We Can "Hand"le the Main Idea!

We have been working to identify the main idea of nonfiction texts.  To organize the information and our ideas, we used a graphic organizer.  Students were given a nonfiction passage and worked in groups to identify the main idea (palm of the hand) and the supporting details (fingers).  Many students noticed immediately that often, the first sentence is a summary of the main point.  We refer to this as the "topic sentence."  Take a look at the passages and students' effort to "Map the Text" on the hand prints!

The octopus has a body unlike any other animal.  Its body, called the mantle, is soft and shaped like a bag.  The octopus can squeeze itself into a very small space because it has no bones in its body.  Its eight rubbery arms are attached to its head near its mouth.  The octopus’s arms are covered with suckers.  These suckers help the octopus grab and taste things.  The octopus can see very far distances, but it cannot hear anything at all.

The amazing octopus has many ways to defend itself from predators. When an octopus wants to move quickly to escape a predator, it can shoot water out of its siphon and push itself backwards.  This is called jet propulsion.  Using this technique, octopuses can travel many miles.  An octopus can also protect itself by squirting ink at a predator, causing it to become blind and lose its sense of smell temporarily.  This makes it difficult for a predator to track the octopus.  The octopus can also change its colors to blend in to its surroundings.  And if a predator manages to grab an octopus by the arm, the octopus has more than one trick up its sleeve.  It can break off its arm, swim away, and then grow a new one.

The amazing octopus is also a predator.  It hunts mainly at night.  It has a varied diet, including snails, fish, turtles, and even other octopuses.  An octopus catches its prey by grabbing with its arms.  To kill it, the octopus bites it with its tough beak and injects it with a poison that paralyzes it.  Only one type of octopus, the Australian blue-ringed octopus, can kill a human with its poison.