Reading Anchor Standard 2 Level A/B

Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. (Apply this standard to texts of appropriate complexity as outlined by Standard 10.)

Leveled Standard A
Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text. (RI.1.2)

Leveled Standard B
Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea. (RI.3.2)

Teacher Notes

To meet this standard, students must be able to identify central ideas and themes, show how details convey the central ideas or themes, trace the development of central ideas or themes, and summarize the text.

For literature, students need an understanding of literary elements: plot, character, setting, theme, antagonistic forces, problems, resolution, conflict.

For informational texts, students need an understanding of central idea and supporting details.

Examples / Activities
Getting to Work on Time

Students at A level will be introduced to finding a main idea through pictures, and students with reading levels as low as first-grade equivalent will read a passage, retell it, and determine the main idea. Extension activities include practicing time management skills, including filling out a timesheet.

opens in a new window Workforce Readiness Skills:

1
Positive Work Ethic: focus on coming to work every day on time
6
Conflict Resolution: learn to call one’s employer if one is going to be late
8
Speaking and Listening: retell key details of a story; discuss ways to get to work on time with classmates
9
Reading and Writing: read sentences and short passage; write short answers
15
Time, Task, and Resource Management: think about ways to use time wisely
16
Mathematics: complete a time sheet (optional)
19
Information Technology: use online software to locate readings and practice literacy skills
20
Internet Use and Security: read a passage online

GED® Assessment Targets (RLA)
R.2.1 Comprehend explicit details and main ideas in text.
R.2.3 Make sentence level inferences about details that support main ideas.
R.2.4 Infer implied main ideas in paragraphs or whole texts.
R.2.5 Determine which detail(s) support a main idea.
R.3.5 Analyze the roles that details play in complex literary or informational texts.

Resources
opens in a new window Determining Importance: Helping Students Recognize Important Points in Content Text from Ohio State University
opens in a new window IXL.com Interactive Practice: Y.2 Determine the Themes of Myths, Fables, and Folktales
opens in a new window Marshall Adult Education Reading Skills for Today’s Adults
opens in a new window Mount Township Public Schools (NJ) Reading Anchors with Writing and Teacher Prompts
opens in a new window Text Dependent Question Stems Aligned to CCRS

ELA Activities for Level A / B

Understanding the Dyslexic Mind

In Part 1, students listen to a radio interview with a dyslexic journalist and answer questions about the details. In Part 2, students listen and read along to a radio piece about successful dyslexics. Students answer questions found in the reading. In Part 3, students analyze a graph showing the divergence of IQ and reading ability in dyslexics. Read More Understanding the Dyslexic Mind

Guest Speaker

Invite an informative guest speaker to class (or ask a student to speak to classmates about an area of expertise). Before the visit, have students plan the questions they will ask; during the visit, encourage students to ask follow-up questions. Read More Guest Speaker

America’s Skilled Workers: Vocabulary

Students read opens in a new window “Filling America’s Need for Skilled Workers” Newsela article at an appropriate Lexile level and underline unknown words or new vocabulary, transitional words, and specific vocabulary words related to jobs and economics. Students then use opens in a new window Quizlet to create online vocabulary cards. Finally, students create individual resumés for Virginia job/job markets that they are interested in. Read More America’s Skilled Workers: Vocabulary

Workplace Safety Presentations

Students read and listen to texts related to workplace safety. Then, students create their own multimedia presentations synthesizing the workplace safety lessons learned. Read More Workplace Safety Presentations

Categorizing Activity

Teacher models identifying key words in a nonfiction reading and sorting them into categories; students read another short passage and apply their categorization skills. Read More Categorizing Activity

More Activities