Reading to Learn Design

Swimming Into Summarization

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rationale: Comprehension is the ultimate goal of reading. Students who are at this level are ready to learn strategies to better understand a text. This lesson introduces the strategy of summarization. An effective method of summarization is called about- point, which asks two critical questions about the text. 1) What is the text about? While this question is easy, it helps locate the subject that will be in your topic sentence. 2) What is the main point the writer is making about the topic? Students will have to understand which information is important and which is trivial. In summarizing, only the most important parts are included. Being able to summarize leads students into asking higher level thinking questions and comprehensions.

 

Materials:

• Individual copies of the National Geographic Kids article about bottlenose dolphins

• Pencil and paper for each student

• Summarization checklist

• Bottlenose Dolphin Quiz

• Dry erase board and marker

 

Procedures:

 

1. Say: “Whenever we read a text, we won’t be able to memorize every single word because there are just too many details. Good readers don’t try to remember every word; instead, they focus on summarizing the most important points that the author is trying to make about the topic. When we break large texts into smaller chunks, the main ideas become easier to remember!”

2. Say: One way we can summarize is by using a strategy called about-point. When we use about-point, you will ask yourself two different questions about your reading. [Write the questions on the board for students to reference]. You will answer a more simple question, “What is the text about?” and a harder question, “What is the main point the writer is making about that topic?” When you answer the tough question, it will help you to identify the “umbrella term” that covers the important part that the author has written. To find the important parts the author wrote, you must find and take away any unimportant information. It helps to cross it out so you can’t see it. When you have the answers to these questions, it will later help you to formulate your sentences, especially your topic sentence!

3.  Say: Later in this lesson, I will model how to practice the about-point strategy with a paragraph in an article called “Bottlenose Dolphins”.  You are going to read this article today so that we can get the hang of summarization! Does anyone think they’ve ever seen a bottlenose dolphin? How long are they? What do they eat? How much do they weigh? These are just a few of the questions that you will learn how to answer.

4. Say: Let’s talk about an important vocabulary word that you’ll be reading: transmitted. Transmitted means the act of transferring something from one place to another. This could be a sickness, genes, or even things like light or sound. Another way to think about transmitting is to think of it as passing something off to someone else, or sharing something with someone. For example, “The window is transmitting light.” That means that I can see the light coming through the window. It is passing along through the window into the next room. What is something else that could be transmitted? Finish this sentence: The _________ transmits many different sounds to me. (Example answers: radio, TV, dog, etc.).

5. Say: Here is a paragraph from the story:

 

“Each dolphin has a special whistle that it creates soon after it is born. This whistle is used for identification, just like a human’s name. Dolphins also produce high frequency clicks, which act as a sonar system called echolocation (ek-oh-low-KAY-shun).”

 

This paragraph is about something cool that dolphins do, but what important part is the writer making? Dolphins squeak to make noises and whistle, but what for? If I put these points together, I can create a topic sentence: Even though dolphins make really cool noises and jump high in the air, we know that is a way of communication for them.

 

1. Say: Now it’s your turn! I’d like you to finish reading the article and use about-point to make a topic sentence for each paragraph. When you are finished, you should have a good summary of the article. This will help you remember the important facts about dolphins. Remember, we shouldn’t summarize examples or trivia; these are only written to help you understand the main ideas. Your job is to write a short version of the article  by summarizing in your own words. After everyone finishes, we will have a quiz to check for our understanding.

 

 

Checklist:

Collect each student’s summary of the article. Evaluate the responses using the following checklist:

 

Student Name:______________________

1. ____Wrote a topic sentence for each paragraph

2. ____Deleted unimportant or repetitive information

3. ____Significantly reduced the text from original to form summary

4. ____Identified important points

5. ____Successfully conjoined the important points to form a topic sentence

 

Quiz:

1. How can dolphins tell when another dolphin is near them and how big they are?

2. How high do dolphins typically jump in the air?

3. What is a dolphin’s sharpest sense?

4. How long do dolphins grow to be in length?

5. What kind of friendships do dolphins form with each other?

6. Why do dolphins make a “mud ring” together?

7. What is one problem humans have created for dolphins?

8. How fast can dolphins swim?

 

References:

• Bottlenose Dolphin

Article: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/bottlenose-dolphin/

• Murray, Bruce: Using About-Point to Awaken the Main

Idea. http://wp.auburn.edu/rdggenie/home/classroom/handoffs/

• https://murraba.wixsite.com/reading-lessons/rl

• https://wp.auburn.edu/rdggenie/home/classroom/awakenings/