Summarizing

Summarizing



Summarizing is telling the important events of ideas in a story in your own words. A summary is much shorter than a story. When writing a summary you only give the most important events or ideas in a story. A good summary does not give you ideas or opinions.

When you summarize you should : ･ pull out main ideas. ･ focus on key details. ･ use key words and phrases. ･ break down the larger ideas. ･ write only enough to convey the gist or main point. ･ take short but complete notes.


 * Watch the Video Clip below!

media type="custom" key="5894647" width="459" height="348"** Curriculum At -A- Glance Summarizing is important not only in writing, but also in reading. A reader must be able to summarize the major points, processes, and/or events of a nonfictional or real to life text. When a student summarizes they apply all of the skills we have been building on such as fact and opinion, inferences, synonyms and antonyms and word recognition skills. Below is a list of the activities we will be completing in class gradually over time to improve out summarizing skills.

Summarizing activities Story Pyramid  Name a main character. Give two words to describe him/her. Use three words to describe the setting. Use four words to describe the main problem. Use five words to describe an event leading to the problem in the story. Use six words to describe another event (before or after climax). Use seven words to describe an event that led to the solution. Use eight words to explain the solution. If this is the first time you have used this technique with the students, then it is recommended that they work in pairs. Ask students to share with the class and then clarify the problem and solution of the tale.

GIST Summarizing Activity:  1. Brainstorm 20 words that come to mind about the end of the story. 2. Then ask students to reach consensus on 5 that can be taken away (words that are not as important to explaining what happened at the end) 3. They must take away five more. (after students become used to this technique, they may want to have heated discussion about why some words are important and others not.) 4. Take away yet another five. Remember, the class must reach consensus. 5. The remaining five should then be used to create a sentence to summarize the main idea or lesson of the story. (Because you know this is the goal, guide students in the process the first few times to be sure that key words are not deleted.)

Story Events Activity  Next, tell students that they are going to become human illustrations. Before you can do this charades type activity, students need to compile a list of ten main events from the story. Write the group responses on a large piece of lined chart paper. Guide them to cover the main events. Avoid tiny details. This is a good time to clarify any confusion. Then group students in groups of two or three. Cut the paper apart and ask each group to select a strip. They then have five minutes to prepare a tableau or a human illustration of the event. The only props they can use are those they can find in the room during their five minutes. The rest of the class will try to guess what story scene the group is sharing. This is very impromptu and is not graded. The idea is for students to make sense of the story. Once each group has performed, pass out the plot structure handout and discuss with students the various parts of the plot line and ask students to place events on the organizer. Students may need help identifying the climax first.

Home Link This is a list of a variety of activities that you may try at home to reinforce what we are talking about in class. Choose the activity that your child likes the best! Summarizing can be fun. Also have the students work on any the games from the list below. 1. ** Implement retellings. **After your child has read something, watched a video, etc. ask him/her to put what s/he recalls in his/her own words. Unlike specific questions, retelling requires the learner to think about all of the information, mentally organize it, and put it in his/her own words. This requires a lot more thinking than simply answering a question with a few words. 2. ** Let your child help you with a family photo album or scrapbook. ** Use pictures, postcards, etc. to document family vacations, events, etc. Have the child generate a single statement that summarizes the trip, activity, experience, etc. 3. ** Use a variety of materials **--TV programs, comic strips, newspaper articles, etc. to give your child practice with summarizing. Read the selection together and have him/her put it in his/her own words. 4. ** Read informational text to your child **(in addition to the stories that you read). Stop occasionally and have your child put the information in his/her own words. Younger children can dictate the summary for you to write down in your best manuscript printing. Older students can write their own informal summaries down. 5. ** Help your 9-12 year-old child create a record of the year. ** Make a scrapbook of key news events that occur during the year. Have your child select newspaper articles, magazines, photographs, etc. that tell about news events. Have him/her mount the article and summary on a scrapbook page. Allow him/her to decorate the page if s/he wishes.

Games

[|Listening and Summarizing]This is a great practice that requires listening and not alot of reading! A great way to spice up summarizing!

[|Riddle]Solve the riddle by answering questions about the main idea!

[|Detective]Read carefully, be a detective and find the main idea! Summarize!

Nightly Reading Summarize 1 paragraph from the current chapter you are on in your assigned book club book!

Aligned to PA Assessment anchor and eligible content R6.A.2.5.1