Standard: 7.RI.2 – Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.
Grade level: Grade 7
Subject: English Language Arts
Domain: Reading: Informational Text
Teacher Overview
This standard emphasizes the importance of identifying and analyzing central ideas within informational texts. It is crucial for students to understand how these ideas develop and interact throughout a text, which enhances their comprehension and critical thinking skills. Students need to be proficient in identifying main ideas and supporting details, understanding text structures, and summarizing texts without personal bias.
After mastering this standard, students will be able to compare and contrast central ideas across different texts, synthesize information from multiple sources, and critically evaluate the arguments and evidence presented.
Common Misconception 1
Students may think that finding the central idea involves selecting just one sentence from the text. This is incorrect because central ideas are often developed over several sentences or paragraphs.
Intervention 1
Encourage students to look for recurring themes and ideas throughout the entire text, and use graphic organizers to map out these ideas.
Common Misconception 2
Students might believe that an objective summary should include their personal opinions or interpretations. This is incorrect as an objective summary should be neutral and based solely on the text.
Intervention 2
Use examples and non-examples of objective summaries to help students practice distinguishing between objective and subjective statements.
Prerequisite Knowledge
Students should be able to identify the main idea and supporting details in a text, understand basic text structures, and summarize texts objectively.
Subsequent Knowledge
Students will develop skills in comparing and contrasting central ideas across multiple texts, synthesizing information from different sources, and evaluating the effectiveness of arguments and evidence presented in texts.
Instructional Activities
- Use graphic organizers to map out central ideas and their development.
- Practice writing objective summaries of various texts.
- Conduct group discussions to identify and analyze central ideas in different informational texts.
- Use news articles to identify central ideas and summarize them objectively.
