Virginia SOL 1.RI.1.B
The Standard
Identify the main idea and supporting details of a text.
Virginia Standards of Learning for English · Key Ideas and Confirming Details
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students tell what an informational text is mostly about. They point to facts, examples, or pictures that explain and support that big idea.
What Mastery Looks Like
- After reading or hearing a short informational text, students state its key point in their own words. They identify two facts or pictures that clearly support it.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may name only the topic, such as “frogs,” instead of telling the key point about frogs. They may choose an interesting fact or picture that does not support the key point.
How to Assess It
- Read a four-sentence animal paragraph aloud. Ask, “What is this mostly telling us, and which two sentences help you know?”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs sentence and picture cards from a short animal text to sort into “big idea” and “helping facts” groups.
Read a short paragraph, then ask students to complete: “The author wants me to know that ___ because ___.”
Play Detail Detective by reading three facts and having students hold up a magnifying glass card when a fact supports the key point.
Examine a school lunch notice and identify its main message and two facts families need to know.
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Printable 1.RI.1.B Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 1.RI.1.B, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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Related Standards
- 2.RI.1.B
Retell key details of texts that demonstrate an understanding of the main topics of texts.
- 4.RI.1.A
Summarize the main idea of multi-paragraph texts and the specific paragraphs within them, explaining how key details support the main ideas.
- 3.RI.1.A
Determine the main idea of multi-paragraph texts as well as specific paragraphs within them.
- K.RI.1.B
With prompting and support, identify the main topic and key details of a text
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