Intended to help classroom teachers, curriculum developers, and researchers, this book provides current information on theoretical and instructional aspects of main idea comprehension. Titles and authors are as follows: "The Confused World of Main Idea" (James W. Cunningham and David W. Moore); "The Comprehension of Important Information in Written Prose" (Peter N. Winograd and Connie A. Bridge); "What Do Expert Readers Do When the Main Idea Is Not Explicit?" (Peter P. Afflerbach and Peter H. Johnston); "Research and Instructional Development on Main Idea Skills" (Joanna P. Williams); "Actively Teaching Main Idea Skills" (Mark W. Aulls); "The Direct Instruction of Main Idea Comprehension Ability" (James F. Baumann); "Teaching Students Main Idea Comprehension: Alternatives to Repeated Exposures" (Victoria Chou Hare and Adelaide Bates Bingham); "Teaching Middle Grade Students to Summarize Content Textbook Material" (Barbara M. Taylor); "Graphic Organizers: Cuing Devices for Comprehending and Remembering Main Ideas" (Donna E. Alvermann); "Getting the Main Idea of the Main Idea: A Writing/Reading Process" (James Flood and Diane Lapp); and "Main Idea Instruction for Low Performers: A Direct Instruction Analysis" (Edward J. Kameenui). (EL)