Main Idea Small Group Lesson Plans and Nonfiction Reading Passages

This resource is included in the Stellar Literacy Collective. Click here to find out more.

Do you ever struggle to find resources to help you teach your students to find the main idea of nonfiction texts? With these 12 ready-to-print main idea lesson plans, you will have everything you need to teach your small group lessons on finding the main idea! Each lesson set includes everything you need for an effective small group lesson. You’ll get scripted teacher lesson plans, student reading passages, a strategy card (aka mini-anchor chart) for your lesson objective, and a response sheet with a graphic organizer and comprehension questions connected to the focus of your nonfiction lessons focused on finding the main idea.

These strategy lessons work great for your small group instruction, but you could also use them for the whole group lessons you plan on teaching during your unit on main idea. From helping students to connect the main idea to the topic to having them look for the topic sentence in each paragraph to having them look for repeated words or phrases to having them use clues from text features or text structure. These strategies will help your students become more confident in their ability to identify the main idea of a nonfiction text.

This set of lesson plans makes teaching main idea easy. All the planning and prep work has been done for you. All you have to do is print and teach! Think about all the time you’ll save not having to hunt for a reading passage that has a clearly identifiable main idea and connects to the objective for the lesson. Each small group lesson includes everything you need.

HERE’S WHAT YOU GET:

• 12 Scripted out teacher lesson plans (perfect for small group instruction)
• 12 Passages to use with each lesson
• 12 Response pages (includes graphic organizer and response questions)
• 12 Strategy Cards (mini-anchor charts)
• Digital Version
• Teacher Guide

Check out the preview to learn more about this resource.

LET’S BREAK DOWN EACH LESSON ELEMENT:

• Scripted Teacher Lesson Plan – The small group lesson plans provide you with the exact language you need to say to make sure your students are mastering the objective for the lesson. It also provides you with a really easy-to-implement lesson framework that works great for small group lessons.
• Strategy Card – Each lesson also comes with a strategy card (like a mini anchor chart). This strategy card works great as a visual support during your lesson and students can take it with them at the end of the lesson.
• Student Passage – Each passage is short (less than one full page) so it can quickly be read during a small group lesson.  It is also written in a way that makes it really easy for the students to practice and apply the focus skill. You won’t have to worry if the text you give your students will work for the lesson objective.
• Response Page – If you want to extend your lesson or give your students an extension assignment, you can give them the response page which includes a graphic organizer focused on the lesson objective and three comprehension questions.
• Digital Version – There is also a digital version created using Google Slides so this resource will work during both face-to-face and virtual instruction.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Here is a list of all the objectives/focus skills for each lesson.

• Lesson #1 – Main Idea
• Lesson #2 – Topic vs. Main Idea
• Lesson #3 – Topic Sentence
• Lesson #4 – Multiple Main Ideas
• Lesson #5 – Heading Clues
• Lesson #6 – Repeated Words or Phrases
• Lesson #7 – Topics, Subtopics, Details
• Lesson #8 – Break it Up! (Main idea of smaller sections)
• Lesson #9 – Look at the Facts
• Lesson #10 – Give it a Title
• Lesson #11 – Main Idea Clues Before, During, and After Reading
• Lesson #12 – Read the Text Features

You’ll love getting everything you need to teach a small group lesson on main idea. Just think of all the hours you’ll save not having to type out your lesson plans, hunt for a passage that matches your lesson objective, and then come up with response questions/activities for your students to do after the lesson.

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN USE THIS RESOURCE IN YOUR CLASSROOM:

• Use these lessons during small group instruction to reinforce how to find the theme of nonfiction texts.
• Use as part of your guided reading lessons and spread out the reading and writing over multiple days.
• Use as part of test prep to help your students get ready to identify the main idea on their end-of-year test.
• Use passages during intervention to help support students who struggle to find main idea
• Use as part of your whole group lesson.
• Leave as part of your sub-plans – the scripted lesson plans make these resources really easy to follow.

LOVED BY BOTH TEACHERS AND STUDENTS: 

→ Your students will love the topics of the stories and texts included in this resource. The passages are high interest and will hold your student’s attention during the entire small group lesson.
→ You’ll love how quick and easy it is to prep your small group lessons. All you have to do is print the materials for the lesson you want to teach and you’re all set to teach. No more searching for reading passages or guided reading books or trying to find a passage that matches the skill you want to teach.

→Your students will love the “bite-sized” objective for each lesson. They won’t feel overwhelmed by what you are trying to teach them. They will feel confident in their ability to practice the one focus skill for each lesson.

→ You’ll love how easy the lesson structure is to follow. Each lesson follows the 4T model (clearly explained in the preview and lesson set). You can be confident that you will be using your small group time in a way that will actually move your students towards reaching their reading goals.

TEACHERS LIKE YOU SAID…

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️  Madison A. said “These are some of my favorite resources! Everything is nicely scaffolded, and I love the short lessons. These are perfect for guided reading!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️  Vanessa R. said, “Love the detailed lesson plans and the small anchor charts we can use for the lessons. Been great for my fourth graders and a good review for my sixth graders.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️  Allyson N. said, “This was a great way to reinforce strategies to help students determine the main idea for a nonfiction passage.”

**The resource is also included in The Stellar Literacy Collective.**

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