Main Idea-The Great Kapok Tree

This lesson builds on the introduction to finding the main idea, and assumes that you have already been working with your students on finding main ideas in texts. If not, you might want to use the introductory lesson, Chrysanthemum. Finding main ideas is a key skill in the process of making sense of text.This lesson guides students through the process of finding the main idea by using graphic organizers. It shows students how to use a Who/What/Why chart as a way of summarizing some of the important parts of a book.  Students complete a graphic organizer to find the main idea of each page, and then tell the main idea of the story. This lesson is designed to be taught after students have a background knowledge of main idea. The use of the "who", "what", "where" questions helps student to focus on the key details. This lesson is designed to continue working with primary students to find the main idea as a reading comprehension strategy. The lesson uses the book, The Great Kapok Tree, by Lynne Cherry, and has students complete a graphic organizer to find the main idea of each page, and then tell the main idea of the story. This is the third lesson of a set of lessons designed to teach about the main idea of a story.