The document provides guidance on identifying the main idea of a story or text. It explains that the main idea is what a story is mostly about and focuses on what finally happened. It teaches using a mnemonic device with fingers to represent who, did what, where, when and why to systematically analyze a story and identify its main idea. As an example, it walks through finding the main idea of the story "Too Many Tamales" using this technique.

1. MAIN IDEA
BY
TRACI STUART

2. Main Idea
• What is it?
• How do we find it?
• How do we remember it?
• Let’s try it.

3. What is main idea?
• Main idea tells what a story is mostly
about.
• When looking for main idea we must
think of what FINALLY happened in
the story.

4. How do we find the main
idea?
• Let’s use our hands!

5. How do we find the main
idea?
• The thumb stands for who.
• The who of a story is very important,
without knowing who the story is
about we can’t find the main idea.

6. How do we find the main
idea?
• The pointer finger stands for did
what.
• What did the main character finally
do?

7. How do we find the main
idea?
• The middle finger stands for where.
• Where did the main character do it?

8. How do we find the main
idea?
• The ring finger stands for when.
• When did the main character do it?

9. How do we find the main
idea?
• The pinky stands for why.
• Why did the main character do it?

11. How do we remember main
idea?
• Remembering is easy!!!
• Just look at your fingers.
• Thumb - Who?
• Pointer - Did what?
• Middle finger - Where?
• Ring finger - When?
• Pinky - Why?

12. Let’s try it!!
• Using the book Too Many Tamales and
our five fingers let’s find the main
idea.
• Remember to think about the word
FINALLY.
• What finally happened in the story?

13. Too Many Tamales
•Who?
•Maria and
her
cousins.

14. Too Many Tamales
•Did what?
• Ate all the
tamales.

15. Too Many Tamales
•Where?
• In the
kitchen.

16. Too Many Tamales
•When?
• On
Christmas
day.

17. Too Many Tamales
•Why?
• To try to
find
Maria’s
mother’s
ring.

18. Too Many Tamales
• Using all the information, write one
sentence that tells the main idea of
the story.
• Maria and her cousins ate all the
tamales on Christmas, in the
kitchen, because she was trying
to find her mother’s ring that she

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