Finding Key Sentences

Objective

Students will be able to identify the topic sentence and concluding sentence in informational texts, demonstrating understanding by highlighting these sentences in example paragraphs.

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Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.5
Know and use various text features (e.g., headings, tables of contents, glossaries, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.2.A
Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful to aiding comprehension.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.2
Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.

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Materials

• Printed short informational paragraphs (1 paragraph each, 5 different topics) on cardstock for durability
• Highlighters or colored markers (2 colors per student)
• Smartboard or whiteboard and markers
• Sentence strips for a group activity
• Sticky notes

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Lesson Breakdown (30 minutes)

1. Warm-Up: What’s the Big Idea? (5 minutes)

• Begin by asking students: “If you were telling a friend about your favorite animal, what’s the most important thing you would say first?”
• Quickly discuss answers and explain that the MOST important sentence that tells what the whole paragraph is about is called the topic sentence.
• Then ask: “How might you finish talking about that animal to wrap things up?”
• Introduce the concluding sentence as the sentence that wraps up the idea or gives one final thought.

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2. Mini-Lesson: Discovering Topic & Conclusion (7 minutes)

• Show 1 sample paragraph on the board (inferior length for 3rd graders, ~6-7 sentences), e.g., "Bees are important insects..."
• Read aloud and model thinking aloud: “This first sentence tells us what this paragraph is mostly about—that’s the topic sentence.”
• Highlight the first sentence in yellow on the board.
• Then point to the last sentence: “Look how this sentence finishes the idea. This is the concluding sentence.” Highlight in green.
• Ask students to raise their hand and explain why the first and last sentences are important.

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3. Guided Practice: Partner Work (8 minutes)

• Hand out 5 different short paragraphs to pairs of students with their highlighters.
• Explain: "In yellow, highlight the sentence that tells the main topic of the paragraph. In green, highlight the sentence that wraps it up."
• Walk around, offering support, asking questions like: "Why did you pick this sentence as the topic sentence?"

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4. Group Activity: Sentence Strip Sort (7 minutes)

• On the carpet or large table, use sentence strips from a mixed paragraph (sentences mixed and out of order).
• Students work in 4 groups of 5. Each group arranges the strips in order, placing the topic sentence first and concluding sentence last.
• Discuss as a class why the chosen sentences are the topic and conclusion.

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5. Exit Ticket: Quick Check (3 minutes)

• Give each student a sticky note.
• They write one sentence telling what a topic sentence is or what a concluding sentence is.
• Collect and quickly scan to informally assess understanding.

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Differentiation

• Support: Provide sentence stems for struggling students, e.g., “The topic sentence tells me…”
• Challenge: Ask advanced students to explain how supporting details connect the topic and conclusion.

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Reflection & Extensions

• Encourage students to bring a paragraph from a book or article at home and identify topic and concluding sentences for next class.
• For homework, students may write their own short paragraph with clear topic and concluding sentences using binder paper with guidelines.

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By the end of this lesson, students will confidently recognize the structure of informational paragraphs, reinforcing comprehension and writing skills aligned with Common Core standards.