"Sum It All Up!"
Reading to Learn Design
Rationale:
Comprehension
can be seen as the process of using one's background
knowledge and experiences along with the writer's cues to construct
meaning of
the text. A good way for children to gain or strengthen their
comprehension
skills is for them to learn to summarize what they read. Summarization
is
important because it lets teacher's know if their students understand
the main
idea behind what they are reading. In the following lesson, children
will learn
how to use summarization skills and be able to apply them to their
everyday
reading skills.
Materials:
class set
of the article, "Flying Horses- The Amazing Lipizzaner
of Austria", National Geographic Kids News, 27 October 2005 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/kids/2005/10/horses.html;
2 pieces of paper for each student; pencils, chalk; chalkboard;
bookmark for
each student with the 3 summarization rules:
1. delete information
that is not important or repeated
2. highlight the
important and necessary details by using key words or headings
3. find a topic
sentence that covers the main idea, and if there is not a topic
sentence
then
make one;
a blank semantic map:
Procedure:
1.Class,
today we are going to talk about comprehension? Does anyone know
what that means? I will
wait for responses. Great! That is correct.
Comprehension is
when remember what we read and even remembering after we are done. I
want our
class to become wonderful at comprehending so we are going to learn a
couple
steps that make our reading easier to understand. One way to comprehend
is by
using a strategy called summarization. When we summarize, we are able
to focus on
the central parts of the story. To guide or summarization we are going
to use
the 3 steps and a story map.
2. Now I will explain summarization. Before I start
I will
pass out the bookmarks. I will have them read aloud the step after we
go over
it so that it is drilled into their minds. There
are 3 steps that help us summarize our
text so that we can remember what it says. These 3 steps are:
1. delete
information that is not important or repeated
2.
highlight the important and necessary details by using key words or
headings
3. find a topic sentence that covers the main
idea, and if there is not a topic
sentence then make one
I will
have already written these on the board so that I can refer
to them as we read them. You have this
bookmark to refer to if you
need help to remember a rule so this is a great tool to look at.
3. Now I
am going to hold up a copy of the article. Students
I am about to pass out an article that we are going to practicing using
summarization. This article is about a famous Austrian horse that kicks
and
leaps as he performs. As you read these articles I want you to
read them
silently. How do we read silently? I will wait for
their
answers. That is correct when we read
silently we are reading to ourselves.
We don't bother our neighbor we just
read to ourselves. This is what it look like to read silently.
I
will now model how to read silently. I will hold the article in front
of me and
allow my eyes to follow the words. I also might read by moving my mouth
to read
the words but not make any sound. Class
this is how I want you to read also. I
am giving you an article (pass out article) that
I want you to read silently. I want everyone to read the first
paragraph of
this and when you are finished I want you to put our head on your desk
so that
I can know you are done. Remember
as you read you are using your steps of summarization this is not a
race you;
are trying to comprehend the text.
4. As they
are reading I will walk around the class. I
now see that everyone has their head
on their desks so we are now going to use a semantic map to summarize the important information. Can
someone tell me what the main topic is? I will wait
for an
answer and as we talk about this I will be using the enlarged semantic
map. That
is correct the main topic is Lipizzaner horse so
I am going to write in the circle in the middle. Can everyone
see that? I will answer questions if there is any and write
what
they say. Now can anyone tell me some key
words about the Lipizzaner horse? I want
important information. I did
not ask or everything the horse did throughout the article, I just want
key
information. I will wait for responses. Wonderful. These are key words
about these horses so you are to write them branching off the circle.
Can
everyone see what I am doing? Now that we did the first part together I
want
you to read the whole article. When you are finished reading I want you
to make
a semantic map and then use it
to write a summary about the article. Remember to delete unimportant
information and information that is repeated. Refer to the board and
your
bookmark if you have questions. I will also be here to help if needed.
I will get them to start and I will walk around to make sure
that
everyone is on task.
Assessment:
Collect
students' papers (with semantic maps and summarizations)
and check to make sure children have grasped concept of summarization.
Check
for center circle for general idea or topic, and main points connected
to the
circle and also a brief summary in paragraph form. Use a checklist as a
guide:
1.included the main
points (Yes/No)
2.deleted any small
details (Yes/No)
3.combined repeated
ideas (Yes/No)
References:
Autrey,
Sarah. "Let's Get the Facts!"
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/constr/autreyrl.html
"Flying
Horses- The
Amazing Lipizzaner of Austria", National Geographic Kids News,
Foster,
Ridey. "Sensational Summarization" http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/constr/fosterrl.html