Which is Which: finding the Main Idea, Thesis and Examples

I did a writing activity the other day. It was some what inspired, if I may say so.

I made cards that reflected the theme of identity. Each card was either a Main Idea, a Thesis, or an Example. There were 15 cards and they were divided into groups of three. Each Main Idea had a subsequent Thesis and Example that fit into the style and ideas of the Main Idea. The objective was to have the students identify the fine line between a Main Idea, a Thesis and an Example.

They worked in groups of four. And I found that one class could barely identify the difference between a Main Idea and a Thesis. While another class was more adept at these skills. It is common to have one class stronger than the other.

But generally there was a consensus that the activity was too hard.

This is interesting as identifying a Main Idea and Thesis requires an astute focus on language. Which phrasing takes a position (aka Thesis) and which one is making a statement (aka Main Idea). Student's lack this astute focus and the objective of Composition teachers is to teach these skills.

Not only was I able to assess the level of my students, but I was also able to challenge myself in figuring out ways to engage these students into figuring these differences out without overwhelming them.

The activity was hard, but it taught them a lesson in language and now I'm finding that both classes are more able to express the Main Idea of a text versus its Thesis, which was the goal of the activity.

I hope to incorporate more of this into the classroom, but time is limited and students do loose focus when in working in groups forcing one student to do all the work while the others gabber about their day.

I'm trying really hard to outwit there laziness, but this is not always easy. In any case, this activity proved very useful.