1st grade · English Language Arts · Unit 11 of 13
Think It Through
Main idea, details and clues
What your child practices
Reading a short story, finding the main idea and details, and using clues to work out what is not said.
Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 1.1.4.2; 1.1.4.4 · the central idea of a text and how its details connect
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- Details are small facts in the story.
- Look back at the words to find them.
- Use clues to guess what will happen next.
Example: Priya gets the dog’s leash. What will she likely do next? A leash is for taking a dog on a walk. She will take the dog outside. Answer: take the dog outside
Think It Through in Minnesota
In the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards, this is unit 11 of 13 in 1st grade English Language Arts, after Kinds of Sentences and before Messages All Around.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
What did Kenji do last?
Kenji drew a big red heart.
He wrote “For Grandma” on the front.
Then he put it in an envelope.
- He wrote a name.
- He put it in an envelope.
- He drew a heart.
He put it in an envelope.
Hint: Look at the last line.
Question 2
What is the main idea?
Kenji drew a big red heart.
He wrote “For Grandma” on the front.
Then he put it in an envelope.
- Kenji makes a card for Grandma.
- Kenji paints a fence.
- Kenji goes to sleep.
Kenji makes a card for Grandma.
Hint: Think about what he draws, writes and puts in the envelope.
Question 3
Who is the card for?
Kenji drew a big red heart.
He wrote “For Grandma” on the front.
Then he put it in an envelope.
- a teacher
- Grandma
- Kenji
Grandma
Hint: Reread the words on the front.
Question 4
What is the main idea?
Lena filled the bowl with seeds.
She hung it from the tree.
Soon a chickadee came to eat.
- Lena plants a tree.
- Lena goes to bed.
- Lena feeds the birds.
Lena feeds the birds.
Hint: What did Lena put in the bowl, and who came to eat?
Question 5
What do we know about the chickadee?
Lena filled the bowl with seeds.
She hung it from the tree.
Soon a chickadee came to eat.
- It likes seeds.
- It is sleepy.
- It is afraid of Lena.
It likes seeds.
Hint: The chickadee came to eat the seeds.
Question 6
Where did Lena hang the bowl?
Lena filled the bowl with seeds.
She hung it from the tree.
Soon a chickadee came to eat.
- in a tree
- on a fence
- on a door
in a tree
Hint: Reread the second line.