I Just Don't Get This 'Main Idea' Thing

Description of Learner:
Yung is a 46-year-old Korean woman whose goal is to complete the requirements for the External Diploma Program (EDP) as quickly as possible. She is highly goal-oriented and asks for lots of homework. She is quiet and respectful. She asks excellent questions and pursues them until she understands each concept.

Challenge Faced:
Yung does very well on reading tasks that ask her to read and answer literal or factual comprehension questions. She can read something and retell it in excellent detail, but when asked about the main idea, she is stumped. She says, "All these choices are true. How can I pick one?"

What We Did:
Since the concept of main idea is difficult for many of my students, I decided to do a group lesson. I used an article from the News for You newspaper because the reading level is appropriate for my students and the topic is one I knew would interest them - cutting taxes. Also, the publisher included eight questions of which two expressed main ideas and the rest were details.

First, looking at only the headline and picture, the students shared what they already knew and what they expected to find out. Then they were asked to read the article several times for different purposes; for each reading they were given a different question to keep in mind. The question for the third reading asked them to write down some ideas they thought were very important. After that I gave them the eight statements with instructions to pick out the two that expressed main ideas. They rearranged into groups of three to compare and defend their choices. When the groups reported to the class, all groups had chosen the same two. They worked in their groups again to combine the two statements into one main idea. Last, I challenged them to recall how they decided which statements to choose. "What were you thinking when you made that decision?"

Analysis:
The last task, thinking about their own thinking processes (metacognition), proved by far the most difficult. We approached it as a group and developed a list of 'tips' about finding a main idea. After this activity, Yung told me that the concept of main idea was starting to make sense to her. I think this activity was successful for several reasons: it built in rereading and time to think; it gave students an opportunity to explore ideas together; and it gave them a vehicle for reflecting on their learning.

What I learned:
I learned that it is very important for me to remember to ask students what they learned and how they learned it as part of every lesson. Asking these questions is important not only because they reinforce the skills just used, but because the learners are introduced to the idea of examining their own learning processes.

Yung, Group Discussion:

In your description of what you did, you said that writing important ideas was the third question when reading with a purpose. What were the first two?
The first required literal comprehension and the second involved making an inference, both are reading skills the group needed to practice. More importantly, it gave them reasons to read the passage several times and become very familiar with the material.

What were the tips they listed for finding the main idea?
I wish I had written them in a permanent way at the time! I could have posted them in the classroom and let the students use them for follow-up activities. But I didn't, and so the opportunity has passed, and I can no longer remember what they listed. I remember making sure that they put on the list something about the main idea pertaining to many areas of the passage and not just one or two parts of it.

Small group work seems like it might be the key to making this process successful. Why do you think that's true?
In a small group, no-one can sit back. All three members must really participate. In working with only one or two others, you can "think out loud" and be less self-conscious than when it's your turn to speak to the big group. Students must think of ways to defend their ideas. It helps them become more aware of the thinking process, their own and others'.

Why does it matter that they examine their own learning processes?
By examining their learning processes, students learn that they can control them and decide what kind of thinking strategy to try the next time. They realize that they have a repertoire of skills to choose from.

Summary:

Director's Comments:

It sounds like this was an excellent strategy that worked well.