• 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? The match was tied with ten seconds left. In the stands, an elderly man who had not missed a home game in fifty years stood up for the first time all season. Why does the writer include the detail about the elderly man? → to show how tense and important the moment was (yes, it is correct / no, it is not correct) → yes, it is correctPrompt: Ask: what would be lost if this detail were removed?
2. The invention of refrigerated shipping in the late 1800s did more than keep food fresh. It allowed meat from Argentina and New Zealand to reach European tables, reshaping farming, trade and diets across continents. Which choice best states the central idea? (Ships were slow in the 1800s. / Refrigerated shipping had wide-reaching effects on global trade and food. / Argentina produces meat. / Food spoils without refrigeration.) → Refrigerated shipping had wide-reaching effects on global trade and food.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. 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? (Australia has more octopuses than any other country. / Divers have discovered a new species of octopus. / Octopuses change colour to hide from predators. / New observations challenge the view that octopuses have little social behaviour.) → New observations challenge the view that octopuses have little social behaviour.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? (Florence Price was a famous singer. / Symphonies are very long. / Florence Price was a groundbreaking composer who combined different musical traditions. / Orchestras only played European music.) → 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. Some species of trees share nutrients through underground networks of fungi. Through these networks, larger trees can pass sugars to young seedlings growing in the shade. Which choice best states the main idea of the text? (Sugar is bad for trees. / Fungi are a type of tree. / Trees can share nutrients with each other through fungal networks. / Seedlings prefer the shade.) → Trees can share nutrients with each other through fungal networks.Prompt: What is the text mostly about?
2. 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? (Divers have discovered a new species of octopus. / New observations challenge the view that octopuses have little social behaviour. / Octopuses change colour to hide from predators. / Australia has more octopuses than any other country.) → New observations challenge the view that octopuses have little social behaviour.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.