Look for paragraphs that start with signal words like "first" or "also."

Some questions ask for the author's exact reason for a smaller point. Find that point in the text and read the sentence that explains it.

🧠 Let's work it out

Essay: "Our school should start a garden club. Gardening teaches science. It also gives students fresh food to take home. It is fair because every student could join for free."

Claim: start a garden club.
Reasons: science, fresh food.
Why fair? Every student could join for free.

What do you think comes next?

claim: what the author wants readers to believe or do
reason: a statement that explains why the claim is right