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1st grade · English Language Arts · Unit 13 of 17

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.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) teks student expectation: 1.6(F); 1.6(G) · making inferences and finding important details

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Details are small facts in the story.
  2. Look back at the words to find them.
  3. 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 Texas

In the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), this is unit 13 of 17 in 1st grade English Language Arts, after Sound Play 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.

Source: Texas Education Agency (TEA)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    What time of year is it most likely?

    Sam put on his swimsuit.

    He packed a towel and goggles.

    The sun was hot, and the pool was blue.

    • winter
    • summer
    • fall

  2. Question 2

    What did Sam pack?

    Sam put on his swimsuit.

    He packed a towel and goggles.

    The sun was hot, and the pool was blue.

    • a hat and boots
    • a towel and goggles
    • a book and a lamp

  3. Question 3

    Where is Sam going?

    Sam put on his swimsuit.

    He packed a towel and goggles.

    The sun was hot, and the pool was blue.

    • to the library
    • to the pool
    • to the snow hill

  4. 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 goes to bed.
    • Lena feeds the birds.
    • Lena plants a tree.

  5. 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 is afraid of Lena.
    • It is sleepy.
    • It likes seeds.

  6. 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.

    • on a fence
    • on a door
    • in a tree

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