Q: What is the danger in regularly asking main idea questions like 'what was this text/statement/narrative about?' and settling for a quick answer that parrots the text?
A: That answer bypasses the higher-level thought required to explain the meaning of the passage.
For example:
Children: (read silently) Dan was disappointed. Rayette and Loretta have not showed up...
Teacher: Now, what is the main idea in this story? Who knows?
(no answer) Let's see. Student-1, what do you think?
Student-1: Ummm...
Teacher: What's the story all about?
Student-1: Oh, it's about Dan and Rayette.
Teacher: Well, yes - but what's the main thing it's about? Do you know, Student-2?
Student-2: It's about...Dan being disappointed?
Teacher: Good, good - yes, because the story is mainly about Dan being disappointed.
"In order to answer the question it is not necessary to inferentially integrate various parts of the text. The student simply needs to repeat a proposition or part of a proposition...[Studies showed that often in classrooms,] students' answers were not discussed in terms of explanatory framework, nor was the notion of main idea pursued." Nix in Psychology of Questions, pp. 297 ff.
A teacher or parent could take the above conversation further by discussing questions such as:
How do we know that is the main point? or What does it feel like to be disappointed?
Related: How to Read a Book
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