| Tips > Reading Tips |
|
READING – Difficulty Finding the Main Idea and Topic Sentence TutorGiant The main idea of a paragraph tells us what the paragraph is about. The topic sentence, which is usually the first sentence, tells us the main idea of the paragraph. It is very important that students identify the topic sentence and main idea of a paragraph in order to understand the text. You can help your child identify the main idea and topic sentence in a paragraph by trying the following techniques: · Show your child many examples of paragraphs that contain a first sentence which is the topic sentence and main idea. Make sure your child understands this concept. Try to find topics that interest your child (e.g. sharks). · Explain to your child that the topic sentence is the most important sentence in the paragraph and that the following sentences support the topic sentence. Join Now for ONLY $9.95 Click to Join for a Lifetime Membership · Have your child use a colored highlighter (yellow for example) to highlight topic sentences and main ideas of paragraphs and then use a different color (green for example) to identify supporting sentences. · Explain to your child that the main idea, or topic sentence always introduces the who, what, how, or why of the topic. · Have your child write simple paragraphs containing topic sentences that express the main idea followed by supporting sentences. First get your child to identify then explain the structure of a paragraph (i.e. a topic sentence which is the main idea followed by supporting sentences) and then have your child construct his or her own paragraphs with the same structure. Try to follow these steps and your child will have little trouble finding the main idea and topic sentence and improve his or her reading skills. ©Tutorgiant.com
Tutorgiant.com provides complete Reading Comprehension lessons with worksheets. See some of the lessons in our video library. |
  |
