Read
Read the entire paragraph to get
an idea of what the paragraph is about. You may find it helpful
to whisper the words as you read or to form a picture in your mind
of what you are reading. Once you have a general idea of what the
paragraph is about, go on to the next step.
Examine
Examine each sentence in the paragraph to identify the
important words that tell what the sentence is about. Ignore the
words that are not needed to tell what the sentence is about. If
you are allowed to, draw a line through the words to be ignored.
For each sentence, write on a sheet of paper the words that tell
what the sentence is about.
Decide
Reread the words you wrote for each sentence in the paragraph.
Decide which sentence contains the words you wrote that best describe
the main idea of the paragraph. These words are the main idea of
the paragraph. The sentence that contains these words is the topic
sentence. The other words you wrote are the supporting details for
the main idea.
Write
Write the main idea for each paragraph in your notebook.
This will provide you with a written record of the most important
ideas you learned. This written record will be helpful if you have
to take a test that covers the reading assignment.
