Florida Teacher Certification Examinations (FTCE) Subject Area Practice Test

Mary is having difficulty identifying the main idea in her social studies textbook; what activity can help her improve this skill?

1. Highlighting key sentences

2. Summarizing paragraphs

3. Skimming entire sections rapidly

4. Taking detailed notes

The correct answer is: Skimming entire sections rapidly

The best activity to help Mary improve her skill in identifying the main idea is to summarize paragraphs. Summarizing requires a deep understanding of the content, as it involves distilling the essential information from a larger body of text and articulating the core concept in her own words. This process encourages critical thinking and forces the reader to pay attention to the most important points, which is exactly what Mary needs to work on. Highlighting key sentences can be useful, but it often leads to isolating information rather than understanding the connections between ideas. Skimming rapidly may provide a surface-level overview but does not allow for comprehensive understanding or retention of material, making it less effective for identifying main ideas. Taking detailed notes can aid in comprehension, but if these notes are not focused on main ideas, they may become overwhelming and detract from the ability to distill the core message of the text. Thus, summarizing paragraphs stands out as the most effective technique for Mary to enhance her ability to find and understand the main ideas in her textbook.