Ms. Littleton's Lesson Designs 2018
Brooke Littleton
Swinging Into Summarization
Reading to Learn Lesson Design
Rationale: The goal of reading is to comprehend the text. Fluent readers can enhance their reading comprehension through the means of several different strategies, one being summarization. When a student is reading for comprehension, they no longer have to spend time decoding words but instead can read correctly and fluently and are focused on understanding the message of the text. Summarization gives three main steps to follow in order to have a successful summary. First, one must delete trivia and redundancies, which will allow students to focus on the important information. Then students can generate superordinate terms of items or events. Finally, students compose topic sentences that includes all that covers the main ideas. The purpose of these steps and this lesson is for students to understand the text they are independently reading.
Materials: Pencils; paper; highlighter; poster with summarization rules: mark out unimportant or repeated information, highlight important information, underline unfamiliar vocabulary, and create a topic sentence for your summarization; Individual copies of article written about African elephants for kids “Animal Fact Guide: African Elephants”; individual copies of article from National Geographic kids “Polar Bears Listed as Threatened”; Individual copies of quiz
Procedure:
1. Say: Today we will be learning about reading comprehension, and specifically get in depth with summarization. When we comprehend the text we are reading, we understand what it means. Today we are going to learn how we can better summarize the text. Who in here knows what summarization means? (Allow them time to answer) When we summarize we retell what happened in the text. The way that we retell the text is shorter than the actual text but makes sure to include the important details. Let’s start our summarizing adventure!
2. Say: To help us summarize the best, we are going to follow the three steps. First, we need to go through the text and mark out any unimportant information and repetition. Then we need to create the topic sentence that will be the beginning of our summarized text. When thinking about different ways to create a topic sentence, a great idea is to use an “umbrella term”. An “umbrella term” is one key word that covers and relates to all the parts in the text. Thirdly, we will pick out the important information from what remains and summarize it.
3. Say: We are going to practice by using these rules in the articles we read today in class. In the articles we read there may be some unfamiliar vocabulary and that is okay. An example of a word that might be unfamiliar to you and could be seen in the articles is “conjunction”. “Conjunction” means the action or an instance of two or more events or things occurring at the same point in time or space. I could use this word in context by saying, “A saw mill was also operated in conjunction with the mill.” As you come across words that you do not understand in the text I would like you to circle them and we will go over them at the end as a class. I will then have you write down the unfamiliar words and their definition; along with a sentence example to familiarize yourself with the word.
4. Say: Now that we have gone over the rules of summarization and covered what to do when we come across unfamiliar vocabulary, we are ready to look at a paragraph together and try summarizing. I am going to put paragraph from an article on African elephants on the overhead for everyone to see. Raise your hand if you like to go see the elephants at the zoo? (let the students take turns responding). I love elephants and I don’t know about you guys but I would like to learn more about them. Today we are going to do just that! I am going to model to the class how we mark out unimportant information and repeated information, how to highlight main points we need to keep, and how to underline vocabulary I do not understand. Then we will pick out a topic sentence (using an "umbrella term" will help aid us in creating a topic sentence) by doing all of these things will create our summary. Let’s get started!
Paragraph from Article: An African elephant’s large ears also serve many purposes. The ears’ large surface area helps radiate excess heat under the harsh African sun. The ears are also often used to communicate visually. Flapping their ears can signify either aggression or joy. And finally, elephants’ ears, used in conjunction with the soles of their feet and their trunk, aid in the ability to hear sounds over long distances. On average, an elephant can hear another elephant’s call at 4 km (2.5 mi.) away. Under ideal conditions, their range of hearing can be increased to 10 km (6.2 mi.).
First, I would delete the first sentence because the sentence includes no significance except to introduce what is to come in the following sentences. Then I would delete “flapping their ears can signify either aggression or joy” because this sentence is an unneeded part to the paragraph. Then I would highlight “The ears’ large surface area helps radiate excess heat under the harsh African sun.” and “The ears are also often used to communicate visually.” Then I would circle the words “radiate” and “soles” because those are words I do not fully understand.
My new paragraph is this: The ears’ large surface area helps radiate excess heat under the harsh African sun. The ears are also often used to communicate visually. Elephants’ ears, used in conjunction with the soles of their feet and their trunk, aid in the ability to hear sounds over long distances. On average, an elephant can hear another elephant’s call at 4 km (2.5 mi.) away. Under ideal conditions, their range of hearing can be increased to 10 km (6.2 mi.).
5. Say: Now, I am going to pass out another paragraph from the same article on African elephants for you and a partner to summarize. Now I want each of you to remember our steps and rules on summarizing and if you forget the poster with the summarization rules written on them will be hung in the front of the classroom to look at. As you work through this activity I would like you to think about some questions. What is the main idea? What words can be kept to keep me fully understanding the paragraph?
Paragraph from Article for partners: Both male and female elephants possess tusks, which are modified incisor teeth. Although tusks are present at birth, the “baby tusks” fall out after a year, and permanent ones replace them. These tusks will continue to grow throughout the elephant’s life. Similar to the trunk, elephant tusks are utilized in a wide range of activities. They are used for digging, foraging, and fighting. At times, they also act as a resting place for the elephant’s very heavy trunk.
6. Say: Once you have finished summarizing this paragraph with your partner I would like you to put your pencils and highlighters down and raise your hands. I will then come and collect your summery. When everyone has completed the activity we will go over the paragraph as a class and decide on the best summarization for the paragraph.
7. Say: Okay, now that we have summarized as a class, and with partners, I would like you to try on your own. I will come around to pass out the article that I would like you to pick two paragraphs from and summarize! (pass out individual copies) This article is on polar bears and how they are a threatened species. What does it mean to be a threatened species? (allow time for students to answer and discuss as a class) Now it’s time for each of you to practice on your own. Just like you did with your partner, remember the summarizing rules and steps. The poster is still hanging in the front of the room if you need to look at it. I will be walking around the room in case any of you have questions. Do your very best and then we will share and discuss as a class!
Assessment: To asses each child’s reading comprehension and summarization skills I will look at their summaries. I also will give a short quiz to test students’ comprehension from the second article on polar bears. I will assess their use of the summarization steps, markings, and topic sentences. I will use the checklist and quiz questions below to do so:
Summery Checklist: Did the student…
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Have a clear topic sentence? Yes or No
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Mark out unimportant and repeated information? Yes or No
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Circle and write down any unfamiliar vocabulary? Yes or No
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Use an “umbrella term”? Yes or No
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Include and identify the main idea of the original paragraph in the summarized paragraph? Yes or No
Quiz Questions:
Where do polar bears live?
What do polar bears hunt?
Will polar bears new threatened status stop oil exploration within their habitat?
Are polar bears marine mammals?
References:
Maggie Neal, BEARable Summarization: https://mln0010.wixsite.com/mysite/reading-to-learn
Rebekah Kennedy, Super Summarizers: https://rjk0022.wixsite.com/lessondesigns/reading-to-learn
Animal fact guide for kids: https://animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/african-elephant/
National Geographic for kids: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/animalsnature/polar-bears-threatened/
