Support Main Idea with Textual Evidence

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Support Main Idea with Textual Evidence

October 18, 2022

FAQ: What is “evidence” of the main idea?

ANSWER: Standardized tests often ask students to identify evidence for a particular main idea. To teach students how to do this, first clarify three key terms.

TOPIC: The topic is simply the subject of the passage (e.g., panda or panda cub). The topic can be stated in 1-2 words.
MAIN IDEA: Although the topic is a couple of words, the main idea is always a sentence. It’s the most important or overall point the author is making. The topic (e.g., panda cub) is embedded in the main-idea sentence. But the rest of the sentence more narrowly reveals a specific facet or perspective of the topic (e.g., Panda cub is ready for public debut).
EVIDENCE: Evidence of the main idea includes the words, phrases, and sentences within the original text that repeat or reiterate the sentiment of the main-idea sentence.

Before asking students to infer the main idea AND support it with evidence, start more slowly by teaching them how to test the strength of a provided main-idea statement. Do this in 5 steps.

1. Reveal a short newspaper article and its headline (e.g., “Panda cub is ready for public debut” from Tween Tribune). Define the headline as the main idea.

2. Explain that the headline “supposedly” announces what the article is mostly about, but you want to prove it. (In the proof-making process you will identify the sentences of evidence.)

3. Designate each major noun and verb stated in the headline with a different color (e.g., YELLOW = panda cub, GREEN = ready for debut, PINK = public).

4. Read aloud the article, pausing to highlight any detail that refers to one of those facets—using the appropriate color. (In your Think Aloud, acknowledge that authors vary their word choice, so the text detail won’t always be “debut” but a synonym, description, or related detail (e.g., appearing, first time, just the beginning).

5. Review the entire article looking for any sentence(s) that refer to ALL of the facets of the main idea—the strongest sentences are the most colorful ones.

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