When it comes to helping hyperlexic kids with their comprehension, visual tools can make a big difference. Especially visual tools that incorporate the written word. After all, it's important to use the written word with these kids. If it isn't written down, it might not exist to them. Remember you want to play to their strength of reading.
That's why something like a graphic organizer can be particular effective with hyperlexic kids. It not only uses their strength, but it also gives them a visual representation of what it is they need to look for. So, in this case, ice cream, as you'll soon see.
Graphic organizers can also be used to help kids plan out and organize their thoughts so they know exactly what to say or write. Which if you have a hyperlexic kid, then you know that expressive language can also be an area that requires a lot of extra support.
I know that my son has found graphic organizers immensely helpful for both writing and comprehension skills so I have seen their value first hand. And we'll continue to use them as long as he needs.
Now one comprehension skill that can be tricky for hyperlexic kids is summarizing the main idea of a text.
And that's where this ice cream cone main idea graphic organizer comes in. It can be used to pick out the main idea of a passage, as well as the supporting details.
About this Ice Cream Cone Main Idea Graphic Organizer
As I've already alluded to, this graphic organizer can be used to summarize the main idea of a paragraph or story. So it's great for building those comprehension skills that many hyperlexic kids need a bit of extra support with. Although, you could also use this organizer to write a paragraph if you'd like as well. But I have a hamburger graphic organizer for that instead.
Now, without a cone, an ice cream cone is just ice cream. And without the ice cream, you have just a cone. They can't be a full ice cream cone without each other. The same thing happens with a paragraph, text, or story. You need a main idea and some details to support that idea in order to make a rock solid piece of content.
So the cone on this graphic organizer represents the main topic or idea and each scoop of ice cream represents a supporting detail. Basically this graphic organizer will help you find all the necessary parts to make the perfect ice cream cone. That is, it will help you summarize all the details needed to understand and/or explain a given text.
Here's how it works. After reading a text or story, simply write down the main idea or topic of the paragraph in the box next to the cone. Then write a supporting detail for each scoop of ice cream. You might have to reread the text multiple times in order to determine what the main idea and supporting details are.
All-in-all, this graphic organizer is a helpful tool for improving comprehension skills.
By the way, I personally prefer to laminate our graphic organizers and pair them with a dry erase marker. That way we can reuse them over and over again and for as many main idea activities as we'd like. Here's the laminator I use and love. But you can also print as you need them or use the digital version included below. Lots of options!
Download the Free Graphic Organizer
Looking for More Graphic Organizers?
You'll find even more graphic organizers for reading and writing in the graphic organizers bundle pack.
Click here to get your copy of the graphic organizers bundle pack
