Main Idea/Summarize

• Summarize the main ideas and supporting details

• Summarize stated and implied themes

• Identify the main incidents of a plot sequence and explain how they influence future action

• Clarify steps in a set of instructions or procedures for proper sequencing and completeness and revise if necessary

• Summarize the information in texts, recognizing that there may be several important ideas rather than just one main idea and identifying details that support each

• List questions and search for answers within the text to construct meaning

• Distinguish relevant from irrelevant information in a text and identify possible points of confusion for the reader

5th Grade

What Students Need to Know: • main idea

• supporting details

• theme

• stated

• implied

• plot sequence

• instructions

• procedures

• information

• relevant

• irrelevant

• questions

• answers

• meaning

• points of confusion

• proper sequencing

• completeness

What Students Need to be Able to Do: • summarize (main ideas/supporting details;

theme)

• identify (plot sequence, details that support important ideas, possible points of confusion to reader)

• explain (incidents in plot sequence influence future actions)

• clarify (instructions)

• revise (instructions)

• recognize (several important ideas, not just one)

• list (questions)

• search (for answers)

• distinguish (relevant from irrelevant informa-tion)

Important Vocabulary Main idea—The gist of a passage; the central thought; the chief topic of a passage ex-

pressed or implied in a word or phrase; the topic sentence of a paragraph; a state-ment in sentence form which gives the stated or implied major topic of a passage and the specific way in which the passage is limited in content or reference.

Theme—A topic of discussion or writing; a major idea or proposition broad enough to cover the entire scope of a literary work or work of art. Note: A theme may be stated or implied, but clues to it may be found in the ideas that are given special prominence or tend to recur in a work.

Plot—The careful sequencing of events in a story generally built around a conflict. Stages of plot includes exposition (background), rising action, climax, falling action and denouement (resolution).

main idea/summarizing

All of the indicators that have been grouped together into the Summarizing power stan-dard require the reader to determine what’s important in their reading. Whether students are asked to summarize the main idea and supporting details, retell the plot sequence in a piece of fiction, identify a theme, ask questions which may be answered by a piece of text, or sequence the events, they must be able to determine the important parts of the text. The ability to decide what’s important is perhaps one of the most important strategies that readers must have. It is also one of the most difficult to teach. In order for students to truly be proficient at these indicators, they will need repeated exposure using a variety of types of texts. Much modeling will be necessary before expecting students to participate in determining what’s important. After introducing the strategy through a read aloud and/or mini-lesson, follow-up with students during guided reading. This will provide students an opportunity to practice finding the important parts of a text while they are reading a selection at their level. In fact, at first, consider using an easier text. If you are expecting students to attend to what’s important in the text, they should not have to concentrate on decoding that text.

Readers constantly extract information from a text and ac-cumulate that extracted information in summary form. Summarizing does not mean simply that readers can “sum up” a text afterward, although that is part of the skill. It means that readers are remembering the text in “put together” ways so that they can en-gage in ongoing interpretation. It is summarizing as you read, putting together what you have read so far as you continue to process the text. (Guiding Readers and Writers, p. 319)

Remember that summarizing

is an in-the-head strategy.

The purpose is to help the

reader comprehend the text.

Complete the chart with two main ideas from the selection and one detail to support each main idea. (4 points)

Write a summary of the selection. Remember to include the main idea. Use the subheadings as a guide. (4 points)

At the end of the selection Katie makes it rain. Which of these incidents led to this action? A. She forces The Freedom’s crew to throw

their hats at a passing cloud. B. She makes Sal jump on a cloud in the sky. C. She catches a cloud and squeezes rain out

of it over the canal. D. She calls the railroaders and asks for their

help.

Identify Katie’s problem in the selection. De-scribe three steps Katie took to solve the prob-lem. (4 points)

Which statement summarizes the main idea of the selection? A. Amber can be made into beautiful jewelry

for people to admire. B. Many things can be learned about our an-

cient past by studying amber. C. The earth has changed in many ways over

millions of years. D. It is important to keep pieces of amber in

museums.

Use the selection to summarize how people used amber. (4 points)

Why do scientists study insects trapped in am-ber? A. To find out if the insects are alive B. To find out where amber is hidden C. To learn about the earth’s past D. To learn how amber cures illnesses

What do the passing boys and girls share with the trees? A. They are singing. B. They are passing down the roadway. C. They are new. D. They are catching rainbows.

In the beginning of the story, what is the main problem that Julia thinks she faces? A. How to persuade her mother to let her have

the ring B. How to get Emmaline to show her where

the ring is kept C. How to wear the ring to school without los-

ing it D. How to get her friends to like her again

What is the theme of this selection? A. Raising potatoes is hard work. B. Money represents hard work. C. Asking a parent for money can be scary. D. Children are often smarter than adults

think.

Main Idea Detail to Support the Main Idea

QUESTIONS FROM PREVIOUS TESTS

Suggested Strategies for

Teaching Main Idea/Summarizing

After having students read a selection, have them get together in small groups to demon-strate their understanding of the text. Teams should be given a copy of the “Choose a Quick One” handout and asked to select which of the four activities they would like to use to pre-sent their understanding of the information. • Quick Draw • Quick Write • Quick Drama • Quick Combo Each of these activities requires students to synthesize what they’ve learned while reading the text. Groups should submit a planning sheet after choosing an activity. Allow time for them to practice, then have each group present its evidence of understanding to the whole class.

Choose a Quick One

This activity helps students sculpt the main idea and create summaries while reading. The summaries are based on the detail notes that are placed in the far right column of the page. 1. Create three columns on the board. (When students do this activity by themselves, they

will do it on a sheet of paper.) The left column is labeled “Main Idea,” the middle col-umn “Summaries,” and the right column “Details.”

2. Based on the title of the text to be read, generate a possible main idea with the students and write it in the Main Idea column. This main idea can and may change throughout this process.

3. Read the first paragraph aloud, and take notes in the “Details” column. Details include key words, phrases and examples.

4. Use these detail notes to create a one-sentence summary to go in the middle column. Create several one-sentence summaries of different sections or paragraphs of a text.

5. Connect, mentally and/or with arrows, the summaries to the main idea. 6. Show students how the process went from column 1 to column 3, then to column 2 and

back to column 1. 7. Refine and rewrite the main idea in the left column as it evolves.

Evolving Main Idea with Three-Column Notes

choose a quick one

Title of Selection/Book _________________________________________________________________ Author _______________________________________________________________________________ Team Members: ________________________________________ ______________________________________ ________________________________________ ______________________________________ Work with a team and choose a Quick Draw, Quick Drama, Quick Write or Quick Combo to show your synthesis of your reading. Practice and present the final product to the class.

quick draw Get a large piece of paper and work quickly to sketch a collage of scenes, symbols, characters and important words from the reading • Make it colorful • Plan how to present the quick draw to the

class. We plan to sketch _________________________ _________________________________________

quick write Write a quick • poem • new ending • new beginning • different setting • song to the tune of a song you know like

“Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” or “This Old Man”

We plan to write __________________________ _________________________________________

quick drama Choose a scene from the reading and act it out using one of the following formats: • tableaux, or frozen scene, where nobody

moves • pantomime, with no talking • act out a scene with talking • interview a character We will act out the scene where _____________ _________________________________________ The type of quick drama we choose is _________________________________________

quick combo Combine any of the quick responses using a quick draw, drama or write: We will combine __________________________ _________________________________________ Here is our plan _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________

Are Your Students Plot Victims?

“Students are often plot victims; they simply recount the sequence of incidents that oc-curred in a story. The art of the teacher is to move them beyond synopsizing to a fuller consideration of what they have read and thought about. In the past, book reports were often simplistic recountings of plot: ‘and then he . . .’ ‘and then she. . .’ We want thought-ful, mindful interpretations and reflections of what they have read. We may be able to demonstrate a better strategy by having students use a double-column approach in their reading journals, for summarizing and synthesizing in writing. They could work with a novel they have read. On the left they summarize what happens in the story; on the right, they note their personal responses. The final written product can be a blending of the two columns. This separation and then integration of the two processes may help stu-dents notice the differences between summarizing and synthesizing.” The key idea here is to help students see beyond the basic story line and get more out of their reading.

Story Pyramids

Story Pyramids can be used to help students understand the parts of a story. Use the direc-tions below: 1. 1 word name of a character. 2. 2 words that describe the setting. 3. 3 words that describe a character. 4. 4 words in a sentence that describe one event. 5. 5 words in a sentence that describe another event.

1. __________ 2. __________ __________

3. __________ __________ __________ 4. __________ __________ __________ __________

5. __________ __________ __________ __________ __________

Many graphic organizers are available to help students understand plot. The following have been included in this handbook:

• Keeping Track of Difficult Text • Story Octagon

• Story Star • Variety of Story Maps

• Analyze Plot

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Story Octagon

Title ___________________________________________________________________ Author _________________________________________________________________

Detail

Detail D

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Characters Setting

Problem Solution

Story Star

Title ________________________________________ Author ______________________________

Where? Setting

Why? Author’s Theme

When? Mood

What happened? Events of the

Plot

How Did It End? Resolution

Who? Characters

Story Map

Characters Setting

Problem

Important Events

Solution

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T i t le

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C h a r a c t e r s

E v e n t s

P r o b l e m

Story Map Using Story Grammar

Solution

Analyze Plot

The plot is the collection of events that take place in a story. A story’s plot often focuses on a problem that the main character faces and tries to solve. The turning point is usually the most exciting part of the plot. Fill in this chart to help you analyze plot. Book Title: ________________________________________________________________________

Story Problem

Conclusion

Story Events that Lead to a Solution

Turning Point

Attempts to Solve the Problem

Sto

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Plot Chart The plot of a story can be represented by a chart like the one shown on the next page. Such a chart can serve as a guide to help students consider what is and is not crucial in-formation in a work of fiction. As students use the same chart on a regular basis, they will probably find that the same elements appear in every story, but they will also come to realize that they are not always introduced in the same order or accorded the same de-gree of importance. Notice that the “conflict” of the story is identified as what is bothering the main character or what the character wants to accomplish. Although a plot chart can give a teacher some useful insights into a reader’s understanding of the story, it is not intended as a test. Its greatest value is as a starting point for discussion. The chart that students fill out on paper is less important than the chart they are build-ing in their heads, the story schema that will help them recognize the importance of vari-ous “facts” in other stories they read. Teachers need to make this point explicitly so that students understand that the purpose of the instructional activity is not to “learn” a par-ticular story, but rather to become a particular kind of reader — a thoughtful one who seeks to “make sense” of fictional events.

Who Can Summarize? Read a section of text to students, ensuring that there are no breaks in conti-nuity or fluency. At key points, stop and ask, “Who can summarize what we have just heard?” Allow time for the students to reflect and provide a sum-mary of the key information that has been presented. As students provide the information, jot some notes on the key points on the chalkboard. Ask stu-dents to copy the information into their notebooks. For expository text, you have now provided students with a summary of the data you want them to learn; for narrative text, students now have a deeper understanding of the story.

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Plot Profiles “Students make plot profiles to examine the plot of a novel or chapter book story. After reading each chapter, students mark a graph to track the tension or excitement of the story. . . Teachers often introduce plot profiles as they teach students about the plot development of a story. Students learn that plot is the sequence of events involving characters in conflict situations and that a story’s plot is based on the goals of one or more char-acters and how they go about attaining these goals. “Chapter by chapter, as they read and mark a plot profile, students talk about plot development and the conflict situations in which characters are involved. They also learn that conflict is the tension between the forces in the plot and that it is what interests readers enough to continue reading the story. “Plot profiles also help students comprehend complex stories. By asking students to think about the con-flict and tension in the story, teachers ask students to draw their attention back to this basic structure of the story. Students read each chapter with a purpose in mind — understanding the conflict or tension in the story. Then, as they talk about the story, students ask questions and offer comments, their classmates clarify miscon-ceptions and offer comments, and all students’ understanding of the story grows. At the end of the book, the plot profile provides a visual representation for students to use in deepening their comprehension of the story. 1. Give each student a copy of the plot profile chart (included in this handbook) and make a large one for the

class. There needs to be one column for each chapter. For books with more than ten chapters, add additional pages.

2. After reading the first chapter, discuss the plot development of the story and the tension in the chapter. Have one student mark the class graph while all students mark their individual graphs.

3. Continue with each chapter. 4. When finished with the story, reflect on how the author developed the plot of the story. Think about the im-

pact of the conflict and story events on the characters. Students might write a reflection on the plot to go with their plot profiles.

Start with the Familiar Students will understand the elements of fiction better if they first learn about them in relation to what they know well. Try some of the following: • Have students identify the main character, his or her problem and the most important

events of a favorite TV show or movie. • Pick a favorite fairy tale, nursery rhyme, or children’s story. Analyze it for characters,

setting, plot, problem, solution, theme, and point of view. • Examine comic strips for elements of fiction • Use wordless picture books, considering the following questions:

1. What is the most important thing happening in the story? Why is it the most important?

2. Which are the most important characters in the story and why do you think so? 3. What problems do the major characters have? 4. How do the major characters solve their problems? 5. Are different endings possible? 6. Which of the endings do you like best — the original or one suggested by

classmates?

Plot Profile for ___________________________________________

High

Low

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

CHAPTER

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Narrative Story Map The story map is a tried-and-true way to show the important elements of narrative text. It also can be used with history texts as an outline of an important event, with support-ing events leading up to the climax (perhaps for a war). A blank story map is found on the next page. 1. Model on the overhead or board how to fill in the story map for various texts such as

short stories, songs, fables, television shows, movies and any novels that you already have read in class.

2. First, fill in the character names around the oval in the bottom right corner. You can add doodles or notes, such as protagonist and antagonist labels, next to the names if you like.

3. Fill in place and time. Discuss why the author might have chosen this setting. 4. Put the main problem or conflict in the large diagonal box. If you are filling in the

map during reading, emphasize the use of pencil because the conflict may change. 5. On the left-hand lines, put the important events that lead up to the final climax or

resolution of the problem. This is great practice for summarizing because the lines do not allow much space.

6. Summarize the climax or resolution in the banner box at the top. 7. Put the final events on the “ending events” and “changes” lines at the right. These

are the important events and changes in the characters or situations that resulted after the resolution.

8. Discuss the message or lesson that the author might have intended when writing the text. Consider historical, moral, social, political and entertainment purposes. Write the theme, message or lesson in the box on the right.

9. Have students use the map with additional texts on their own. Variation Modify this graphic organizer according to the particular story you are using. For ex-ample, some stories have an early resolution and a large number of ending events, so you could add more lines in that section.

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Main Conflict:

Teaching about Theme Start with an introductory activity that is not based on literature. This activity should help students acti-vate background knowledge and can be a survey, opinionnaire or role-play. Move then to a simple text through which you direct students. Picture books are great for discussing theme, and they can be read in a short amount of time. The theme of picture books is often clearly stated, and the characters and situations are less complex than they are in most stories or novels written for older readers. Move then to more complex text, perhaps poetry. As you guide students through this reading, ask some of the following questions: Theme and Plot: What happens? What is it about? What seem to be the most important events? How are those events tied together? What do they have in common? Theme and Character: Who is the main character? What does that character say and do? What does the character’s behavior sug-gest about people in general? Theme (author’s generalization): What does this text mean? What does it seem to be saying about life or about people? What does the author seem to think, or want us to think about, by telling us this story? Finally move to a complex text and have students work individually on determining theme before coming together to discuss it with classmates. At this point they may want to think about these questions in addition to the ones listed above: Theme and Language: What are the connotations of the words that the author uses? Is there a pattern in the language? Do the images have similarities and differences — what do those similarities and differences mean?

Questions to Discover Theme

A writer’s message, or main idea, is the theme of the work. To figure out the theme, ask these questions:

1. What “big idea” is the story about?

2. What do characters do or say that relates to that topic?

3. What important lessons about life do readers learn?

Problems with Theme

When working with students on understanding theme, there are some common problems that may occur. Be on the look-out for the following:

• Confusing subject for theme. The subject is what happens on the surface of the story, and only in the story. The theme is more about the purpose of the story, the reason the author had for writing it. Theme should state generalizations that go beyond the world of the story.

• Leaving out important details. The theme must not disagree with or fail to consider any important details of character or plot.

• Looking for the moral of the story. Although some texts do have a moral as a theme, many, especially more modern and more complex texts, have themes that are more subtle than morals about how we should live or behave.

Common Topics for Themes

Childhood Courage Death Faith Family

Freedom Friendship Growing up

Hate Hope

Identity Independence

Justice Love

Loyalty Nature Patience Patriotism Prejudice

Race relations Self-improvement

Self-reliance Success Trust Truth

Unhappiness Violence

War

Theme Center

“Theme is one of the more difficult literary elements for students to recognize. . . .Talk about theme as being the big idea or issue that the author crafts the book around.” Use the attached “Theme Sheet” to help students learn to identify theme by following these steps: 1. Read a short selection. 2. Identify the theme. 3. Provide three supports from the text that helped identify the theme. 4. Connect the theme in this text to other selections that have been read. Students do best in identifying theme when the selections can be related to their personal lives. A sheet with information for students on identifying theme is also included.

Retelling a story can help students synthesize to get to the significant issues. As they compare retellings, they can begin to notice the weight each teller places on different aspects of the story as they personalize their versions. We can list common themes found in the retellings on a chart, showing how we all struggle to move to the universal truths as we share narratives. It may help to have the students write a synthesis of the story. Have them find supportive information from their story that supports their choices. Students can read these passages aloud.

Identifying Theme

The theme is the big idea that stretches across a story. Some examples of themes are:

Love Death

Prejudice Guilt

People versus nature Growing up

The same themes can be found in many texts and genres. In order to iden-tify the theme, we should: • Examine the beginning and end of the

text • Think about the dialogue • Look for evidence of internal monologue • Think about how the title relates to the

story • Consider the author’s message

Theme

Title ______________________________________ Author _________________________________ Theme (the big idea or issue that is important to the author)

What helped me to identify the theme? Reason One

What helped me to identify the theme? Reason Three

What helped me to identify the theme? Reason Two

Other texts I’ve read with the same theme

From Cassetta, 2001

Helping Students Understand Theme

“Using specific details in a book about character, time, conflict, or relationships and creating gen-eral statements that express a theme is difficult . . . Start with experiences from their lives, and together . . . create themes from these. Share these with students as well as others you collect from your experiences. . .” Detail: Several students consistently arrive at school out of dress code. Though parents have come to school with a change of clothing and many students have repeatedly been sent home, a group persists in dressing inappropriately. Theme: One way to protest rules is to repeatedly break them. Detail: At a party, Sue, an outstanding citizen and student, is urged to drink. She refuses, saying that she has a headache and doesn’t want any. Her peers insist she’s a wus and afraid of what her parents will say. Sue gives in. Theme: Peer pressure can make people do things they don’t want to do. “First, I explain how I generalize the theme from the detail, pointing out that I don’t use names or specific situations, but try to arrive at a statement that could apply to similar situations. Once students understand, through discussion, the differences between the theme and details, I invite them to use this thinking with the books they are reading. “Next, I encourage students to use details to discover themes from a read-aloud I’ve completed. I invite pairs of students to select details from Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, then generalize to the theme, for I want students to see that a book contains many themes. What follows is the thinking of two pairs of sixth graders: Detail: Brend and Ellie whine about going to Millsburg for school shopping. When Mama says there’s no money, they insist they want to just look around. They end up getting $5.00 by insisting their daddy prom-ised it to them. Theme: Some children can easily manipulate parents and get their way. Detail: Jess denies Leslie drowned when his father tells him. He gets angry and insists it’s a lie. Then he thinks about things Leslie said and things they did together. Theme: When you love someone, accepting an unexpected death is tough. First there’s denial, then anger.

Concept-Details Notes

In the concept-details note-taking method students write the names of concepts on the left side of a page and supporting key details on the right side. These notes can then easily be studied for tests.

Theme is the aspect of literary writing that makes it more than entertainment. It is also, of-ten, the most difficult aspect of literary analysis for students in the middle grades to grasp. Some students cannot move beyond looking for the “moral of the story” to conceive of theme as the “idea that holds the story together such as a comment about society, human na-ture, or the human condition.” One way to help students grasp theme is to raise the issue before they read. As a pre-reading activity you might use a web to help students see the issues related to a certain topic they will be reading about. You might also try using a Three-Level Guide. This guide requires students to think about what’s in the selection, what they can infer from the selection, and possible themes. The Three-Level Guide is created using three tiers of statements. The first tier asks students to mark items found directly in the story. The second tier asks students to identify items they think are probably true based on what happens in the story. The third tier calls for marking statements that they think the author might make based on what happens in the story. A sample for “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” follows. A blank template for creating your own Three-Level Guide is on the next page. I. Mark each item below that is directly in the story. (Be prepared to show where.) Leave the line blank if the item is false or unstated. _____ 1. Ichabod Crane is a poor schoolteacher. _____ 2. Ichabod is better educated than practically everyone else in the village. _____ 3. People in the village, including Ichabod, believe in ghosts and other superstitions. _____ 4. Icabod decides to avoid Brom because he has challenged him to fight. II. Mark each item below that you think is probably true, based on what happens in the story. _____ 1. Ichabod wants to marry Katrina for her money. _____ 2. Ichabod sees himself as superior to other people in the village. _____ 3. Brom is a bully who enjoys humiliating Ichabod. _____ 4. Katrina uses Ichabod to make Brom jealous. III. Mark those statements below that you think the author might make, based on what happens in this story. _____ 1. People who are “social climbers,” trying to be better than others, deserve to be punished. _____ 2. People should marry for love, not for money. _____ 3. It is easy to take advantage of the fears of superstitious people. _____ 4. Some people are just “born losers” who don’t seem able to make others like or respect them. Discussion of this Three-Level Guide should focus on section III where several possible themes have been presented. Students then select the ones that they think fit and support them with information from the text. Other ways to introduce theme prior to reading a selection might be through having one or more statements in an anticipation guide focus on the theme of the selection.

Considering Themes

Three-Level guide

Name ___________________________ Date _________ Title of Selection _________________________________ I. Mark each item below that is directly in the story. (Be prepared to show where.) Leave the line blank if the item is false or unstated. _____ 1. _____ 2. _____ 3. _____ 4. II. Mark each item below that you think is probably true, based on what happens in the story. _____ 1. _____ 2. _____ 3. _____ 4. III. Mark those statements below that you think the author might make, based on what happens in this story. _____ 1. _____ 2. _____ 3. _____ 4.

Get the Gist This strategy helps students to focus on the main idea in a passage. It also gives them the op-portunity to learn how others think as they state their ideas and reasons. This allows you to check students’ understanding of summarization and to determine if they can correctly iden-tify the main idea.

Have the students read a short passage, then discuss with them what the passage was about. Ask individual students to identify if the passage was mainly about a person, place or thing, and decide what was most important. Ask the class members if they agree. If not, have oth-ers explain what they feel was most important. After discussing have each student write one sentence summarizing what the class decided was the main idea.

Paraphrasing/Summarizing

This strategy involves reading a paragraph or short section, putting the information aside, asking questions about the main idea and important details, then putting the main idea and details into your own words in complete sentences. This is a strategy that is necessary not only for comprehension, but also for reports and term papers. It assesses students’ compre-hension because they cannot rely on the author’s wording.

Model this strategy before the students attempt it. Follow these steps:

• Explain to students the skill of summarizing, or providing a brief description of the infor-mation that was covered.

• Model summarizing short passages.

• Give students guided practice.

• Have the students individually practice summarizing. Check to ensure understanding.

• Extend the concept and have students use it on their own.

Students should be encouraged to make their summaries informative, yet brief. Use a portion of text that has already been studied, then try it with unfamiliar text.

Model how to develop summaries for students often before asking them to create their own summaries. The following process may help in teaching this skill: 1. Read the text, getting a quick idea of it and its main idea. 2. Underline, highlight, use post-its, etc. to keep in mind important information. 3. Distinguish between information and details — details usually do not appear in

summaries. 4. Write a paragraph-long summary organized around the key information. 5. Write the same summary in one sentence. 6. Have students trade summaries, imagining they had never read the text that was

summarized, explaining why they would or would not be able to understand what it was about based on this summary.

7. Add information or write down questions on their partner’s summary that will help them improve it.

8. Return the summary to the original writer and have them use the new information — questions, suggestions, details, expanded knowledge from reading others’ summa-ries — to revise their previous summary.

9. Use signal words, at least while learning how to write summaries, to guide them and provide more structure to the reader: first, then, finally

10. Students should ask themselves the following questions to ensure a quality sum-mary has been written:

• What happened? • What is essential to tell? • What was the outcome? • Who was involved? • Why did this happen? • Is that a detail or essential information?

Teaching about Summarizing

Strategies and Tips for Making Summaries 1. After you read a selection, ask, “What was the story about?” Try to sum up your answer in a

single sentence. 2. Don’t confuse a fact in the story with the main idea. 3. When you write a summary, put in only the most important information. Leave out the less

important details.

1. Give students a short passage at their instructional level and tell them that they will be writing a summary of the passage.

2. Have students read the passage independently. 3. When all students are finished with the reading, have them turn their papers facedown. Then

ask them to tell you what they remembered from the passage. List this information on the board.

4. Have students reread the passage thinking about what has already been listed, what needs to be added, and what should be deleted.

5. Students then suggest changes to the list, and revisions are made. 6. Then ask students to suggest categories for the information. List the categories and have stu-

dents divide the items on the list into the categories, creating an outline. 7. Use the outline as the basis for a summary. Lots of modeling and practice will help your students GRASP (Guided Reading and Summarizing Pro-cedure) how to write a summary!

GRASP

Magnet Summaries

Talk about how a magnet attracts many objects to itself. Then relate the concept of a magnet to students’ reading. While reading, there are certain words that seem to draw all of the other words to them. These are the key terms or concepts —magnet words — of the selection. After reading a nonfiction selection, ask students to identify a key term or concept from the reading. Students write this word in the middle of an index card. Then solicit some of the important de-tails related to this magnet word. These important details are writ-ten around the magnet word on the index card in smaller letters. On the back of the card, students then use the magnet word and important detail words to write a summary. When starting this activity, take one paragraph at a time and determine the magnet word together as well as the details to in-clude. Then move to finding the magnet words together with students coming up with the details on their own. Finally, have students find their own magnet words and details.

No trees far from each other loneliness

Homes on the Prairie Dirt floors

Sod houses “soddies”

Homes on the prairie were sod houses called “soddies,” be-cause they had no trees. People were lonely because the houses were far from each other.

Oral Summaries

Have students work in groups for this summarizing activity. Each group member reads a por-tion of the text (start with a single paragraph and gradually build up to an entire selection or chap-ter) and thinks of a way to summarize it. When all members have finished the reading, they take turns telling their summary of the portion read. Discussion and substantiation are encouraged until they agree on a single summary. The group continues with this process until they have completed the entire selection.

1. Read the passage. 2. Record important words or phrases. 3. Rate each key point. 4. Pick the top three points. 5. Use these three important points to write a one sentence summary of the passage. 6. Underline the key points in your summary. Use the graphic organizer on the next page to record the top three points and one sentence sum-mary

Graphic Organizer for Summaries

Have students capture the “gist” of a passage by writing a summary of 15—20 words. The Gist Summary may be all one sentence or several sentences, but students must use at least 15 words and no more than 20 words to summarize the passage they have read. Have them share with each other what they’ve written. Students can generate a chart listing qualities of a good sum-mary which can be used to evaluate how they’ve done.

GIST

Impo

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a Im

port

ant I

dea

Impo

rtan

t Ide

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Sum

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it cl

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Some students are hesitant to share their summaries with the entire class; however, they can work with a peer to create summaries that meet the appropriate criteria. 1. Have students read and summarize a text. This could be done for homework. 2. In class, ask each student to draw a line under his or her summary and then trade summaries with

a partner. 3. Ask students to answer the following questions on their partner’s paper, under the line: -If you hadn’t read the text yourself, would you be able to understand what it was about from this summary? Why or why not? -Is there anything important that should be added to this summary? What is it? -Is there anything unimportant that could be left out of the summary? What is it? 4. Have students return the summaries to their authors and ask them to read the answers to the

questions. 5. Have students revise their summaries based on the feedback they received.

Summary Analysis by a Peer

Paragraph by Paragraph—Sum It Up

When teaching students to summarize, break the reading selection down into small sections — a para-graph or two at a time. After reading a section, ask students to write a one sentence summary of it or make up a title for each section. This encourages them to reflect on what they have read to determine the most important idea. Such analysis will help them better understand and remember what they read. Use this strategy while introducing a new book to students. Without showing the title, share an illustra-tion from the book and ask students to write a title based on what they see in the picture. Discuss how they came up with these “thumb-nail” summaries. Next show them the actual title and read the first paragraph with them. Write four possible titles for the first paragraph on the board and ask students to pick the one that best captures the main idea of the paragraph. Continue this process with several paragraphs, then ask students to make up their own titles for subsequent paragraphs. Explain to students that putting the author’s ideas into your own words and forcing yourself to be brief is a good way to understand and remember what the author is writing about. This strategy can be used whenever students will benefit from writing very short summaries — titles. Short articles or textbook chapters are possibilities as well as some informational trade books. Newspapers also offer another opportunity for creating summary titles. With newspapers, cut off headlines and let students cre-ate their own. Then compare their headlines with those actually used in the newspaper and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Three Word Main Idea Map

Use this procedure to help students identify the main idea of a selection. 1. Have students read, view or listen to a selection or presentation. 2. Tell students to choose three main-idea words that seem important to them about the overall message

of what they read, saw, or heard. 3. Have them put each main-idea word in one of the ovals on the map and then draw “spokes” radiating

from each oval. 4. Students can find details from the selection or presentation that support each main idea word and

write them on or at the end of each spoke. (If they can’t find details to support a word, choose a differ-ent main-idea word.)

5. In the box, have them write the main idea of the selection or presentation in a sentence using the three words they chose.

After reading a thought-provoking selection, ask students to be silent and then to write only two words (not in a phrase) that reflect their thinking about the passage. At first it may be helpful to provide a half sheet of paper with a box for each focus word. This helps the students understand that the words do not have to be related or in a phrase. After selecting their words, students turn to someone close to them and read their words, tell why they chose them, and explain how they relate to the story and/or their personal lives. At this point, it works well to create a class list of words that were chosen by various individuals. As each word is added to the list and the rationale for selection is shared, a rich tapestry of understandings about the story begins to surface. Students really enjoy hearing the diverse.

Two Word Strategy

Note Card Facts

Before reading, give small groups of students 8 to 10 note cards per group. As students read, they are to locate key facts or concepts from the text and write one on each card. After the reading, collect the cards and process the information with the class as a whole. Similar facts should be grouped to-gether and recorded on the board. The class should suggest ways to convey the facts and concepts as clearly, completely, and concisely as possible. Then have students return to the text material and discuss whether any important points were left off the list on the board.

Three-Word Main Idea Map

Two-Word Strategy

Title of book ___________________________________

word 1 word 2

I chose these words because

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

from Revisit, Reflect, Retell by Linda Hoyt, 1999

1. Have students read a text with a partner or in small groups.

2. Ask students to generate a list of quotes that express the main idea of the passage.

3. Groups discuss the text and select their favorite quote.

4. Students fill out Quotation Sensation forms (attached), justifying their choice of quote to the rest of the class.

Quotation Sensation

Terrific Titles

1. Have students read a chapter or section of a book with a partner or in a small group.

2. Ask students to discuss the chapter and generate a list of possible titles for the text.

3. Groups choose a title that best summarizes the main idea of the text.

4. Groups explain their choice to the class.

5. Have students fill out the Terrific Titles form (see attachment).

6. Groups present their titles to the class.

7. Discuss the different choices of titles for the same text.

More Graphic Organizers

A variety of graphic organizers that can be used to help students determine the main idea of a passage and then turn that main idea into a summary are found in the next pages.

Quotation Sensation – A Summarizing Activity

1. Choose a sensational quote from the selection. Make sure that your quote includes the

most important point in the selection. Sensational Quote: _____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

2. Explain why you chose this quote:

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

3. Draw a graphic or symbol illustrating your quote:

4. Explain your graphic: _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _____________________________________

from A Practical Guide to Reciprocal Teaching by Shira Lubliner

Terrific Titles: A Summarizing Activity

1. Give your reading selection a title.

Title

2. Explain why you chose this title: _____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

3. Illustrate your terrific title with a graphic:

4. Explain your graphic: _____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

from A Practical Guide to Reciprocal Teaching by Shira Lubliner

Summarize

When you tell a friend what a movie was about, you’re giving a summary. A good summary tells the most important de-tails about a topic in your own words. Use this chart to help you identify details or events. Then put them together into a summary. Book Title: _____________________________

Important Detail or Event

Important Detail or Event Important Detail or Event

Important Detail or Event

Summary

Map It Out Strategy

The Main Idea:

Key Points:

• ______________________________________________________

• ______________________________________________________

• ______________________________________________________

• _______________________________________________________

My Summary:

from Snapshots by Linda Hoyt, 2001

How do you know that’s the most important idea? Write three examples orcomments that support your assertion that this is the most important idea. If theyare quotes, include the page numbers so you can refer to them later when writingabout or discussing this idea.

1. ___________________________________________________________________

2. ___________________________________________________________________

3. ___________________________________________________________________

from Reading Reminders by Jim Burke, 2000

What’s the Big Idea?

Narrow It Down: What’s the Most Important Point?

Summarizing Interesting Details Summary of Learning

“Good readers can summarize and identify main ideas. While many students can sum-marize with guidance, it is important to give them practice summarizing independently, as that is the mode of reading and thinking that empowers them as independent learn-ers.” (Hoyt, 2000) Give students a copy of a paragraph and ask them to identify the main idea of the passage and a supporting detail or two. Then model how you would plan a short sum-mary of the paragraph, showing students how to start, how to decide what to include, what to leave out, and how to avoid just repeating the words of the author. Identify a key word for each sentence. Sometimes these words will come directly from the text, and sometimes they are a combination of the text and your reaction. These words can then be used to summarize. As students begin writing their own summaries, encourage them to determine the essential elements of a good summary. The following key questions will help: 1. What are the characteristics of a brief paragraph summary? 2. How do you separate main ideas from supporting details? 3. How do you keep it short and avoid just repeating the au-

thor’s words? 4. What else might you have tried?

Key Words to Summarize

Key Words: Powerful Protect Fast Underwater Kill/protect

Example: The power of the crocodile is like that of a monstrous machine. With one lunge it can destroy its prey and protect the kill from other predators. Its powerful tail propels it forward at enormous speed, allowing it to surprise the animal it is stalking. As the huge jaws clamp down and snare the animal, the crocodile buries its head underwater. This action drowns the prey and removes the kill from the view of other predators. In one swift, powerful lunge the crocodile both kills and protects its dinner.

Save the Last Word for Me

Save the Last Word for Me is a strategy designed to help students as they read challenging materials. Procedure: 1. Students make notes on separate paper, in their journals, or on sticky

notes as they read each portion of a text. They might note important infor-mation, copy a critical sentence, record what they don’t understand, or jot down unfamiliar vocabulary. Each student decides what to write.

2. Discussion begins after all small-group members have completed reading the portion of the text.

3. One by one, students introduce an idea from their notes for group discus-sion.

4. Others in the group may respond to the idea, answer the question, or pro-vide their own definitions for vocabulary words. Conversations may take many directions.

5. After all others have offered their thoughts, the student who introduced the topic has the “last word” and may offer an opinion or summarize the discus-sion.

6. The next student in the group offers another topic, and the discussion be-gins again.

7. After each group member has started a discussion, students read and make notes about the next portion of the text.

Just the Facts

As students read, ask them to either summarize the key details of the text into a three-minute newscast or to write a news article summarizing the five Ws. Remind students that in a television newscast time is precious, so they should stick to only the main ideas in their presentation. News articles should be clear and easily read, and should provide all of the pertinent details. They should be written as though the information is breaking news — an article on penicillin, for instance, might discuss a “recent discovery” in medicine. Infor-mation on key historical figures or events might even be presented as human-interest stories.

Schema Stories

Schema Stories is a reading strategy lesson that helps readers “reconstruct the order of a text based on meaning and story grammar.” This strategy helps stu-dents learn to anticipate such elements as setting, problem to be addressed by the characters, key events in the story and resolution of the story. Start with stories that contain familiar beginning and ending phrases, such as Once upon a time and They lived happily ever after. After choosing an interesting story, prepare the schema story strategy lesson by making a photocopy of the text and physically cutting the photocopy into sections or parts that are long enough to contain at least one main idea. Usually, one or two paragraphs will be a sufficient length to accomplish this purpose. Procedure: 1. Distribute a section or part of the story to each small group of students (4-8

students) Typically, one student is selected in each group to read the text aloud for her group.

2. Once each group has read its story part, ask if any group believes they were given the section of the story that comes at the beginning of the story. Stu-dents who believe they have the beginning of the story are to raise their hands to respond. Those who raise their hands must state why they believe they have the beginning of the story.

3. After the majority of the students agree as to which section or story part is first, the group proceeds to the next segment of the story.

4. This process continues as described until all of the segments have been placed in a predicted order.

Variations: • As a center activity, each student can select an envelope that contains the seg-

ments of the text. He/she then works to put the segments in their proper se-quence.

Questions about Theme

Use the following questions to help students learn about the theme of a selec-tion: • How does the title relate to the story? • Discuss some points that the author is making about family, friends, feelings,

nature, life experiences, or an historical period. Use details from the story that back up a point you’re making

• Discuss what the author might have been saying about family relationships and offer support from the story to back up your position.

P-Q-R-S-T

This strategy works well with informational text. To start, explain or show what P-Q-R-S-t stands for: P—Preview to identify main parts. Q—Develop questions to which you want to find answers. R—Read the material, twice if possible. S— State the central idea or theme. T—Test yourself by answering questions (or teach the material to someone else). The “P” and “Q” portions create an anticipation guide and prime the brain for what is to come. Although reading the material twice increases comprehension, it’s not always possible in our busy world. Nonetheless, it’s worth requiring once in a while. The central idea usually has two parts: the topic and the author’s claim about the topic. Ask your students to find the central idea or theme for each subsection, not just a global one for the chapter. After your students have been guided through the process two or more times, assign them to do a P-Q-R-S-T process for whatever material they’re studying. Variations If more than one student focuses on the same subsection, members of your class could critique one another’s questions and responses to those questions. Ask students to pose questions in advance and present them to classmates for approval. Classmates consider the questions’ relevancy and clarity. This can be done orally or in written form. When first starting with this technique, choose shorter passages. A paragraph is fine. Good teachers often practice new behaviors and skills in short chunks. The task isn’t so overwhelming, success is more likely, and nothing motivates like success. Once in a while after students finish, ask them whether or not they would change their questions if they were to do it all over again, and to explain their thinking. Such analysis not only prompts students to revisit the text, but it also forces them to question their learning strategy and success — a good skill for becoming their own advocates.

T-Chart/T-List

Many students are not able to read or experience content on their own or to deter-mine what’s important until the late high school years. Therefore, if students are to be successful, it’s important to structure content and skills so that they have help retrieving and retaining information for the long term. Use a T-chart, or T-list, to help the brain learn and structure information for storage. T-charts can also make good study guides. Basic Sequence Before students read text material, watch a video or demonstration, go on a field trip, or listen to a lecture, give them a partially completed T-chart. The left side of the chart can show general concepts or questions while the right usually can show more details. Provide students with the main ideas or questions and have them determine the supporting details or evidence or give students some of the sup-porting details and have them determine the main ideas or questions. You might even try providing a mixture of main ideas and supporting details. The idea is to establish a purpose and a structure for their learning. After you’ve helped students by modeling how to complete a T-chart and letting them do some on their own, you might consider having students create their own T-charts to fit the reading selection. This can also serve as a study guide for later review. By folding their T-charts along the centerline, they can test themselves by flipping back and forth between main ideas and supporting details. Anything that lends itself to separation and study can be expressed in a T-chart, such as the following: • Main ideas and their supporting details • Questions and answers • Claims and arguments for the claims • Categories and examples • Antonyms • Causes and Effects • Problems and Solutions • Terms and their definitions • Analogies and real-life examples • Before and after

Main Ideas Details or Examples Three reasons for . . . 1.

2. 3.

Three effects of . . . 1. 2. 3.

Three examples of . . . 1. 2. 3.

Taboo

Quick: Get someone to guess the phrase “latitude and longitude” without pointing to anything in the room, without gesturing, and without using any of the following words in your clues: coordinates, degree, Greenwich, grid, inter-national, lines, map, meridians, parallels, prime or any number. These words are forbidden, or “taboo.” The technique, familiar from the popular Milton Bradley board game, is difficult at first, but students soon become comfortable circumnavigating the taboo words and find innovative ways to describe the word’s definition. Students practice summarizing in this activity as they create their own deck of Taboo cards and when they guess what the speaker is trying to get them to say during the game itself. Taboo is also great for assessing information. When students create a Taboo card for a word, they list what they consider to be important associations. By just glancing at the cards, you can assess what the students took away from the learning experience. Basic Sequence To prepare the students, play a demonstration game as a whole class, using a set of about 30 Taboo cards related to previous topics of study. To make a Taboo card, turn an index card vertically and write a concept or vo-cabulary word at the top. Place a thick line underneath that word. In the re-maining space under the line, write five to seven words or concepts your stu-dents would normally associate with the word above the line. To play a game of Taboo, you’ll need a deck of prepared Taboo cards, a timer and a buzzer. 1. Divide the class into two teams, giving each team half of the cards — in a

stack, face down. 2. Select a representative from each team to start. At the signal “Go” the per-

son turns up the first card and gives clues trying to get his/her teammates to say the word.

3. Allow 1 minute for each word (or longer if necessary). 4. The goal is to get the teammates to say the vocabulary term at the top of

the card without using any of the related terms listed below the line or any portion of the vocabulary word. If an audience member of the team says one of the taboo words, the representative can then use that word in her clues.

5. No gestures, spellings, sound effect, or rhymes can be used in the clues.

Taboo (con’t.)

Here’s an example: Taboo card Representative might say: “This is a type of word. It changes other words and words like itself. Those words are often made by putting -ly on the end. It tells us how something was done.” 6. Team members can call out the answer at any time. 7. If the team members guess correctly, their representative puts that card to

one side, picks up the next one from the pile, and starts giving new clues. The process continues until time is called.

8. The opposing team’s representative is responsible for using the buzzer to indicate an infraction of the rules — the clue-giver accidentally using a ta-boo word or a portion of the vocabulary term. The clue-giver must forfeit the card and the opposing team gets a point for each card forfeited.

9. If the clue-giving team’s representative can’t communicate a vocabulary term successfully to her team, she can pass on the card, but the opposing team also gets a point for each card passed.

10.Keep playing until both teams have had the same number of opportunities to give clues or until time runs out.

11.For fun, throw in a few cards relating to students’ interest, such as favorite books, current events, movies or sports teams.

Variations Vary the number of taboo words on each card depending on the level of your students. The more taboo words, the harder it is to give clues. Once students have played the game, invite them to make their own deck of Taboo cards using the vocabulary terms and concepts of the current unit of study. Collect them prior to having students use them in a game to assess their understanding of the topic.

Adverb

adjective degree manner modify place speech time verb

Sorting Cards

This technique appeals to tactile and kinesthetic students and to those who like fit-ting together puzzles and deciphering mystery clues. It’s well worth the bit of preparation required. Basic Sequence After you’ve taught your students something that has multiple categories, such as cycles in science, multiple ideologies, multiple theorems in geometry, systems of the body, or types of government, they’re ready to do a sorting cards summariza-tion. On a bulletin board, chalkboard, or poster board, place the titles of the cate-gories being studied. Then provide students with index cards or sticky notes on which you have recorded the individual facts, concepts and attributes of the cate-gories. Allow the students to work in groups so they place each fact, concept, or attribute in its correct category. Summarization occurs every time a card is lifted, as students weigh decisions about where it belongs. The conversation among group members is almost as im-portant to the learning experience as the placement of the cards, so let students defend their reasoning orally and often. If one student questions another’s place-ment, the discussion will further the effect. Any dissent will result in students ref-erencing their notes and textbooks for more information. Variations You may want to push desks back so students can work on the floor to do their grouping.

Somebody-Wanted-But-So

This strategy provides a quick way to have students summarize both fiction and non-fiction. A generic template can be used for any text. For nonfiction text, use the prompts Something—Happened—and—Then. Use Somebody—Wanted—But—So for fiction. Provide students with the appropriate set of prompts on a template (fiction or nonfiction) for the text that is to be read. The goal is to use the template to write a one– or two-sentence summary of a longer piece. A good example of this technique in action is to share an article on water erosion and to have the students complete the template. A student might read the lengthy article and boil it down to this: “Heavy rains washed away the soil, making it nearly im-possible for plants to grow there.” It is short and to the point, and it has a general overview that includes the topic, a significant point about the topic, and the conclusion. Variations If you want a more elaborate summarization, you could ask students to use the sentences they create from the template as a topic sentence and provide three supportive details. This technique is a “foot in the door” for many students who find summarizing difficult. Even students two or more years below grade level usually find suc-cess with these basic templates. For some, however, you may have to write it out with blank lines in which students insert the material like a cloze activity, while others can grab the words and structure their response on their own. The first time you use these templates with students, it may be helpful to pro-vide the information that needs to go in the blanks in a separate list — leaving it to students to connect the prompts to the correct responses. Once students have matched prompts and responses, ask them to write the one– or two-lined summarization with everything flowing and intact. Also, stop for a moment, and ask students how these different segments best flow. This might include discussions of transition words, punctuation, and staying focused on the defini-tions of the terms (i.e., “somebody” refers to the main character, “wanted” re-fers to the major plot motivation in the story, and so on). If students create summarizations using these templates that deviate from what you intended, ask students to give their reasoning for their choices. Their interpretations may work just as well.

Somebody—wanted—but—so

Name _______________________________ Date _________________ Title of Selection __________________________________________________ Write a one– or two-sentence summary using information from the chart above. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

Somebody

Wanted

But

So

something—happened—and—then

Name _______________________________ Date _________________ Title of Selection __________________________________________________ Write a one– or two-sentence summary using information from the chart above. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

Something

Happened

And

Then