This worksheet, designed for any nonfiction text, should be first introduced to the large group, using a fairly easy article about a high interest subject. I like to start with an article about polar bears.
Give each child a copy of the article and ask volunteers to read (orally) one paragraph at a time. Stop at the end of each paragraph and ask them to use highlighters to indicate what they think is most important. Don’t surprised if students highlight a sentence like “Polar bears are cute”. Kids love cute things and believe that “being cute” is definitely important. 🙂
Once they’re finished with the article, have them get into small groups to discuss their choices. Remind them to find only four important ideas or facts. Do this with other types of nonfiction text and you’ll soon see how well they understand the concept.
Leave a Reply