Reaching High Towards Summarization

Cassie Jones

Reading to Learn

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Rationale

In order to become even better readers, it is so important that we are able to comprehend what we are reading. One way to improve our comprehension is to learn how to summarize what we just read! To summarize is to take all of the important details and main ideas out of a text and combine them in a smaller way that explains the story to someone who has not read it. This lesson will help students learn how to find the main ideas and key details in a text by having the teacher model summarization and then by practicing summarizing by themselves.

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Materials

1. Pencils

2. Paper

3. Yellow Highlighter

4. Black Marker

5. Dry-erase board

6. Dry-erase markers

7. Passage on Smart Board (“Giraffe Facts and Photos”)

8. Classroom copies of “Giraffe Facts and Photos”

9. Classroom copies of “Giraffe”

10. Classroom copies of “Siberian Tiger”

11. Rubric for Summarization

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Procedure

Introduction

1. Say:  Today we are going to talk about summarization! Do any of you know what summarization is? That’s right! Summarizing is when you take a story that we’ve read, and you pick out all of the important things. In order to summarize, we must learn how to do it! These are the three rules of summarizing and if you wish, you may write them down! First, after you read the passage or article, you are going to remove any repeated information. After you complete this, you will need to highlight the most important information. The third and final step is that you will write a very short statement about the main idea of what you just read!

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2. Say: Before we learn more about how to summarize, let's review what we've have learned over the past few days. When we have been talking about Africa, who can tell me what exactly we have been learning?  (Call on student.)  That's right! We have been talking about the different animals that you may find in Africa. Let's review some of the vocabulary we've talked about recently.  Yesterday, we said that a giraffe is a large spotted African mammal with a very long neck and long legs. You could say, "The giraffe picked apples off the very top of the tree."  Which of these animals could pick off food off of the very top of a tree? A lion, a hippo, a giraffe, or a tiger?  (Call on student.)  That's right!  A giraffe could reach the tops of trees because of its very long neck and legs!  Can someone give me a sentence using the animal, giraffe? (Call on student to share a sentence). Yesterday, we also talked the continent of Africa. We said that Africa is the world’s second-largest continent that has many wild animals. You could say, "It was a long journey from the United States to the continent of Africa."  Which one of these animals would you probably not find in Africa?  A Golden retriever, a zebra, a cheetah, or an elephant?  (Call on student.)  That's right! You will probably not find a Dalmatian in Africa because it probably wouldn’t survive there because of all of the wild animals.

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3. Say:  Now that we've reviewed our vocabulary, let's talk again about summarizing. Do you know why summarization is important?  It helps us pick out all the important things in the story. Have you ever summarized before? If you have, you know that when you do, you are going to tell about the main ideas and key points in the text.  When you’re summarizing, make sure that you only mention the important, big ideas and leave the not so important aspects of the story out. 

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4. Say:  Now we are going to read a passage together. I will read it on the Smartboard while you read it at your desk.  Read it quietly to yourself, and I will do the same.  Allow students a few minutes to read. Who can give me a brief summary of what you read? *Choose different students to share what they read*   You’ll notice on my copy of the story, on the board, that I highlighted important details and crossed out details that were not important. 

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5. Say: Have any of you wondered how giraffes live? Does their long neck help them to survive? Or is it hard on them? Giraffes are very interesting animals that have very unique qualities! In this article you are going to read all about giraffes and what makes them so cool!  I am going to passing out another article about giraffes. It is a little different from the article you just read. I am going to give you a black marker and a yellow highlighter. As you read, use the yellow highlighter to highlight details that you think are important and add to the main idea of the story.  Take the black marker that I have given you and cross out the details that you do not think are important. When you’ve finished reading and marking details in the story, I want you to summarize what you read in 10 sentences or less. Remember to only include main ideas and important details.  Do not include any of the details that you crossed out, only the ones that you have highlighted.  Write in complete sentences and be sure to use correct punctuation.  The most important thing is not to copy the text just like it is word for word but put it in your own words.  *Allow 15 minutes for students to summarize*

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6. Say:  Now that you have all summarized the passage, I will call on some of you to give me main ideas.  Let’s see if we can find ten main ideas.  *Listen as students read their summaries and look for common main ideas and then write them on the board*

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7. Say:  We have now summarized two articles.  I’m passing out another one called “Siberian Tiger.” I want you to read it to yourself and summarize.  Who can tell me what you’re looking for when you summarize?  We are looking for main ideas and important details.  Always be sure to include key words in the text.  When you’ve finished reading and summarizing, I will collect your papers.

I will ask these comprehension questions for a Reading Comprehension check at the end:

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1. How do tigers hunt for food?

2. What are tigers most renowned for?

3. How to tigers keep their rivals away?

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Rubric

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References

“Giraffe Facts and Photos” Article:  https://www.livescience.com/27336-giraffes.html

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“Giraffe” Article: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/g/giraffe/

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“Siberian Tiger” Article: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/s/siberian-tiger/

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For another lesson on summarization view: Addison Lebo’s “Don’t Monkey Around with Summarizing” https://addisonsreadinglessons.weebly.com/reading-to-learn.html

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