CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.2
The Standard
Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Informational Text
What This Standard Means
Students need to name the main idea of an informational text, not just pick an interesting fact. They also need to point to details that prove that main idea. After reading, they should be able to give a short summary that includes the main idea and the most useful details, without retelling every section.
Mastery looks like a student saying, “This article is mostly about how beavers change habitats,” then naming two or three facts that support it. Students often get stuck by choosing a topic instead of a main idea, copying a sentence without thinking, or adding small details that do not matter much.
Ways to Teach It
- Give pairs a short article, sticky notes, and three labels: main idea, strong detail, weak detail.
- Ask students to write: What is the author mostly teaching us, and which two details prove it best?
- Use an exit ticket with a new paragraph: one main idea sentence and two supporting details from the text.
- Read a school lunch menu article and have students summarize the main point for the principal in three sentences.
Plan a Lesson for CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.2
Generate a complete lesson plan aligned to this standard, with objectives, activities, and materials. Free, no account needed.
Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.2
Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.2
Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.2
Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.2
Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.