What a passage is really saying

Word	What it means
Main idea	The most important point a whole passage makes. One sentence may state it, or you may have to put it together.
Supporting detail	A fact, example or description that backs up the main idea.
Summary	The main idea and the most important details, retold briefly in your own words.
Inference	A conclusion the passage suggests but never states, reached from a clue in the text plus what you already know.
Prediction	An inference about what will happen next.
Context clue	A hint in the words around an unfamiliar word — its context — that shows what it means.
Prefix / suffix	A word part added to the front (un-, re-) or the end (-less, -able) of a word that changes its meaning.

For years the empty lot behind the rec centre grew nothing but thistles. Three springs ago, neighbours cleared it and built twelve raised garden beds. Now seniors grow tomatoes there, a daycare class plants sunflowers, and whatever is left in September goes to the food bank. One empty lot has given a whole neighbourhood a reason to meet.

A model reading. Test each possible main idea against every sentence.

• “The garden has twelve raised beds.” — one detail. Too narrow.
• “Gardening is good for everyone.” — much bigger than one lot. Too broad.
• “Tomatoes grow well in Alberta.” — never said. Not in the passage.
• “Neighbours turned an empty lot into a garden that brings people together.” — every sentence supports it. The main idea.

Here the last sentence nearly states it; in a story you usually build it yourself.

A summary is that main idea plus the details that matter most. The thistles would not make it in: they add colour, not meaning.

Mateo's dad had told him twice to stay off the pond until the ice was thicker. On Saturday, Mateo stood at the edge with his skates. Near the middle the ice was grey, and dark water showed along the far bank. He glanced back at the house once. Then he sat down and laced up.

The inference. The passage never says Mateo knows he is breaking a rule. But he glances back at the house first, and people check who is watching when they are about to do something they should not. Clue plus what you know: he knows his dad would say no, and he is going anyway.

The prediction. The grey ice and dark water are there for a reason, and a strong prediction uses them: something will go wrong near the middle of the pond. “Mateo will skate with his friends” has nothing behind it — there are no friends in the passage.

Clue	Example	So the word means
Definition	The cabin was remote — hours from the nearest road.	far from everything
Similar word	Jin was elated, happier than he had been all year.	very happy
Contrast	Unlike her chatty brother, Mira was reticent.	quiet, holding back
Examples	The trail was full of obstacles: fallen logs, loose rocks, one stubborn moose.	things in the way

A known word, a new meaning. In “At ten dollars, the coat was a steal,” nobody stole anything. Try each meaning in the sentence: a bargain fits, and a crime does not.

Word parts. Unbreakable is un- (not) + break + -able (can be): it cannot be broken. When the sentence gives no clue, the parts often do.

• Choosing one detail as the main idea, or a statement bigger than the passage.
• An inference with no clue behind it, however likely it seems.
• Giving a word its usual meaning when the sentence uses another one.
• Answering from what you know about the topic instead of what this passage says.