Semester A Unit 3 Lesson 3
Introduction and Objective
Every text is written for a reason. Along with the purpose of the text comes the central idea, or what the text is about. Think about the different types of texts you have read in all your different classes. What was the idea behind some of them?
Today 's lesson objective is: Students will be able to determine the central idea of a text.
Think about a text you have read recently. Was it a text on science or history? Maybe it was a narrative? What was the idea behind the text? A text about the life of a slave might have the central idea of “the struggle of slavery.” How would we find the central idea as we read? Maybe we would make a list of details we saw in the text. We would
…show more content…
The entire text has a central idea, so does each section and chapter, as well as each paragraph.
Not only does a nonfiction text have a central idea, so does each section, chapter and paragraph. Let’s look at some example paragraphs from your book, The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl, and determine the central idea.
Example 1:
Throughout the Great Plains, a visitor passes more nothing than something. Or so it seems. An hour goes by on the same straight line and then up pops a town on a map- Twitty, Texas, or Inavale, Nebraska. The town has slipped away, dying at some point without funeral or proper burial.
What is the central idea of this paragraph from the Introduction section of the text? Look at the highlighted words. We know the topic is the Great Plains, but what is the central idea? The central idea, from looking at the details, is the Great Plains is empty and desolate. We see this with the use of nothing, slipped away, dying and an hour goes by on the same straight line…nothing is there.
Example 2:
Key West is an extraordinary habitat off the coast of the United States. A long sandy beach runs into the Atlantic Ocean. Barren dunes are home to many animals and creatures. This is a place families go on vacation year after year.
What is the central idea? Look at the repetition of island, the mention of Key West specifically, which helps the
Key West is many people's paradise. It has dazzling waters, beautiful beaches, and a wonderful climate. This tiny island is located off the southernmost part of Florida is the only true tropical island in the United States. Thousands of people from all over the world come to Key West every year for the relaxing lifestyle and rich culture. As well as being rich in culture it is rich in history too. Key West has also been the home to many great authors and artists and is known for having a very diverse population.
RI.3.2 Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.
Explain how the data collected will provide the data necessary to support or negate the hypothesis or proposition
In addition to including the most boring of details, Capote uses a great deal of imagery to describe the town and its residents. Focusing mostly on visual appeal, he describes the "sulphur-colored paint" and "flaking gold" to reveal the town's appearance and has-been status. Portraying the area as one that has seen better days, Capote writes about the "old stucco structure" that no longer holds dances, the crumbling post office, and the bank that now fails to serve its original purpose.” Combining visual imagery with hints of desolation, Capote attempts to reveal the gray and boring nature of the town through its appearance. He does not, however, rely only on visual details; in describing the local accent as "barbed with a prairie twang," he uses both auditory and visual appeal to make one imagine a ranch-hand's tone of voice and pattern of speech as he describes the events of his farming days. The "hard blue skies and desert-clear air" contribute to a feeling of emptiness, an emotional vacancy that seems omnipresent in the small town. Finally, even "the steep and swollen grain elevators" that represent the town's prosperity are seen in a solemn and mysterious light, as Capote makes certain to mention that the townspeople camouflage this abundance without explaining why they choose to do so.
ELA-Literacy.RL.6.2: Determine a theme of central idea of a text and ho it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
Choose passages that speak to you. Consider the parts of the book that made you stop and reflect on what was read. Consider what you may highlight or annotate. Consider the text that may lead to thematic, character, or literary convention analysis. Make connections to the text (text-text, text-self, and text–world). Analyze the style of the text—reflect on elements like symbols, imagery, metaphors, point of view, etc. Apply the different literary critical approaches with which you are familiar.
AO4 = relate texts to their social, cultural and historical contexts; explain how texts have been influential and significant to self
2. Identify the author’s main idea(s). In other words, what is the main point the author is attempting to make about the book?
How does the author position the reader towards the major theme using the narrative elements?
His father and his mother. 4. What is the main over-all purpose (theme or thesis or lesson) of the book? We need to put value on history and learn something from it.
The process for finding an implied main idea is to first, read the passage entirely. Next, examine individual details to see how they relate to the common thread. Finally, put the details together to find out what the main idea is.
In many poems, short stories, plays, television shows and novels an author usually deals with a main idea in each of their works. A main reason they do this is due to the fact that they either have a strong belief in that very idea or it somehow correlates to an important piece of their life overall. For example the author Thomas Hardy likes to deal with the idea of loss in many different ways within his poems some being positive and some being negative. William Butler Yeats has a main philosophical idea which he sticks to and portrays in his poems he believes once you die
Theme gives the reader a general idea about what the piece of literature is about. The character’s action and thoughts takes part in creating the theme. Animal farm was a book about animals taking control of the farm from their tyrannic farmer. The animals attempts to make the farm a democracy, but Napoleon, the pig leader, takes over and eventually becomes the new tyrant. The Pearl was about a family, Kino, Juana, Coyotito, who catches a huge pearl. They go through a journey to get away from any harm such as the trackers. In the book Animal Farm and the book The Pearl, the two characters, Napoleon and the Doctor, created a theme that greed can change their perspective.
Based on the Play ‘Trifles’ written by Susan Glaspell, the literary element that I would like to suggest is theme. Theme is used to convey the main idea of a story, novel, play or drama to create a better understanding of the readers about the story. In the Play ‘Trifles’, the themes that I found aregender differences and oppression of women.
Before the 20th Century, literature was pretty straightforward; the narrators were reliable, the timelines were linear, and the perspective was clear, but then somebody got the idea to mix it up. This is how we got books such as The Great Gatsby and one of our class texts, Orlando. For some, this was a startling and uncomfortable transition from what used to be considered the, “normal” format which was very up front in terms of structure and voice. Others found it to be more exciting and, while it was still weird and unsettling for those people, it forced people to think more about what the books were trying to communicate, instead of just being handed the message; they had to work for it. This has become one of the leading reasons that societies are encouraged to read; if you read a book that forces you to think, your mind becomes stronger and this promotes an increase in intelligence and creativity.