Meredith Shutt

ACT Reading Lesson 2: Main Idea

ACT College and Career Readiness Standards

● IDT 401. Infer a central idea in straightforward paragraphs in somewhat challenging

literary narratives
● IDT 402. Identify a clear central idea or theme in somewhat challenging passages or
their paragraphs
● IDT 403. Summarize key supporting ideas and details in somewhat challenging
passages

Objectives

● SWBAT summarize ACT Reading passages

● SWBAT define main idea
● SWBAT identify the main idea of ACT Reading passages
● SWBAT identify the main idea of individual paragraphs within ACT Reading passages

ENGAGE (5 minutes)

Bellwork -- ACT Basics

1. What are the 4 content areas tested on the ACT?

a. English, Math, Reading and Science
2. How long is the ACT Reading test?
a. 35 minutes
3. How many questions are on the ACT Reading test?
a. 40 questions
4. What are the 4 types of passages within the ACT Reading test?
a. Prose fiction, social science, humanities, natural science
5. What is your personal order of passage for the ACT Reading test?
a. ____________________

EXPLAIN (10 minutes)

Guided Notes -- Main Idea

● Main idea: The central thought or message of an entire text or story.
● Supporting Details: Details or information from the text that support your main idea.
“Proof” that it’s the most important idea.
● Main idea is NOT the same as theme
○ Theme is the moral or lesson of a story and is universal, meaning applicable to
multiple contexts
○ Main idea is specific to the text
● Process to determine main idea:
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ACT Reading Lesson 2: Main Idea

○ Identify the passage’s topic (what or who it’s about)

○ Find supporting details about this topic
○ Ask yourself, what do these details tell me about the topic? What does the
author want me to learn about this person/place/thing/idea?
■ This is your main idea

EXPLORE (25 minutes)

In groups, students will read the following 3 passages aloud, then answer the main idea
multiple-choice questions. As they read, students will annotate their texts looking specifically
for supporting details.

Students should pace themselves accordingly and come to a consensus. At the end of 20
minutes, students will check their answers whole-class.

In 1925, four friends gathered to discuss their common goal to create a professional
organization to encourage and honor women who were involved in geographic exploration
and research. As a result of their meeting, Marguerite Harrison, Blair Niles, Gertrude Shelby,
and Gertrude Emerson Sen began the Society for Woman Geographers (SWG). The SWG
was created at a time when membership in most professional organizations was denied to
women. Its focus is on providing a forum for women to share their research, meet other
professionals, and advance their careers. Some famous members of the Society of Woman
Geographers include pilot Amelia Earhart, former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and
anthropologist Margaret Mead.

1. What is the main idea of this selection?

a. Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt were among the Society’s famous
members.
b. Women were not always allowed to participate in professional organizations.
c. The Society of Woman Geographers was created by friends with a common
goal.
d. The Society of Woman Geographers is a professional organization for women.

Alexander Pope was born in 1688 to a London linen merchant. There was little in his early life
to indicate that he would eventually become a master of poetry and satire. As a child, he
suffered from tuberculosis of the spine, and the disease stunted his growth at 4 feet 6 inches.
His painful physical problems did not allow him to attend formal classes, but he educated
himself by reading literature and poetry. One of his favorite authors was the classical Greek
poet Homer, author of The Iliad and The Odyssey.

As an adult, Alexander Pope was celebrated for his clever poems and letters. Pope’s Essay
on Man was one of his most famous poems, and it is quoted often even today. He also
became well-known for writing satire, a form of writing that attempts to ridicule other people’s
words or behavior. He wrote his satire The Dunciad to mock those who criticized his work.
Pope had many friends who were writers and poets. One of his most famous friends was
Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels. Pope’s poor health continued throughout his life,
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ACT Reading Lesson 2: Main Idea

and he passed away at the age of 56. He was buried in the Twickenham Church graveyard.

2. Which sentence best states the main idea of this article?

a. Alexander Pope was fond of reading Homer’s works.
b. Alexander Pope’s poem “Essay on Man” is often quoted.
c. Alexander Pope suffered from tuberculosis of the spine.
d. Alexander Pope was famous for his poetry and satire.

Gary Paulsen, author of many young adult novels including ​Hatchet​ and D
​ ogsong​, has lived
many of the adventures he writes about in his books. Paulsen did not have an easy childhood,
and he spent many hours outdoors to escape his unhappy home. At an early age, he learned
how to hunt, fish, and trap in the woods near his home. Paulsen used a bow and arrow for
hunting because it was less noisy and disruptive in an outdoor environment.

The author also wrote several books based on his experiences with the Iditarod Trail Sled
Dog Race in Alaska. Participants in this race, which covers approximately 1,160 miles of
undeveloped Alaskan wilderness, face hazardous terrain, blizzards, and sub-zero weather.
Gary Paulsen has competed in the Iditarod three times, and although he has been forced to
retire from competition, he still maintains land in Alaska where he trains sled dogs.

Paulsen’s most famous book exemplifies the author’s use of personal experience to explore
common themes. ​Hatchet​ features a young man named Brian who faces incredible odds to
survive in the Canadian wilderness. The book won the Newberry Award in 1987 and was
made into a television movie called ​A Cry in the Wild​. The events of Hatchet include many of
Paulsen’s own experiences, and the book’s coming of age storyline, set against the backdrop
of the great outdoors, is a common theme in both Paulsen’s life and his writing.

3. What is the main idea of paragraph 1?

a. Author Gary Paulsen writes novels about his painful childhood experiences.
b. Author Gary Paulsen learned to write by exploring in nature and hunting often.
c. Author Gary Paulsen writes novels that include his own outdoor experiences.
d. Author Gary Paulsen writes nonfiction books on how to hunt and trap animals.

4. The second paragraph of this passage is mainly about

a. the author’s love for his many pet dogs.
b. the hazardous terrain in northern Alaska.
c. the best way to train dogs for the Iditarod.
d. the author’s experiences in the Iditarod.

5. Which sentence best expresses the main idea of the third paragraph?
a. Gary Paulsen, like many authors, incorporates themes into his work, and
Hatchet​ centers on the theme of protecting the environment.
b. Hatchet​ is a good example of Paulsen’s writing because it uses many of his
own experiences and takes place in the wilderness.
c. Although it received the Newberry Award in 1987, ​Hatchet​ is considered by
many to be too violent for a young adult novel.
d. The events of ​Hatchet​ take place in the wilderness, and it is the only book of
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ACT Reading Lesson 2: Main Idea

Paulsen’s that explores a coming of age theme.

KEY:
1. D
2. D
3. C
4. D
5. B

EXPLANATIONS:
1. The main idea of this selection is that the Society of Woman Geographers is a
professional organization. The other answer choices give details from the passage
that support the main idea.
2. The main idea of this passage is that Alexander Pope was famous for his poetry and
satire. The supporting details about Pope’s poems and satirical books help the reader
understand the main idea.
3. The main idea of the first paragraph is that Gary Paulsen writes novels that are based
on his own outdoor experiences.
4. The second paragraph of this passage is mainly about Gary Paulsen’s experiences
with the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
5. The third paragraph is mainly about Paulsen’s book Hatchet. The paragraph mentions
that this book is a good example of Paulsen’s work because it contains a coming of
age theme and takes place in the wilderness.

EVALUATE (10 minutes)

Exit Ticket -- Independent Practice

Students will read the following ACT Reading passage independently, then complete the
multiple-choice question.

Sample Passage 1 -- Natural Science

What Methods Do Andean Farmers Use?

Public debate around climate change and its effects on agriculture tends to focus on the
large-scale industrial farms of the North. Farmers who work on a small scale and use
traditional methods have largely been ignored. However, as the world slowly comes to terms
with the threat of climate change, Native farming traditions will warrant greater attention.

In the industrial model of agriculture, one or two crop varieties are grown over vast areas.
Instead of trying to use local resources of soil and water optimally and sustainably, the natural
environment is all but ignored and uniform growing conditions are fabricated through
large-scale irrigation and the intensive use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides. For example,
a handful of basically similar potato varieties, all of which require nearly identical soil
conditions, temperature, rainfall, and growing seasons, account for almost all global
production. When these global crops are no longer suited to the environment in which they
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ACT Reading Lesson 2: Main Idea

are grown, when their resistance to disease and pests begins to fail, or the climate itself
changes, the best way to rejuvenate the breeding stock will be to introduce new genetic
material from the vast diversity of crop varieties still maintained by indigenous peoples.

In contrast to the industrial model, Andean potatoes and other Andean crops such as squash
and beans grown by Quechuan farmers exhibit extraordinary genetic diversity, driven by the
need to adapt crops to the extraordinary climatic diversity of the region. Along the two axes of
latitude and altitude, the Andes encompasses fully two-thirds of all possible combinations of
climate and geography found on Earth. The Andean potato has been adapted to every
environment except the depth of the rainforest or the frozen peaks of the mountains. Today,
facing the likelihood of major disruptions to the climatic conditions for agriculture worldwide,
indigenous farmers provide a dramatic example of crop adaptation in an increasingly extreme
environment. More importantly, Native farmers have also safeguarded the crop diversity
essential for the future adaptations.

Adapted from Craig Benjamin, “The Machu Picchu Model: Climate Change and Agricultural Diversity.”
© 1999 by Craig Benjamin.

1. What is the main idea of the first paragraph?

a. Attention to Native farming practices will lead to greater awareness of the
threat of climate change.
b. Popularity of small-scale farming in the North will lead to greater attention to
Native farming practices.
c. Global demand for food will lead to increasing efficiency of large-scale farming
in the North.
d. It will be worthwhile to include a greater focus on Native farming practices in
public discussions concerning the threat of climate change.
e. Despite potential climate change, public debate will have little effect on
industrial farming practices.

The correct answer is D.

Source:

Main Idea Warm Up. (2012). Retrieved June 02, 2017, from
http://studylib.net/doc/7199007/warm-up-4

Martz, G., Magloire, K., Silver, T., & Hendrix, M. (2014). The Princeton Review: Cracking the
ACT, 2015 Edition. New York: Princeton Review.

Sample Test Questions: A Guide for Students and Parents. (2014). Retrieved June 2, 2017,
from ​https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/reading.pdf