Did You Know?
Main idea in general, is the central thinking describing a paragraph, story, or a text block.
‘Main idea’ is expressed as the ‘key concept’ in order to impart the subject knowledge to kindergartners. It needs to be broken down into smaller, easily understandable elements. The entire process of teaching the main idea to kids can be subdivided into a few phases.
★ Identifying the topic to be taught to students.
If you can’t comprehend the topic well, it is difficult to sketch out the concept. As such, understanding the topic is an essential prerequisite. Therefore, proceed further only on understanding which topic needs to be taught.
★ Understanding the chief concept (main idea).
Once the topic has been decided upon, the next step includes understanding how to explain it to the little kids.
★ Creating the required structure.
Create boards, sheets, and printables, to teach the kindergartners. The use of simple words in your language will help them understand the concept well.
Main Idea Activities for Kindergarteners
Detail Lessons
★ Storytelling: Tell them stories which have good morals. Knowledge soaked up through listening is more than that absorbed through reading.
★ Reading/Writing Activities: Place a picture-storybook in their hands. Make them read it and ask them to narrate the story.
★ Calculations: Let them add a few numbers, subtract, and also divide a few. Start with simple diagrams of animals or birds, and then include numbers.
★ Understanding Structures: Start with family structure (mother, father, daughter, son). Once the student is thorough with a family structure, go to a bit complex structure, such as a pizza (main idea). Explain the shape and ingredients of a pizza.
Interactive Activities
★ Color Recognition: Glue some colored papers cut uniformly in different shapes onto a cardboard. Let the kids identify colors and tag them.
★ Number Recognition: Stick numbers onto chart paper or a cardboard. Allow them to recollect number lines from 1 through 10.
★ Bean Matching: Place some beans in a box. Place small containers with letters corresponding to the letters on the beans. Have them match the beans and container letters.
★ Identification Through Smell: Test their senses by making them smell and recognize fruits. This will be more exciting if the kids are blindfolded.
Hands-on Activities
★ Clay Molding: Get them to shape soft clay. Ask them to make ten apples, and place numbers (made out of soft clay) on them.
★ Lego: Let the kids do some building work. Lego maze or Lego wall is a good task for kids who love building blocks.
★ Foam Sensing: Place sparkling-colored foam on their hands. It is a must-give to kids for sensory play. Mixing tiny bath toys with the foam for the kids to search can be an add-on too.
Fun-and-Learn Activities
★ Drawing/Painting: Have them draw absolutely anything that is hovering in their mind. Let their mind speak through their colors.
★ Singing/Recitation: Sing aloud songs and rhymes for good vocals. Have them recite those melodious poems.
★ Vegetable Printing: Instruct the kids to dip a small ladyfinger, potato (carved like a flower), or a pumpkin into vivid colors, and produce prints on a sheet of paper of cloth. This is more interesting if they paint their own T-shirts (Note: Fabric colors are to be used for fabric painting).
Most of the activities include learning names, creating, and sorting, which enhance the intelligence quotient of these small buds. Such activities contribute to a great extent in keeping the kindergartners engaged and interested. The sole purpose of the main idea should be fun-and-learn.
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