Summarizing The strategy of summarizing is a helpful way to show comprehension. It is a useful strategy because it allows students to recall quickly what was read. Summarizing is when a large amount of text or information is broken down and reduced to its "bare essentials." (Strategies for Reading Comprehension: Summarizing, 2015). Through the use of summaries, students gain comprehension because it requires students to organize and recollect the information they have gathered from the reading as well as making connections (Improving Reading Comprehension Through Summary Writing, 2015).
According to Reading Worksheets (2015), in order for students to summarize, they must first read and comprehend the text. Then, students must identify the main ideas and key points of the text. Finally, students express the information in their own words. "Effective summarizing of narrative text can involve such things as connecting and synthesizing events in a story line or identifying the factors that motivate a character's actions and behavior" (Reading Rockets, 2015). |
Often people think there is one way and one way only to summarize a text. However, according to LinC (2015), "there are three different forms of summaries, written, visual and oral." In order to create the different forms of summaries, students can use different resources. A resource could include a graphic organizer, or students could express their summary through spoken words. With these options, students are able to use their strengths to support them through their summary and comprehension of the text. This also allows students to be in control of their learning which increases engagement in a task. According to College Atlas (2015), there are 5 tips they recommend for writing good summaries that promote comprehension. These tips are for written summaries, specifically, but can be applied to visual and oral summaries as well.
5 Tips
The video to the right explains each of the five steps for writing a summary.
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In this video, a teacher provides a summarizing strategy for comprehension called "Sum it up in $2.00." It explains how summarizing is the ability to identify the main idea and the supporting details in written form.
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This video segment focuses on "how to summarize in your own words and not simply quote the author." The teacher models to the students a way to write a summary in your own words. It may be hard for students to summarize, however this video shows how the strategy can be used to learn how to properly summarize.
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This summarizing anchor chart would be a great resource in an elementary classroom. It clearly states what summarizing is, and a motto that could be used to help remember how to use it. "Somebody-wanted-but-so" is a motto to quickly summarize a specific character's part in a passage. "Somebody" stands for identifying the character, "wanted" stands for describing the character's goal, "but" stands for describing a conflict that hinders the character, and "so" stands for describing the resolution of the conflict. The idea is to focus on the most significant information.
Content Area Examples:
Content Area Examples:
- After reading a book, students could create an artistic summary of the text. For example, students could portray their summaries by "creating a collage, timeline, mobile, poster, or cartoon strip" (Reading Rockets, 2015). To help students create their summaries, teachers can ask the following questions: What details are the most important? The least? What words stand out to you that help create an artistic representation? After creating their representations, students can orally explain and share their works with others.
- In science, students could complete a summary of their results on a science experiment. During the experiment, students could be taking notes on their hypothesis, the steps in the experiment, and then the results. After all of this information is gathered, they could take the most important ideas of the experiment and summarize the information.
- Following a history lesson on September 11th, students could summarize what they learned from watching a short film. During the film, students could take notes on things they found to be important or interesting. After, students would use their notes to write a summary of the historical event.
- After a lesson about an artist period, students could create a summary about the period or about a specific artist in that period as well as a quick summary about how that artist affected the art world and that period. This would allow students the opportunities to learn more about and artist and the period as well as working on their summarizing skills discussed throughout the other content areas.
Type of Learner:
Summarizing is a strategy that every learner needs to know and do in order to comprehend the text they read. Summarizing is a skill that emergent readers should catch on to fairly quickly and be able to implement because it is similar to retelling. Through summarizing students will gain deeper comprehension and be able to share the books they have read.
Summarizing is a strategy that every learner needs to know and do in order to comprehend the text they read. Summarizing is a skill that emergent readers should catch on to fairly quickly and be able to implement because it is similar to retelling. Through summarizing students will gain deeper comprehension and be able to share the books they have read.
Echo Reading
Echo Reading is a strategy that helps students develop their fluency and expression (Read Strong, 2015). This strategy also helps students to understand the connection between spoken and written words (Jennings, Caldwell, Lerner, 2014). Through the use of this strategy, students are also provided with a model of good, expressive and fluent reading. Read Strong (2015) suggests that research has shown that echo reading helps struggling readers grow in their reading abilities. Along with reading growth, students can gain confidence in their reading and their reading ability through this practice. According to Jennings, Caldwell and Lerner (2014), there are four steps for preparation and execution of the Echo reading strategy.
Steps:
Steps:
- pick predictable book with limited print
- Read entire story to student.
- Read one sentence, pointing at each words.
- Student rereads sentence, pointing at each word.
This video shows a teacher working individually with a student using the echo reading strategy in order to foster fluency. The teacher reads a sentence while pointing at each word, then the student does the same and they move to the next page and repeat the process.
Content Area Examples:
This strategy can be used across content areas, however, it is a strategy that requires on level texts and is more of a reading intervention type of strategy. Dues to its requirements, it may be difficult to find appropriate level text for all students in order to use this strategy within other content areas.
Type of Learner:
Echo reading is a strategy that can build up with all learners. Strating with at-risk readers and working up to emergent readers as their level changes with their increased reading skills. This strategy will help all learners move up levels towards fluency and build confidence in even the most reluctant readers.
This strategy can be used across content areas, however, it is a strategy that requires on level texts and is more of a reading intervention type of strategy. Dues to its requirements, it may be difficult to find appropriate level text for all students in order to use this strategy within other content areas.
Type of Learner:
Echo reading is a strategy that can build up with all learners. Strating with at-risk readers and working up to emergent readers as their level changes with their increased reading skills. This strategy will help all learners move up levels towards fluency and build confidence in even the most reluctant readers.
References for Summarizing:
Improving Reading Comprehension Through Summary Writing. (2015). Retrieved October 22, 2015, from http://www.collegeatlas.org/summary-writing-reading-comprehension-strategy.html
Reading Rockets. (2015). Retrieved October 20, 2015, from http://www.readingrockets.org/
ReadingQuest Strategies - Summarizing. (2012). Retrieved October 22, 2015, from http://www.readingquest.org/strat/summarize.html
Summarization 2 Explicit Teaching. (2009, March 5). Retrieved October 22, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h4q-bok644
Summarization 3 Interactive Writing. (2009, March 5). Retrieved October 22, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C10VDEoChg
Summarizing Worksheets | Learn How to Summarize | Reading Worksheets. (2015). Retrieved October 22, 2015, from http://www.ereadingworksheets.com/free-reading-worksheets/reading-comprehension-worksheets/summarizing-worksheets-and-activities/
Writing a Summary - 5 EASY steps for kids! (2013, October 9). Retrieved October 22, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcmtAnM7iVs
Images/Videos:
https://youtu.be/UcmtAnM7iVs
https://youtu.be/O5TiUcVg2tk
https://youtu.be/6h4q-bok644
https://www.tes.com/lessons/wxtcFfzI8s37hg/summarizing?redirect-bs=1
https://youtu.be/0C10VDEoChg
References for Echo Reading:
Jennings, J. H., Caldwell, J. S., Lerner, J.W. (2014). Reading Problems: Assessment and Teaching Strategies. Boston: Pearson.
Reading Rockets. (2015). Retrieved October 20, 2015, from http://www.readingrockets.org/
ReadStrong - Echo Reading. (2014). Retrieved October 23, 2015.
Images/Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX73RzJU2Xc
http://www.readingfirst.virginia.edu/prof_dev/phonics/images/DSCN2334_s.jpg
http://image.slidesharecdn.com/parentteachermeeting-110830042719-phpapp01/95/parent-teacher-meeting-6-728.jpg?cb=1314678504