• 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 company advertises its trainers as 'built to last'. Our tests found that the soles of three out of five pairs had split within two months. Why does the writer quote the slogan 'built to last'? → to agree with the company (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. 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? (Creativity may be a learnable skill rather than an inborn gift. / Most people are not creative. / Feedback is always negative. / Psychologists study failure.) → 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? The company advertises its trainers as 'built to last'. Our tests found that the soles of three out of five pairs had split within two months. Why does the writer quote the slogan 'built to last'? → to describe the trainers' design (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? (Short lines are easier to write than long ones. / 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. / 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? (Copying by hand was a popular hobby. / Europe had few books. / The printing press made books cheaper and helped ideas spread. / Books took months to read.) → 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 8 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 famous singer. / Orchestras only played European music. / Florence Price was a groundbreaking composer who combined different musical traditions. / Symphonies are very long.) → Florence Price was a groundbreaking composer who combined different musical traditions.Prompt: What is the text mostly about?
2. 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? (Critics never agree about poetry. / 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.) → 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?

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