https://www.khanacademy.org/ela/new-6th-grade-reading-and-vocabulary/x8ddea1200317e822:key-ideas-and-details-6/x8ddea1200317e822:main-idea-and-theme/a/understanding-main-idea-in-texts 2026-05-21T11:40:40.471298507Z Identifying central ideas | Guided practice Learn how to identify central ideas (also called main ideas) and how authors use supporting details to develop central ideas. article https://www.khanacademy.org/ela/new-6th-grade-reading-and-vocabulary/x8ddea1200317e822:key-ideas-and-details-6/x8ddea1200317e822:main-idea-and-theme/v/creating-objective-summaries-reading-khan-academy 2026-05-21T11:40:40.471298507Z Creating objective summaries All we want are the facts! Today, let's talk about what it means to be objective (and how difficult that is!) when writing a summary. When you're summarizing a text, leave your opinions out—save them for analysis! When you summarize a text, do your best to leave judgment behind. Want to take notes on this video? Use this [Notes Organizer](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Vt5uGrpM75qaKVotjdKPpu5hjjPDb5UgkZu8eqENhbs/copy)! video https://cdn.kastatic.org/googleusercontent/6-6w8g1kdFwDPrlAtum82JcO8XZvLknY7f2WuSkHjI0Mf3ritjpjgugk7-fcMYkdKjd3aFgYBrLpCeKDQhVjgFKo Creating objective summaries All we want are the facts! Today, let's talk about what it means to be objective (and how difficult that is!) when writing a summary. When you're summarizing a text, leave your opinions out—save them for analysis! When you summarize a text, do your best to leave judgment behind. Want to take notes on this video? Use this [Notes Organizer](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Vt5uGrpM75qaKVotjdKPpu5hjjPDb5UgkZu8eqENhbs/copy)! https://cdn.kastatic.org/ka-youtube-converted/5Eepm6Px5pc.mp4/5Eepm6Px5pc.mp4 218 Identifying central idea https://www.khanacademy.org/ela/new-6th-grade-reading-and-vocabulary/x8ddea1200317e822:key-ideas-and-details-6/x8ddea1200317e822:main-idea-and-theme/e/main-idea-and-theme 2026-04-10T20:10:36.32681891Z Central idea and summary Practice summarizing and identifying the central ideas of informational texts. Heather Meston and Elizabeth Gormley exercise