Writing and thinking are inseparable. Thinking writers are able to examine the ideas in their writing and support the main ideas with supporting details. As the writer develops his or her ideas, being clear about the hierarchy of ideas is important. Children can have difficulty differentiating main ideas from supporting details.
As writing teachers we need to help students organize their ideas in order of importance. Finding the main idea can be the same as asking, “What is important about…?” The Important Book provides an entertaining way to introduce the difference between a main idea and supporting detail by specifying what is important about each topic in the book.
The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown is a classic book by a noted children’s author. Each section of the book describes something unique, in beautiful, poetic detail. Children will enjoy the metric language and the wonderful imagery. Brown’s patterned writing inspires children to write their own descriptions of things in their lives, applying her pattern in their writing. But the important thing about The Important Book is that it provides a teacher an entertaining way to introduce the difference between a main idea and supporting details!!