• 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 show that something ordinary held something precious (yes, it is correct / no, it is not correct) → yes, it is correctPrompt: Ask: what would be lost if this detail were removed?
2. Many people assume that creativity is a rare gift. Psychologists, however, increasingly describe it as a skill that grows with practice, feedback and a willingness to fail. Which choice best states the central idea? (Psychologists study failure. / Creativity may be a learnable skill rather than an inborn gift. / Feedback is always negative. / Most people are not creative.) → Creativity may be a learnable skill rather than an inborn gift.Prompt: What is the WHOLE text mostly about, not just one part?
3. 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?

• 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. Archaeologists once believed that the people of a Neolithic village abandoned it because of war. New analysis of seeds and pollen in the soil, however, shows a sudden drop in rainfall at the time. The researchers now argue that drought, not conflict, is the more likely explanation. Which choice best states the main idea of the text? (Pollen can survive for thousands of years. / New environmental evidence suggests drought rather than war led people to leave the village. / Archaeologists dislike changing their minds. / Neolithic villages were often at war.) → New environmental evidence suggests drought rather than war led people to leave the village.Prompt: Which choice covers the WHOLE text, not just one detail?
2. 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? (Bees dance for fun. / Food is often far from the hive. / Honeybees like the sun. / 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?

• 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. 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 groundbreaking composer who combined different musical traditions. / Florence Price was a famous singer. / Symphonies are very long. / Orchestras only played European music.) → Florence Price was a groundbreaking composer who combined different musical traditions.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. / Octopuses change colour to hide from predators. / New observations challenge the view that octopuses have little social behaviour. / 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.