Reading to Learn Lesson Design
Chunks,
Chunks, and MORE Chunks!
Reading to Learn Lesson Design
By: Jenna Ward
Rationale: Comprehension
is very important for students to learn when they are learning how to
read. Summarizing is an effective strategy for students to use in
order
to comprehend a text. Throughout this lesson students will learn
how to
summarize while they are reading. Summarizing skills will be
taught by
teaching students to do the following: delete unimportant
information,
delete repeated information, substitute easy terms for lists of items,
substitute a series of events with one easy action term, and select/
invent a
topic sentence. Once students are able to follow these steps and
summarize, they will ultimately comprehend the text.
Materials:
* Copy of Tropical Regions.
Macmillan Social Studies, 1987-passage. pp.
192-196 (one for each student and you)
* Chalkboard
* Chalk
* Highlighters for each child and
teacher
* Overhead projector
* Paper
* Pencils
* Checklist
Procedure:
1. Begin the
lesson by reviewing how to read
silently. Say, “Can anyone tell me what it means to read
silently?
Very good, it is when we read the words with our eyes without saying
anything
with our mouths. Now, here’s a harder question. Why is it
good for
us to read silently? That’s right; it helps us be able to
remember what
we read. Today we are going to practice reading silently and
learn how to
summarize what we read.”
2. Discuss what
it means to summarize a story and
the steps it takes to create a summary. Say, “Can anyone tell me
what it
means to summarize a story? (Allow time for students’
responses)
When we summarize a story it means we give a shorter version of the
story where
we tell only the most important parts. There are five steps for
us to
follow when we are summarizing a story. I will explain the steps
and then
you can practice summarizing on your own.” (Teach the students
the 5
basic steps and write them on the board so they can refer back to
them.
These are the five steps: Get rid of unimportant information,
delete
repeated information, substitute easy terms for lists of items,
substitute a
series of events with one action term that can be easily remembered,
and select
or create a topic sentence.
3. Say, “Now
each of you is going to get a copy
of a passage entitled Tropical Regions.
I want each of you to read the first two pages silently. When you
are
done with these two pages close your book and turn it over so I know
you are
through.”
4. “We are going
to finish the passage in a few minutes, but right now I am going to
show you
how to use these five steps in order to create a summary of what we
just
read.” (Put the passage on the overhead projector. Open it to the
first
page) “I am going to read the first page out loud and as I read I am
going to
highlight the most important information. Then, I am going to
come up
with a summary incorporating the rest of the steps.” (Model
creating a
summary of the first page and discuss in detail how you came up with
your
summary. Say, "The passage begins listing the tropical regions.”)
5. Give each
student a highlighter. Say,
“Now you are going to summarize pages one through five. I want
you to
highlight the important information like I did and be sure to use all
five
steps to create your summary. When you get done, write your
summary of
pages 1-4 on a piece of paper.” (While the students are working
walk
around and guide them. When they are finished discuss what they
came up
with and how they came up with it).
Assessment:
Have the students read the story
silently all the way through. Get them to write a summary when
they are
finished. Have them turn in their summary. Use a checklist
to
decide whether or not they used the five steps in the summarizing
process.
Sample Checklist:
1. Removed
unimportant/ repeated information
Yes O No O
2. Topic sentence
given
Yes O No O
3. Only used main
points
Yes O No O
Yes O No O
References:
Pressley, M., C.J. Johnson, S.
Symons, J.A. McGoldrick, and J.A. Kurity (1989) Strategies that
Improve
Children’s Memory and Comprehension od Text. The Elementary
School
Journal, 90, 3-32.
Tropical Regions.
Macmillan Social Studies, 1987-passage. pp. 192-196.
Alison Bradley- “Sum it Up! http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/guides/bradleyrl.html
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