What’s the (Main) Topic?

Introduction

• Gather students on the rug for the start of the lesson.
• Show students a series of images (you can use the image cards attached to this lesson plan or images of your choosing about a nonfiction topic).
• Ask your students to look at each image closely and think about how the pictures work together.
• Then, ask your students to share what they think the pictures are about and why. For example, “I think the pictures are all about pets because I see pictures of different animals that are all pets.”
• Ask your students to think about details in the pictures that support their ideas. Have them turn and talk with a partner.
• Have students share out with the class. Record student ideas on a whiteboard or chart paper.
• Summarize student thinking into a cohesive statement, such as, “Different kinds of animals can be pets.”
• Explain that we have a special name we use when we talk about what a nonfiction book is about. We call this the main topic. The main topic helps the reader understand what the book is about. One way to look for the main topic is to listen for words that we hear more than once. Clues can also be found in the pictures of the book.
• Say, “Today we will practice finding the main topic in our books and listening for clues or details to help us learn more about that topic."