Swimming Into Summarization
​
Reading To Learn
Rationale: Summarization is one of the most important skills for comprehending text. An efficient method of summarization is called the about-point method. The reader asks two questions: what is the text about and what is the main point the author wants you to know. The first question is quick and easy to answer, but the second requires the reader to “superordinate” all of the points made in a text and create an “umbrella” point that covers them all.
Materials:
-
Paper
-
Pencils
-
Highlighter
-
Black colored pencil (or something to mark the passage with)
-
Dry-erase board, and dry-erase markers
-
Passage sample under document camera from “National Geographic for Kids: Green Sea Turtle” (The first paragraph).
-
Set of “Green Sea Turtle” articles
-
Set of comprehension questions
-
Summarization Checklist
Procedures:
1. Say: “Today we are going to talk about summarization. What do you think it means to summarize a story?” [Let students discuss or answer individually.] “To summarize, we take the most important details of a story and put it in our own words. Important details would be things such as main ideas, important characters, settings, or really important things that a character does depending on what you are reading. When you summarize, you are retelling the story or passage but leaving out all of the unimportant details. We usually use summarization with long books and articles; it helps you break it down into something more simple and easy to remember.”
​
2. Say: “I’ve given you all an article from National Geographic about sea turtles. Green Sea Turtles are one of the most common species of Sea Turtles in the world and have many unique traits and characteristics. We’re going to read the first paragraph together, and I’ll show you how to summarize. Then you’ll get to summarize the rest of the article on your own! We’re going to be investigative scientists as we read this article and see what we can learn about sea turtles that we didn’t already know. Follow along with me as I read the first paragraph out loud.” [Read the first paragraph aloud.]
​
3. Say: “Now let’s take a look at my copy of this paragraph under the document camera. Notice how I highlighted important details and crossed out details that were not important. That helps me keep facts straight and the main idea in mind.” [Model sample below on the document camera.] “This can help you comprehend, or understand, the most important parts of all sentences you read in any text as well.”
​​
4. Explain: “To review, the main topic or first sentence tells us what the paragraph will be about. Our first sentence talked about how the green sea turtle is the largest species of hard-shelled sea turtles. And then the paragraph tells us about where they can be found and how they breathe. It’s important for us to know exactly where they are found so I highlighted the part of the sentence where it says the largest nesting populations are found in Costa Rica and Australia, but since we don’t necessarily need to know how many countries sea turtles can be found in, I crossed that out. That information isn’t necessary for my understanding of the most popular places to find green sea turtles. So some information is more important than other information in a paragraph. Being able to identify which information is helpful is going to help you summarize more effectively. I’m going to give you all a chance to try this on your own. Remember that there’s not always a right or wrong answer with what is the most useful information, so just do your best!”
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
5. Say: “Let’s read more about our friends the Green Sea Turtles. I am also giving you a black colored pencil and a highlighter. As you read, highlight details that you think are important and contribute to the main idea of the story. Take the black colored pencil and cross out the details that you do not think are super important like I did above. The main idea of this story is to give you more information on the turtles. There is a lot of information on the turtles, so pick facts that are main ideas. For example, where they live, what they eat, are they endangered, etc.”
​
6. Say: “Before you read, let’s go over a little vocabulary that you’ll see in the passage so you’ll know what it means.” [Write these on the board as well, with an example sentence so students may refer back.]
(a.) Migrate: (of an animal, typically a bird or fish) move from one region or habitat to another according to the seasons
(b.) Clutch: a nest of eggs or a brood of chicks
[Let students complete their reading and marking of the text.]
Say: “Now that we know what our vocabulary words mean, I will read a sentence using the word migrate: Similar to other sea turtles, green sea turtles migrate long distances between their feeding grounds and their nesting sites, with recorded distances longer than 1,615 miles (2,600 kilometers).
Now, I want you to complete this sentence using one of our vocabulary words: A female will dig out a nest with her flippers and lay a _____ of about 115 eggs.
[Wait for students to respond.]
That’s right! We would use the word clutch in the sentence.
​
7. Say: “When you’ve finished reading and marking the story, I want you to summarize it in 4 sentences or less. Remember to only include main ideas and details. Don’t include any of the details that you crossed out, only the ones that you have highlighted. Write in complete sentences and use correct punctuation. The most important thing is not to copy the text just like it is but put it in your own words, this is summarizing. When you’ve finished reading and summarizing, I want you to come and put your papers on the front table. Now let’s get to reading and summarizing.” [Allow 20-25 minutes for students to summarize.]
​
8. “Once you have completed your summaries, answer the following questions about what you just read. Use complete sentences and accurate punctuation.” [After students turn in their summarizations, hand out the comprehension questions and have them answer those on their own. Grade those for accuracy to assess their comprehension.]
Assessment:
Comprehension Questions:
-
What two countries have the largest nesting populations?
-
What type of diet do adult Sea Turtles primarily eat?
-
What is one type of threat to Green Sea Turtles?
Summary Checklist:
Did I…
__ Write my topic sentence?
__ Find supporting details to help answer the question?
__ Remove unimportant information by marking it out?
__ Remove repeated ideas?
__ Create a 3-5 sentence summary?
References:
“Green Sea Turtle” Article: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/facts/green-sea-turtle#green-sea-turtle-closeup-underwater.jpg
Zaloga, Aspen. Sailing into Summarization
https://aspenzaloga.wixsite.com/education/reading-to-learn-design
Murray, Bruce. Using About-Point to Awaken the Main Idea
https://murraba.wixsite.com/reading-lessons/rl
​
