• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Central ideas in complex texts; Why did the author include this detail?). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Is the proposed answer correct? Mara's grandmother kept every letter she had ever received in a biscuit tin. When the tin was finally opened, it held sixty years of a friendship carried on across two continents. Why does the writer mention the biscuit tin? → to describe the kitchen (yes, it is correct / no, it is not correct) → no, it is not correctPrompt: Ask: what would be lost if this detail were removed?
2. Urban foxes are often seen as pests: they tip over bins and wail at night. Yet studies suggest they also control rat populations and rarely pose a danger to people. Understanding their role may help cities manage them more humanely. Which choice best states the central idea? (Urban foxes have benefits as well as drawbacks, which should shape how cities treat them. / Foxes are dangerous and should be removed. / Rats are a growing problem in cities. / Foxes tip over bins.) → Urban foxes have benefits as well as drawbacks, which should shape how cities treat them.Prompt: What is the WHOLE text mostly about, not just one part?
3. Is the proposed answer correct? Scientists studying the Arctic fox noticed something odd: one fox had walked more than 3,500 kilometres in 76 days, from Norway to Canada. What is the main purpose of the specific figures? → to make the fox's journey vivid and impressive (yes, it is correct / no, it is not correct) → yes, it is correctPrompt: Ask: what would be lost if this detail were removed?

• Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
• Share the objective: Main idea of a short academic text (SAT). Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: For decades, researchers assumed that octopuses, being solitary, had little need for complex social behaviour. However, divers off the coast of Australia have recorded groups of gloomy octopuses living together, sharing dens and even signalling to one another by changing colour. These observations suggest that octopus social life may be richer than once believed. Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
• Step 1: The main idea is the central claim the whole text supports; details are evidence for it.
• Step 2: The text sets up an old assumption and presents evidence against it.
• Step 3: So the answer is: New observations challenge the view that octopuses have little social behaviour.
• Answer: New observations challenge the view that octopuses have little social behaviour.
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. Many people believe that the 'five-second rule' protects food dropped on the floor. In an experiment, scientists dropped foods onto surfaces contaminated with bacteria and measured how much transferred. Bacteria reached wet foods like watermelon in under a second, though dry foods such as sweets picked up fewer bacteria over time. Which choice best states the main idea of the text? (Scientists enjoy dropping food. / Floors are always clean enough to eat from. / Watermelon is healthier than sweets. / An experiment shows bacteria can transfer to dropped food almost instantly, especially to wet foods.) → An experiment shows bacteria can transfer to dropped food almost instantly, especially to wet foods.Prompt: Which choice covers the WHOLE text, not just one detail?
2. The composer Florence Price became the first Black woman to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra, in 1933. Her music blended European classical forms with African American spirituals. Which choice best states the main idea of the text? (Orchestras only played European music. / Florence Price was a famous singer. / Symphonies are very long. / Florence Price was a groundbreaking composer who combined different musical traditions.) → Florence Price was a groundbreaking composer who combined different musical traditions.Prompt: What is the text mostly about?

• Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
• Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Honeybees perform a 'waggle dance' to tell other bees where food is. The angle of the dance shows the direction of the food relative to the sun, and the length of the waggle shows the distance. Which choice best states the main idea of the text? (Honeybees like the sun. / Food is often far from the hive. / Bees dance for fun. / Honeybees communicate the location of food through a dance.) → Honeybees communicate the location of food through a dance.Prompt: What is the text mostly about?
2. The architect Diébédo Francis Kéré grew up in Gando, Burkina Faso, where his school was a hot, dark concrete building. When he returned as an architect, he designed a new school using local clay bricks and a raised, ventilated roof that kept classrooms cool without air conditioning. The project, built with the help of villagers, became a model for sustainable design. Which choice best states the main idea of the text? (Concrete is the best material for hot climates. / Kéré designed a school that uses local materials and clever design to stay cool, and it became a model of sustainability. / Burkina Faso has many architects. / Kéré disliked going to school as a child.) → Kéré designed a school that uses local materials and clever design to stay cool, and it became a model of sustainability.Prompt: Which choice covers the WHOLE text, not just one detail?

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-11.