Last April I wrote about an activity I used with some of my 3rd and 4th grade students who were having difficulty identifying main idea and details. The activity included a bag, filled with different items that somehow went together.
As I slowly pulled the items out of the bag, we discussed how they went together and made predictions about what the main idea of the bag could be. Each time I pulled something out, I would reinforce how we didn't know for sure what the bag was for, because we had not yet seen all of the items. The last item was the one, key item that really tied everything together. It was the detail to best support the main idea.
I wanted to demonstrate to the students that even though they thought they knew what the bag was for after seeing one or two items, they needed to see all of the items in the bag before they could make a final conclusion. I tied it back to text explaining that it was just like reading a paragraph, they must read through the entire paragraph, not stopping after the first or second sentence.
If you click on the picture above, it will bring you to my original post to download the graphic organizer and the lesson plan for the lunch bag. Below are the items I used for two additional bags, using the same graphic organizer.
As I slowly pulled the items out of the bag, we discussed how they went together and made predictions about what the main idea of the bag could be. Each time I pulled something out, I would reinforce how we didn't know for sure what the bag was for, because we had not yet seen all of the items. The last item was the one, key item that really tied everything together. It was the detail to best support the main idea.
I wanted to demonstrate to the students that even though they thought they knew what the bag was for after seeing one or two items, they needed to see all of the items in the bag before they could make a final conclusion. I tied it back to text explaining that it was just like reading a paragraph, they must read through the entire paragraph, not stopping after the first or second sentence.
If you click on the picture above, it will bring you to my original post to download the graphic organizer and the lesson plan for the lunch bag. Below are the items I used for two additional bags, using the same graphic organizer.
This activity could be used in so many different ways!
What other types of bags could we make?
I beyond love this. Smart. I want to try!
ReplyDelete- Lisa
a teachers bag of tricks
This is a great idea - thank you!
ReplyDeleteBuzzing with Ms. B
This is an awesome idea. I know a teacher who has a fake bag of garbage and she claims she stole it from her neighbor who just moved in to the neighborhood. She does a big inference lesson with her 3rd graders by having the kids infer things about this "new neighbor" as they take one item out of the garbage bag at a time and try to figure out what the new neighbor's story is. Her kids go crazy for it every year- and year after year they all believe she really stole the garbage from her neighbor's can! Lol.
ReplyDeleteI love following your blog- come visit me too!
Sarah
The Eager Teacher
Thanks for sharing! I have teachers asking me for help in how to model main idea because they feel like they have done it every way but still need to work on it. I am going to share this post with them.
ReplyDeleteThinking Out Loud
This is great! It is a little to advanced for my kiddos but I will definitely be directing my upper grade teachers to this
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing
Ms. Patterson
Pocket Full of Kinders
You're welcome and thank you all! I love the neighbor's garbage idea Sarah! How clever!! ~ Julie
ReplyDeleteOOOOH! I love this! Main idea is a hard one for my first graders. Thanks for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteLyndsey
A Year of Many Firsts
You're welcome! I hope you had fun!
DeleteOther ideas: seeds, dirt, watering can, mini greenhouse, pot and trowel.
ReplyDeletebaseball glove, baseball, batting glove, hat and a print out of a ticket. Another one: wallet, fake money, coupons, shopping list, and reusable shopping bag. What about a blank letter, pen, address book, stamps and a letter that someone wrote to you?
These are GREAT ideas Barb! Love them!
DeleteThanks for sharing!!!