Reading to Learn

Swimming for Summarization

Lindsay Laycock, Reading to Learn

Rationale: If a reader is able to use summarization, they will be able to understand the context and comprehend the text better and efficiently. Before jumping in, we must recognize that there are several different methods used when using summarization. One method is known as about-point. This method contains two questions that should be asked: 1) What is the text about? (This question is usually easiest for students) and 2) What is the main point the writer is making about the topic? (This question tends to be more challenging for students). We know that the author typically covers several points throughout his/her text, so the reader must superordinate the points. In other words, the student must be able to locate the main idea(s) of the text.

Materials:

- Book – Ellie’s first time swimming

- Visual including summarization steps

- Visual representation of the demonstration paragraph

- Paper for each student

- Pencil for each student

- Marker

- Comprehension quizzes for each student

- Assessment checklist

Procedure:

1. Say: “Today we are going to learn how to summarize a text. Summarization is a great tool we can use to learn what the book is about or learn what the main ideas of a book are. So, whenever we are summarizing a text, we are going to create a shorter version of the text, which will help us to comprehend the text. For example, I could read [have this displayed on the board] ‘I was very hungry but we did not have any food at home. So, I ordered a pizza and now I am full!’ Now, I can summarize this by saying ‘I was hungry but am now full!’ See how I took out the extra words to form a main idea of what I was reading? I was able to make one short sentence to summarize it. This is what we are going to be working on today so we can focus on the main idea and what facts support the main idea.”

2. [Display summarization poster and go over each step with the students]. Say: “Before we begin the activity, we need to go over three steps of summarization. The first thing to do is to cross out any information that is not important. The second thing we need to do is write down any important information that is essential to the text. The third thing we will do is create a topic sentence based on the highlighted information. Overall, we will find an umbrella term for the events that happen in the text.”

3. [Have the book projected on the board in the front of the room]. Say: “Now, I would like you all to read the book on the board to yourselves called Ellie’s first time swimming. This book is about an elephant named Ellie who wants to learn how to swim but has nobody to teach her. Will she find someone to teach her? Will she ever learn how to swim? Let’s read so we can find out! While you all are reading, I would also like each of you to take your pencil and piece of paper and write down any important information you think we can use for our main idea.

4. [Give students time to finish the above task] Say: “Okay everybody, now that we have read through the story, I will put you in groups of two so that you and a partner can work on summarization and getting the main idea. Once you and your partner have come up with a main idea of the story, each pair will share with the rest of the class. Before I put you in your groups, I will explain how summarization works again. You and your partner will use both of your notes you just took from the book and put your ideas together to form a main idea of the book. Another helpful tip would be to take your marker [give each pair a marker] and cross out any information that you feel does not belong in your main idea. You will then use the most important information on your pieces of paper to form main ideas. Remember, summaries and main ideas should be shorter than the actual book.

5. [Have each pair read their summary to the class and observe while they are doing so]. Ask “Does your classmates’ summaries sound similar to yours?” [Observe answers and allow students to correct their mistakes].

6. [Gather each students’ piece of paper to evaluate their summaries using the following checklist. Then have each student complete the following comprehension quiz]

Assessment Checklist:

____Student successfully collected important information from the text.

____Student successfully ignored unwanted or unimportant information.

____Student successfully was able to form main ideas.

____Student successfully organized main ideas into summary form.

Comprehension Quiz:

1. What advice does Ellie’s mother give her about swimming?

2. Who does Ellie’s mother ask to help Ellie swim?

3. Where does Mr. Harvey first tell Ellie to swim?

4. What advice does Mr. Harvey give Ellie about swimming?

5. How did Ellie feel once she did what Mr. Harvey told her to do?

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