Lesson 1

The Main Idea and

Supporting Details
in a Paragraph
Learning
Competency 1 Identify properties of a
well-written text
(organization)
(EN11/12RWS-IIIgh-4.1).
 Objectives

● identify the topic sentence and supporting details in a

paragraph;
● discern the main idea of a paragraph; and
● write a paragraph with a topic sentence and
supporting details.
 Essential Question

Why should a paragraph follow a particular organization?

 Warm Up!

Quick Writes

In five minutes, write all the ideas and concepts you know
about a paragraph and how paragraphs are organized.
Afterward, share your answer in class.
 Review

● In a paragraph, what is the purpose of a topic

sentence?
● How does a writer support the topic sentence of
a paragraph?
Learn about It!

Paragraph

● a group of sentences
● a good paragraph has the following:
○ a single main idea
○ topic sentence
○ supporting details that further explain or elaborate
the main idea
 Learn about It!
Paragraph

● Main idea
○ the main point or central idea in the paragraph
● Topic sentence
○ states the main idea
○ found in the beginning, middle, or end of the
paragraph
● Supporting Ideas/Details
○ elaborates, supports, or explains the main idea of the
paragraph
 Learn about It!

Read the two examples on the next slides and discuss

the main ideas and its supporting details.
 Learn about It!

Theater as a Management Tool

Companies are always coming up with new ways to foster camaraderie among their
employees. One of the activities that has been used of late is the production of a stage play.
A theatrical production is helpful and educational as a team-building activity because
it involves a lot of people coming together for a single goal. It requires leadership skills
to direct and motivate the whole group towards the objective. It also requires managerial
skills, because it is crucial to organize people or teams working on various aspects of the
play, such as set design, props, and costumes. In addition, staging a play requires flexibility
and improvisation, because a lot can go wrong in a live performance. And so, people may
need to adapt. Lastly, it requires social skills, especially for those who will take center stage.
The stars of the show must be able to work in harmony with those behind the scenes. It is
 Learn about It!

Achiever’s Curse

Back in my early school days, I was what you would call an achiever. In elementary, I often
had the highest grades in class, and so I was a regular in the honor roll. In high school, I
made it to the honors class, where I would continue to perform well in my studies. I would
even place in the top ten of the entire year. However, upon entering college, things started
going downhill. Because I was so used to grasping lessons so easily before, I would get
frustrated and give up when a new lesson seemed too difficult to understand. When a task
required more time and effort than I was used to exerting, I would procrastinate or avoid
doing it altogether. Furthermore, since my self-esteem was so closely tied to people thinking
I was brilliant, I would refuse to even attempt anything where I might fail. And so I went from
overachiever to underachiever, because despite my intellect, the notion of failure became a
self-fulfilling prophecy. I wish I had achieved more things in my youth out of effort instead of
 Writing Prompts

Answer each prompt in a paragraph.

● How is an implied topic sentence different from an

explicit one?

Read the paragraph. Identify its topic sentence, determine

its main idea, and explain its supporting details/ideas.
 Writing Prompts

Write a paragraph on one of the following topics. Be sure

to have a clear main idea supported by pertinent details
and ideas.

● The sunset at the beach

● E-books or traditional paper books?
● Social media as a tool for promoting causes
● A place you went to for the first time
● Pets as part of the family
 Writing Prompts

Criteria Beginning Developing Accomplished

(0–1 pt.) (2–3 pts.) (4–5 pts.)
Content/ The main idea is not The main idea can The main idea is
Substance clear. The be determined. clear. Supporting
supporting ideas are Supporting ideas are ideas are all related
illogical or sufficient to develop and thoroughly
unrelated. the topic. expound on the
topic.
Organization The details are Supporting details The supporting
poorly organized. are adequately details are well-
No logical flow can organized such that organized and flow
be discerned. logical flow of ideas logically from the
 Writing Prompts

Criteria Beginning Developing Accomplished Score

(0–1 pt.) (2–3 pts.) (4–5 pts.)
Unity The sentences do The sentences The sentences clearly
not seem to convey generally convey a convey a unified idea.
a unified idea. Few unified idea. Transitions were
to no transitions are Transitions were used effectively.
used. sufficiently used.
Language The number of There were a few There were almost
(spelling, errors made the errors, but the no errors. The
mechanics, paragraph paragraph could still paragraph was easy
grammar, and impossible to convey its meaning. to understand.
word choice) understand.
Score: /20
 Values Integration

How can proper organization help us to be better

understood by the people we talk with or write to?
 Synthesis

1. Find a partner.
2. Each pair randomly picks a topic from a set or list of topics
your teacher has prepared.
3. Your task is to write a paragraph each on the topic.
Afterward, exchange paragraphs and analyze each other’s
paragraph, identifying the main idea and explaining the
supporting details. Also, determine whether all supporting
ideas were appropriate for the main idea.
4. Your teacher may discuss your outputs and your learnings
from the activity.
 Assignment

1. Search for a news or entertainment article in the

newspaper or on a news website.
2. Summarize or critique the article in a well-organized
paragraph. Be sure to have a clear main idea and at
least four supporting ideas.
Criteria Beginning Developing Accomplished
(0–1 pt.) (2–3 pts.) (4–5 pts.)

Content/ The main idea is The main idea can The main idea is
Substance not clear. The be determined. clear. Supporting
supporting ideas Supporting ideas ideas are all related
are illogical or are sufficient to and thoroughly
unrelated. develop the topic. expound on the
topic.
Organization The details are Supporting details The supporting
poorly organized. are adequately details are well-
No logical flow can organized such that organized and flow
be discerned. logical flow of ideas logically from the
is observed. main topic.
Criteria Beginning Developing Accomplished Score
(0–1 pt.) (2–3 pts.) (4–5 pts.)

Unity The sentences The sentences The sentences

do not seem to generally convey clearly convey a
convey a unified a unified idea. unified idea.
idea. Few to no Transitions were Transitions were
transitions are sufficiently used. used effectively.
used.
Language The number of There were a few There were
(spelling, errors made the errors, but the almost no errors.
mechanics, paragraph paragraph could The paragraph
grammar, impossible to still convey its was easy to
and word understand. meaning. understand.
choice)