Main idea can feel like one of those skills students should “just know,” but the truth is that many of them don’t. They try to guess the main idea before they really understand what the text is about, and the whole skill starts to feel confusing and frustrating.
Instead, students should move from sorting details to choosing main ideas to writing their own. This approach makes the concept stick because they build it from the ground up instead of trying to guess it out of thin air.
Here is the method I use, step by step, along with a look at my Main Idea and Supporting Details Puzzles that helps keep the process hands-on and fun.
Step 1: Start With Only the Details
Each puzzle includes a main idea card, several supporting detail cards, and a few distractors. I always hide the main idea card at the beginning and only give students the details.
I tell them, “These are clues. What do these details have in common?”
They sort, reread, and talk it out. If the details are about coral reefs, students might say, “It is about coral reefs.” I push them a little further and ask them to turn that into a full sentence that communicates the big idea. That is when I reveal several possible main ideas.
Choosing from multiple options helps students see the difference between a topic and a true main idea. You can see the lightbulbs go on because they built the idea themselves.
Step 2: Flip It and Sort the Details
After students understand how a main idea grows out of details, switch the task. This time, they get the main idea card first and a mix of details, some correct and some not.
Their job is to decide which details actually support that main idea.
This is where great discussions happen. Students justify their choices, question each other, and start recognizing the kind of precise thinking they will need for standardized tests and real reading comprehension work.
Step 3: Move Into Writing the Details
Once they can match main ideas and sort details, we shift into writing, give students a short passage along with the main idea. Their task is to pull the supporting details directly from the text and write them in.
Students write better when they have something specific to write about, and this step gives them that structure. They do not have to invent details. They simply lift them from the text, which is exactly what real comprehension requires.
Step 4: Write the Main Idea Independently
Finally, move to the ultimate goal. Students receive a passage and a list of details, and they write the main idea on their own.
By the time they reach this step, they already understand the structure. They have seen the process, played with the pieces, and practiced the thinking. This is the moment where the skill solidifies.
The full progression looks like this:
- Match the main idea
- Sort the supporting details
- List the supporting details from a passage
- Write the main idea independently
A Closer Look at the Main Idea and Supporting Details Puzzles
If you want something that gives students this kind of scaffolded practice without extra prep, my Main Idea and Supporting Details Puzzles are ready-to-go.
Students love the puzzle format because it turns reading into an active task. Teachers love it because it takes a confusing skill and turns it into something visual, concrete, and manageable.
You can check out the Main Idea and Supporting Details Puzzle Pack inside my TPT store if you want to try this hands-on approach with your own students.
How do you teach main idea? Leave a comment below!
Sonam
The Reading and Writing Nook 
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