• 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? 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 explain why foxes migrate (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. 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. / Food spoils without refrigeration. / Argentina produces meat.) → 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? The new bridge was hailed as a triumph of engineering. Within a week, however, it had begun to sway alarmingly in the wind, and engineers closed it for repairs. Why does the writer mention that the bridge was 'hailed as a triumph'? → to praise the engineers' repairs (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. The poet Lucille Clifton wrote in short lines, often without capital letters, using everyday words. Some readers have mistaken this style for simplicity. Many critics argue that her plain language was a deliberate choice that made complex ideas about family, history and survival feel immediate and personal. Which choice best states the main idea of the text? (Clifton's plain style, sometimes mistaken for simplicity, is better understood as a deliberate and powerful choice. / Clifton never used capital letters in any of her letters. / Short lines are easier to write than long ones. / Critics never agree about poetry.) → Clifton's plain style, sometimes mistaken for simplicity, is better understood as a deliberate and powerful choice.Prompt: Which choice covers the WHOLE text, not just one detail?
2. Before the printing press, books were copied by hand, which could take months. Printing made books far cheaper and faster to produce, helping ideas spread across Europe. Which choice best states the main idea of the text? (Europe had few books. / Copying by hand was a popular hobby. / Books took months to read. / The printing press made books cheaper and helped ideas spread.) → The printing press made books cheaper and helped ideas spread.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. Before the printing press, books were copied by hand, which could take months. Printing made books far cheaper and faster to produce, helping ideas spread across Europe. Which choice best states the main idea of the text? (Books took months to read. / The printing press made books cheaper and helped ideas spread. / Europe had few books. / Copying by hand was a popular hobby.) → The printing press made books cheaper and helped ideas spread.Prompt: What is the text mostly about?
2. 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. / 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.) → 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?

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