Major Details
Objectives
- Define the term major detail
- Use a KWL chart to prepare to listen for major details
- Use key words and phrases to find major details
- Take basic notes while listening
- Summarize important information
What are Major Details
A major detail is information that supports the main idea. Think of it like this:
Imagine that you are going to construct a building. First you would need to know the purpose of the building. What will it be used for? This is like the main idea. The building will look very different if it is a church, an office, or a home. The main idea is used to make decisions about what important details you need to plan to include.
When you start to build, you build the strong parts of the home first. This frame is like the major details. They provide you essential information: how many rooms will there be? How big are those rooms? What types of rooms are they? Those major details are what make the building able to fulfill its purpose. It isn't until much later that you add beds, ovens, or desks to the rooms.
Speaking and listening follow these same basic ideas. When we speak, there is an idea we want to share for a specific reason. To be successful in sharing that idea, we need to include the necessary major details in our conversation.
Once you have identified the main idea, you should be able to recognize what information is most important to understand what the speaker wants you to know about that main idea. Let's look at the example main ideas:
- Students should be allowed to choose their own books instead of being required to read a class book.
- If you want to write a better cover letter, follow these steps.
- Although they are very popular, weight-loss diets are not actually good for your health.
Possible Major Details
- Students feel more motivated when they choose their own books.
- Diverse reading experiences lead to better classroom discussions.
- First, research the company you are applying for to show this application is uniquely created for this position.
- Connect your strengths to the job listing and specific qualifications.
- Most people on diets regain the weight they lost because the changes are not sustainable.
- Many diets are not balanced and can lead to other health concerns or are not designed for everyone.
Remember that a major detail is not too specific. Going back to the example of constructing a building, we don't want to focus too much at this stage with very specific details. Those specific details add to our speaking, but the listener isn't usually expected to remember all of that information. Here are some examples of information that is too specific for a major detail. Again, it doesn't mean it is not important, it just isn't essential to understanding the main idea fully.
- Class book sets can be very expensive.
- Students may find books with characters they can better identify with.
- Do not be informal in your writing.
- If you can't address the cover letter to a specific person, you can use To whom it may concern.
- For example, intermittent fasting is not a great option for someone who is diabetic.
- In the past, some diets have promoted the use of harmful substances like tobacco to suppress hunger.
Listening for Major Details
Listening for major details is a lot easier when we start by using our background knowledge. Thinking about what we already know about a topic prepares us mentally for possible organizational patterns and content we would expect to hear. To practice, we will use a KWL chart.
A KWL chart is a popular graphic organizer. A graphic organizer is a way to take notes and write ideas in an organized way. KWL means what I already know, what I want to know, and what I learned.
| K - What I know | W - What I want to know | L - What I learned |
|---|---|---|
|
Start by adding your background knowledge in the K column. Then, add questions or ideas in the W column about the topic. These are things you don't know for sure, but you would like to know more about. This would be a great place to write a list of words that you know in your first language about the topic if you don't know them in English.
When you have your first two columns filled, you can look for key words and phrases; this means you are looking for important words that are related to the main idea. If you have time, you can also look up any of those unfamiliar vocabulary words before you listen.
When you start to listen, you will use this activated background knowledge to listen for important information. As you listen, you will write ideas in the L chart. These are ideas that are repeated, seem very important, and/or are new for you.
You can then use the chart to summarize the most important ideas from the listening.
Exercise 1: KWL
Before you begin listening, look at the title of the video. Complete the first two parts of the KWL chart
Title: Determinants of Health
| K - What I know about determinants of health | W - What I want to know about determinants of health | L - What I learned about determinants of health |
|---|---|---|
|
While you listen to the video, take notes in the L column.
Use those notes to identify 4 major details to support the main idea. Be prepared to share your summary.
Exercise 2: KWL
Before you begin listening, look at the title of the video. Complete the first two parts of the KWL chart
Title: Emotion, Stress, and Health: Crash Course Psychology #26
| K - What I know about emotion, stress, and health | W - What I want to know about emotion, stress, and health | L - What I learned about emotion, stress, and health |
|---|---|---|
|
While you listen to the video, take notes in the L column.
After you watch the video, answer the questions below using your notes. You do not need to watch the full video. You can just watch the first 5 minutes if you prefer.
Exercise 3: Choose Your Own Adventure
Listen carefully to the instructions your teacher gives before you begin this activity.
- Choose one video and followed these steps to write the main idea:
- What is the topic? This will be a noun or noun phrase that is the focus of the conversation. The first sentence containing the main idea may be stressed verbally.
- What are the major details? Listen for nouns or verbs that are stressed (louder, longer, etc.) or repeated.
- Turn these ideas into a complete sentence with any other information that you think is central to the conversation.
- Check to see if the major details support the main idea. If you realize that your main idea is too general, too specific, or off-topic, try again.
- Watch the video again and make a list of 3-5 of the MOST IMPORTANT details that support the main idea.
- Be prepared to share your answers.
Conversational - What OCD is Like (for Me)
Conversational - 98-year-old professors offers good health advice
Academic - Why do you get a fever when you're sick
Work - Barbara Corcoran Explains How to Ask for a Raise
Community - Top 10 Places in Utah (That aren't National Parks)
Exercise 4: Titles & Main Ideas *Continued from Main Ideas Lesson
You will work with the same group as you did for the Main Ideas "Titles & Main Ideas" activity. Remember that you chose one specific focus for your examples. Possible focuses: newspaper articles, movie trailers, books, social media posts, wikipedia articles, business journal articles, etc
- Your group will use the 3 examples you found last week again. They can be written or spoken examples.
- Read over your main idea sentence that you wrote last week.
- Read/listen to the 3 examples again. You can work individually and discuss as a group or you can review each example as a group.
- Write 3-5 details that are used to support the main idea.
- Your group will share the major details from one of the examples with the whole class.
Exercise 5: Watch & Learn *Continued from Main Ideas Lesson
You will work with the same group and video that you used for the Main Ideas "Watch & Learn" activity.
- Your group use the same short video clip (between 30 seconds to 1 minute). However, if your video is longer, you may need to watch more of it to find more details. Check with your teacher to make sure this is ok.
- Read your main idea multiple choice options from last week.
- Watch the video again and write down 3 of the MOST IMPORTANT DETAILS that support the correct main idea.
- Write two extra details to make this a multiple choice question.
- Tip: To make good incorrect choices, pick information that is too specific or that does not stay focused on the main idea.
- Share your video with the rest of the class.
- Have the class vote on the three major detail options.
- Be prepared to explain why incorrect options are not actually correct.
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Access it online or download it at https://edtechbooks.org/advanced_mid_listening__speaking/major_details.