Determining the Main Idea and Identifying Relevant Details

Realidades
Nombre
Fecha
Lectura, p. 162
Determining the Main Idea and Identifying Relevant Details
To know the relevant details in a reading passage is to know which ones are most
important. The first step in identifying the relevant details is to identify the main idea of
the passage. The relevant details are the ones that help support the main idea. After
reading a passage, good readers ask themselves, “What is this passage mostly about?” and
“Which details in the passage help support, explain, or prove the main idea?”
Some readers are better able to identify the main idea and the relevant details when they
have a graphic organizer. The graphic organizer below presents the main idea as if it were
the roof of a house and the relevant details as the columns supporting the roof or main idea.
MAIN IDEA
DETAIL
DETAIL
DETAIL
DETAIL
Sample question:
2. Which statement below does NOT help support the main idea of the Lectura,
La comida de los atletas?
A Edwin Tenorio plays soccer for Barcelona, a professional team in Ecuador.
B The night before a game, a player drinks a liter of orange juice.
C For dinner, the athlete eats potatoes, lean meat, and more vegetables and fruits.
D A typical player eats a lot of bread with butter and jelly; yogurt; and tea.
12 Capítulo 3B
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1. On page 162 of your textbook, re-read the Lectura, La comida de los atletas. After
reading, write the statements below in their appropriate place in the above graphic
organizer. One statement is irrelevant; it is neither the main idea nor a supporting detail.
• Para la cena el atleta come papas, carne sin grasa y más verduras y frutas.
• Los jugadores de fútbol comen comidas equilibradas con muchos carbohidratos,
minerales y vitaminas.
• Edwin Tenorio es jugador del Barcelona, un equipo professional en Ecuador.
• La noche antes del partido, el jugador bebe un litro de jugo de naranja.
• Un jugador típico come mucho pan con mantequilla y jalea, yogur y té.
• Para el almuerzo antes del partido, come pan, pasta, pollo sin grasa, verduras,
frutas y una ensalada.