Minds On
Let’s unpack!
Student Success
Think-Pair-Share
Examine the following picture and think about what is happening in it.
Note to teachers: See your teacher guide for collaboration tools, ideas and suggestions.
Action
What’s the story mostly about?
In the Minds On, did you guess option b? If so, you are correct.
The main idea of the picture is that the children are playing basketball.
How do we find the main idea? The main idea is what something is mostly about.
Definitions
- In this example, the main idea is that the children are playing basketball.
- Detail 1: The children are running.
- Detail 2: The children have a basketball.
- Detail 3: The children are in a school gymnasium.
These details support the main idea like the legs of a stool.
Details support the main idea just as the legs support this stool.
The stories we read also have a main idea.
Let’s practise picking out the main idea in a poem.
My backpack weighs a thousand pounds!
Explore Jack Prelutsky’s poem, “My Backpack Weighs A Thousand Pounds.”
My Backpack Weighs a Thousand Pounds
- My backpack weighs a thousand pounds,
- It’s fatter than a cow!
- I don’t know how I carry it,
- But I do it anyhow.
- It’s filled with books and papers
- That my teacher says I need---
- She never lets me lighten it,
- No matter how I plead.
- Sometimes it tips me backward,
- It’s a wonder I don’t fall.
- Sometimes I have to stop and rest
- And lean against a wall.
- I tell you, from experience,
- It’s not a lot of fun
- When you have to lug a backpack
- That’s about a half a ton.
If you would like, you can listen to the poem:
“My Backpack Weighs a Thousand Pounds”
Brainstorm
Share your thoughts
Once you have read and/or listened to the poem, read and/or listen to it a second time. Then consider these questions:
- What is this poem about? (Use the words and the pictures to help you to figure this out)
- What is this poem mostly about?
Complete What’s the Main Idea? in your notebook or use the following fillable and printable document. Draw a picture that shows what the poem is mostly about. Then write a sentence that describes your picture. As an extra challenge, you can record three details that helped you find the main idea.
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Title of poem:My Backpack Weighs a Thousand Pounds Author: Jack Prelutsky |
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Draw a picture of the main idea: |
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Write a sentence describing your picture: |
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Extra challenge List three details that support the main idea:
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Press the ‘Activity’ button to access What’s the Main Idea?
You can also record your thinking using another method of your choice. For example, you can type, write, or use speech to text to record a description of a picture that comes to mind. You can even create an audio or video recording! It’s up to you.
Consolidation
What's important?
Student Success
Think-Pair-Share
Reflect: What are the most important parts of the poem that support your main idea?
Record your ideas using a method of your choice.
If possible, share your ideas with a partner.
Note to teachers: See your teacher guide for collaboration tools, ideas and suggestions.
Reflection
How do you feel about what you have learned in this activity? Which of the next four sentences best matches how you are feeling about your learning? Press the button that is beside this sentence.
I feel...
Now, record your ideas about your feelings using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.