1. MAIN IDEA
BY
TRACI STUART

2. Main Idea
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•
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What is it?
How do we find it?
How do we remember it?
Let’s try it.

3. What is main idea?
• Main idea tells what a story is mostly
about.
• When looking for main idea we must
think of what FINALLY happened in
the story.

4. How do we find the main
idea?
• Let’s use our hands!

5. How do we find the main
idea?
• The thumb stands for who.
• The who of a story is very important,
without knowing who the story is
about we can’t find the main idea.

6. How do we find the main
idea?
• The pointer finger stands for did
what.
• What did the main character finally
do?

7. How do we find the main
idea?
• The middle finger stands for where.
• Where did the main character do it?

8. How do we find the main
idea?
• The ring finger stands for when.
• When did the main character do it?

9. How do we find the main
idea?
• The pinky stands for why.
• Why did the main character do it?

11. How do we remember main
idea?
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Remembering is easy!!!
Just look at your fingers.
Thumb - Who?
Pointer - Did what?
Middle finger - Where?
Ring finger - When?
Pinky - Why?

12. Let’s try it!!
• Using the book Too Many Tamales and
our five fingers let’s find the main
idea.
• Remember to think about the word
FINALLY.
• What finally happened in the story?

13. Too Many Tamales
• Who?
• Maria and
her
cousins.

14. Too Many Tamales
• Did what?
• Ate all the
tamales.

15. Too Many Tamales
• Where?
• In the
kitchen.

16. Too Many Tamales
• When?
• On
Christmas
day.

17. Too Many Tamales
• Why?
• To try to
find
Maria’s
mother’s
ring.

18. Too Many Tamales
• Using all the information, write one
sentence that tells the main idea of
the story.
• Maria and her cousins ate all the
tamales on Christmas, in the
kitchen, because she was trying
to find her mother’s ring that she

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