Focus Question: How can we use the details and illustrations in an informational text to describe the key ideas?
Begin by displaying a bumper sticker such as “Hang up and drive” with a cellphone in a red crossed-out circle. Say, “Read the words and look at the picture on this bumper sticker. What is the key idea of the bumper sticker?” (Don’t talk on your cell phone while you are driving.) Provide confirmation and explanations as needed. Repeat this process with other bumper stickers.
Part 1
Review the following terms, perhaps writing them on a classroom chart for reference.
- Illustrations:Pictures or drawings.
- Informational text: Books that give information or facts about real people, things, or events.
- Details: Small pieces of information that support key ideas in a text.
- Key ideas: The most important ideas in a text.
Say, “We just looked at several bumper stickers. We looked at the illustrations as well as the words. These two pieces of information gave us clues about the key ideas of the bumper stickers. We use the same skills when we read an informational text. We use the details and the illustrations to describe the key ideas.”
Show students the book The Wonder of Bald Eagles. Say, “Now we are going to look at an informational book. Let’s take a picture walk and then you will talk with a partner about the things you notice in the text.” Turn the pages of the book to allow students to see the illustrations. Direct students’ attention to the use of pictures, captions, etc.
Relate this experience to analyzing the bumper stickers by saying, “On a bumper sticker, the key idea is shown through a few important words (details) and an illustration. Authors of informational texts often use illustrations and details to support the key ideas of the text.”
Say, “Our purpose today is to learn how to find important details in the text, use the illustrations to support our understanding, and then describe the key ideas of the text.”
Display the T-chart on chart paper (prepared ahead of time as specified in the Materials section above). Explain that you are going to read the first few pages of The Wonder of Bald Eagles and demonstrate how to find important details. As you read, you will document the important details in the T-chart.
Read page 5 and think aloud, demonstrating to students how you determine important details and use pictures and illustrations to support your thinking. Say, “The bald eagle must be important if it is used as a symbol on money. The author included a picture of coins to show how the eagle has been shown in many different ways on coins. The author also included a picture of an eagle that looks majestic and powerful.”
Explain that the eagle represents power and freedom. Document the important details on the left side of the T-chart. On the right side, document the key idea that eagles are often used as a symbol of power.
Read page 6 aloud. Ask, “How does the author describe the eagle?” (The eagle is dark with a white head. An eagle can soar high in the sky.) “How does the illustration add to the reader’s understanding?” (It shows what an eagle looks like.) Document the details on the T-chart.
When reading pages 7–9, help students identify details about the appearance of the eagle and document them on the left side of the T-chart. Read aloud the details you have written about the appearance of the eagle. Ask, “What is the key idea these details support?” Have students offer suggestions and then come to a consensus. Document the key idea on the right side of the T-chart. (e.g., Eagles look different when they are young and when they are adults.)
As you read aloud the next several pages, release responsibility to students to determine the important details and key ideas. Students may identify several details to support a single key idea. Finally, have students review the T-chart and ask them to describe the key idea of the text. (example: Eagles are amazing and important animals.) Ask, “How did the details and illustrations help you describe the key idea?” (The important details and illustrations all connect to the key idea.)
Part 2
Review with students the concept of important details and key ideas. Ask, “Why are details and illustrations important in an informational text?”(They help you understand the key ideas of the text.) “How do details and illustrations help you describe the key ideas in the text?” (Usually the details tell about the key ideas and the illustrations give you more information about them or help you understand information the author wrote in the text.)
Say, “Now it is your turn to describe the key ideas of an informational book using the details and illustrations.”
Students can work independently or with a partner. Provide informational texts at students’ reading level. Have students fold a sheet of paper the long way to make a
T-chart like the one used earlier. Have them label the left side “Details” and label the right side “Key Ideas.”
Say and/or write the following directions:
- Take a picture walk through your book.
- Read the book once, paying attention to details and illustrations.
- Read the book a second time, writing important details on the left side of your
T-chart.
- Then write the key ideas on the right side of your T-chart.
While students are working, walk around the room, conferencing with students and making sure they understand the concept of using details and illustrations to describe the key ideas in an informational text. You may need to model how to determine which details to list on the right side of the T-chart.
After students have completed their work, have each group share out the key ideas (the right side of the T-chart) of their text. If you or other students question a key idea, have students share the details (from the left side of the T-chart) that led them to that key idea. Collect T-charts for further review and assessment.
Then, as an exit activity, have several students explain how the details from the text and illustrations helped them describe the key ideas the author wanted to share in the text. Accept answers that are appropriate and help students revise answers that indicate lack of understanding. Note which students participated in this activity and select other students during subsequent lessons.
Extension:
- Students who need additional instruction or practice may work with you to assemble a small (25-piece) puzzle. Relate the pieces of the puzzle to the details and illustrations in a text. When the puzzle is completed, you get the big picture or key idea that the artist wanted to share. Then create a graphic organizer that has 5 puzzle pieces (4 corners and 1 middle piece). The 4 corners will be details/ information from illustrations, and the center piece will be a key idea. Model or work with students to complete this graphic organizer for a short text or portion of a text. Then, have students fill out the same organizer for another portion of the text (or another short text) to determine if they understand the concept.
- For students who are ready to move beyond the standard, provide a topic with two key ideas. (example: The topic is “How to Care for a Pet.” The key ideas are feeding the pet and keeping the pet safe.) Have students fill in a puzzle organizer (as described in the first extension activity) as a prewriting exercise. Then have them write a text about the topic that includes the key ideas. Remind them to use details that support the key ideas. They may also draw pictures to support the key ideas. Provide time for students to share their work with the class.
- Have students create a key idea bumper sticker for an informational text they read in this lesson. Have them display their bumper stickers and ask other students to identify the text it represents.
