Reading to Learn Design

Slipping and Sliding into Summarization

Rationale: To become a fluent reader, students must be able to summarize the texts that they have read. The about-point method has proven to be an effective method in building summarization skills in developing readers. In the about-point method, two important questions are asked. The first question is: What is the text about? The second question is: What is the main point the writer is making about that topic? The first question will help the reader identify the topic, and the second question pushes the reader to take a deeper look at the points made through the topic. Many passages cover a range of topics, so readers must find an umbrella term to identify the main points of the passage. In this lesson, students will build their summarization skills using the about-point method.

Materials:

Pencils
Paper
Summarization Checklist
Comprehension Quiz
Individual Copies of California Sea Lion

Procedures:

Say: “Summarizing is when we can recall the main points from a text that we just read. To help us remember and pick out the important points from a text, we use different methods. Today, we are going to learn to use the about-point method to help us summarize a text. In the about-point method, the reader must answer two important questions. The first question you must ask is ‘What is the text about?’. You must then answer the second question, which is ‘What is the main point the writer is making about that topic?’. We know that sometimes, a writer can have many important points, so to find those, we must look for an umbrella term that covers all of the important points that the writer made in the text.”
Say: “I am going to show you how to use the about-point strategy in a paragraph about Sea Lions. Have you ever seen a Sea-Lion in person? How do they move around? Let’s find out.”
Say: “Before we read, let’s discuss an unfamiliar vocabulary word found in the text. This word is aquatic. Aquatic means that it is related to water. For example, “There are many aquatic animals at the zoo.” What animals have you seen at the zoo that are aquatic? An aquatic animal is _____.”
Pass out the articles to students, and read the first paragraph aloud. Say: “This is the first paragraph from our article today: ‘California sea lions live on the western coast of North America from the Baja California peninsula in Mexico to British Columbia. These semi-aquatic mammals feed on fish, squid, and shellfish. They are generally found in open water, where they prefer to fish, but are sometimes found in rivers near the coast as well.’ This paragraph tells us about where sea lions are from, so what important points do you think the author is trying to make? Sea lions live in many different areas of open water. They usually feed on small aquatic animals. They can also be found in rivers near the coast. To put all three of these pieces of information together in a topic sentence: Sea lions are common to areas near open water where they can feed on small, aquatic animals.”
Say: “Now, you all are going to read another paragraph, and use the about-point method to summarize what you read. ‘These sea lions are an intelligent and social species. They travel in groups of 12 or more, and hang out on man-made structures such as piers or jetties. They gather on remote sandy beaches and rocky areas to breed. During breeding season, males claim and defend their territories. Males usually give birth to a single pup after 11 months. The pups are able to swim at birth, although young pups stay on the beach rather than venturing into the water.’ What is the paragraph about? (Let students answer.) Yes, it is about California sea lions. What are the main points the author is making about California sea lions? (Let students answer.) Yes, they hang out in groups, and defend their territories when they breed pups. What is special about these pups? (Let students answer.) Correct, they are able to swim at birth, but they prefer to stay on the beaches. Now, let’s combine those main points into one sentence starting with Sea Lions…..? (Let students answer.) Sea Lions hang out in groups and defend their territories so they can breed pups that will stay with these groups on land.”
Say: “Now, I want you to read the last paragraph. Using the about-point strategy, I want you to make your own topic sentence for the paragraph. On your piece of paper, I want you to add your topic sentence under the two that we made together. When you finish, you will have a helpful summary from the article. Remember to only pick out the important information, and to summarize the text using your own words. After you are finished, you will take a quiz so I can check your comprehension.”
Assessment: Collect each students summarization paper and evaluate their work using the summarization checklist.

Summarization Checklist:

____The student collected important, meaningful information.

____Did not use trivia or examples from the article.

____Reduced the text to important points from the original article.

____Presents an idea from each piece of the article.

____Organized a 3-5 sentence summary of main points.

____Answer both questions in the about-point method.

Comprehension Quiz:

Where do California sea lions live?
Where do California sea lions breed?
What are newborn sea lions able to do?
What colors are California sea lions?
How can California sea lions stay underwater for so long?

Refernces:

California Sea Lions, National Geographic https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/california-sea-lion/

Insights.

http://wp.auburn.edu/rdggenie/home/classroom/insights/

“Super Summarizer” Mary Claire Chase https://mcc0087.wixsite.com/readinglessons/readign-to-learn