Determining Importance

Determining importance means that learners can focus on the important information in a source so that they can develop a deeper understanding of the concept or topic. In social studies, determining importance is an essential step to deepen their comprehension and support the research process.

When do learners determine importance?

Learners use determining importance when they:

• gather valid, relevant information in relation to their inquiry question.

• identify the main idea and supporting details in primary and secondary sources.

• choose what information to use when responding to an inquiry question.

Why should learners determine importance?

Determining importance allows learners to:

• locate relevant information in response to an inquiry question.

• determine main ideas.

• identify supporting details.

• read for specific information.

How to determine importance

You may be observing learners are struggling with determining importance in the texts they encounter in social studies. If you notice learners engaging in any of the following, try the accompanying strategies to support them in determining importance.

Big Idea

Learners need to identify the most important information in a source.

If you observe:

Learners highlight or jot down most, or all, of the information in a source. Try:

Take Lean Notes

Sources can provide a lot of information, only some of which relates to the focus of the research. Learners can skim, scan, and flag a source to identify the most important information.

• Learners identify the focus of the research.

• Learners skim a source and flag things they might want to return to that are related to their research focus.

• After skimming and flagging, learners highlight or note only the most important information.

• Learners can compare their findings with a partner to further refine their notes.

Peer Discussion

Sources can include the main idea(s), supporting details, and interesting facts. Learners can talk about the sources they are working with to identify important information.

Ask learners to look back across the section and discuss:

• What is it mostly about?

• What is the main idea in this source? Why do you think that?

• What do you think are some of the big ideas here?

• What details support the main idea?

• How does this information help you to answer your inquiry question?

• If you listed facts, can you say the main idea?

Big Idea

Learners need to put the information they have gathered in their own words.

If you observe:

Learners copy word-for-word from sources. Try:

Paraphrase Chunks, Put It Together

Sources can include several related ideas. Learners can paraphrase information to help them to identify the main ideas.

• The teacher divides a source into chunks.

• Learners stop at the end of each section and think: “What was this mostly about?”

• Learners jot down a note in their own words to capture their thinking.

• After finishing each section, learners look back through their notes and think: “What was the whole source mostly about?”

Shrink a Text

Sources can develop ideas over many paragraphs or pages. Learners can talk with a partner to state the most important idea.

• Learners read a section of a source with a partner.

• Learners decide together what the most important information is and try to shrink it into one sentence.

• Learners back up their decision with supporting details from the text.

Big Idea

Learners need to identify the focus of their research to determine important information.

If you observe:

Learners record interesting, rather than important information. Try:

Important vs. Interesting

Sources can include information that is interesting to learners but doesn’t relate to the focus of their research. Learners can use their inquiry question to identify information that is important.

• After reading a fact, learners stop and think: “Does this information help me to answer my inquiry question? Does it support the main idea of the text?”

• On a T-chart, learners can record facts related to their inquiry question as “important” or “interesting but not important.”

• After reading the whole source, learners can compare their “important” facts with a partner or confer with the teacher to confirm their findings.

Key Words

Sources can include information that is relevant to an inquiry but doesn’t directly answer an inquiry question. Learners can unpack their inquiry questions to determine important information.

• In small groups, learners identify key words in the inquiry question to help them determine what the question is about.

• Using the key words, learners co-create closed-ended questions to help them gather information in relation to the inquiry question. Learners can use a strategy like 5Ws and 1H to co-create questions.

• In partners or small groups, learners can locate information from the source in response to their closed-ended questions.

Big Idea

Learners need to use text features to locate important information in texts.

If you observe:

Learners do not use text features to locate important information. Try:

Survey the Text

Sources can include many different text features that support comprehension of a text. Learners can use text features to identify important information.

• Learners glance at a source and notice things that jump out visually (headings, titles, visuals, etc.).

• Learners think: “Based on what I notice, what sections of the source might have information that relates to my question?”

• Learners skim the section to confirm their thinking.

Notable Quotes

Information texts often include quotations by historical figures, experts, or people affected by an issue. Learners can use quotations to identify important information.

• Learners read the quotation and think: “How is this quote connected to the main text?”

• Learners read the quotation and jot down the main ideas and key details.

• Learners ask themselves, “How does this quotation give me extra information that connects to the main text?”

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