Examples are given of how schema and classification skills, presented bilingually, can be used by classroom teachers to teach Spanish-speaking high school students how to infer the main idea of paragraphs in English. The instructional model is one in which the student learns to identify the main idea of a selection in a series of exercises that progress from simple categorization tasks to the complex task of identifying and then writing the implied main idea of a 70-word selection. The alternative bilingual approach is used, with more exercises gradually presented in English than in Spanish. Components include the following: classification of concrete objects; classification using pictures; and abstract classification (word, sentences, and paragraphs). Sample lessons are included. Contains 11 references. (Author/LB)