Reading to Learn
What's The Point?
Jessica
Acton
Rationale: As children begin to
develop silent reading and
fluency, they need to be able to comprehend what they are reading. In
this
lesson children will learn how to summarize by mapping a story to find
the
major points in it, and be able to understand what the whole story is
about by
comprehending the summary.
Materials: Paper, pencil, dry erase
markers, dry erase board, Magazine
articles from- National Geographic
Kids Magazine/ Issue: November through December, 2003
Articles: Siberian Survivor
(pg. 16-21) and Land of the Rings
(pg. 4)
Procedure: REMEMBER WHEN WE WENT
OVER SILENT
WHEN WE SILENTLY READ TO
OURSELVES WE ARE
READING FOR A PURPOSE. THAT PURPOSE IS TO COMPREHEND WHAT WE ARE
READING. TO
COMPREHEND IS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE READING. HAS ANYONE EVER READ
A WHOLE
PARAGRAPH AND WHEN YOU DONE REALIZED THAT YOU DON'T REMEMBR ANYTHING
THAT YOU
READ? THAT'S CALLED NOT COMPREHENDING! WE WANT TO REMEMBER WHAT WE
READ! BUT
ESPECIALLY WE WANT TO REMEMBER THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS OF WHAT WE
READ.
WHEN WE SUMMARIZE SOMETHING THAT
MEANS WE
GET OUT ALL OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS OF THE STORY SO THAT WE CAN
UNDERSTAND,
OR COMPREHEND WHAT WE READ! WHEN YOU SUMMARIZE SOMETHING YOU WANT TO
(write
these three points on the board) 1. FIND
ALL OF THE MAIN POINTS, 2. YOU WANT TO TAKE OUT ANY SMALL DETAILS THAT
AREN'T
VERY IMPORTANT, AND 3. YOU NEED TO PUT TOGETHER ANY IDEAS THAT ARE THE
SAME SO
THAT YOU DON'T HAVE MORE THAN ONE OF THE SAME MAIN POINTS! LETS
PRACTICE.
I read aloud Land of
the Rings to all the students because it is only a page. I
WANT EVERYONE TO GET OUT THEIR PAPER AND PENCILS. AS I READ THIS STORY,
LAND OF
THE RINGS, I WANT EVERYONE TO BE TAKING NOTES ON WHAT THEY THINK IS THE
MOST
IMPORTANT POINTS. When finished reading the story, start drawing a map
on the
board and ask for children's input to fill it in).
NOW WE WILL DRAW A MAP TO
SUMMARIZE THIS
STORY. I AM GOING TO MAKE A BOX IN THE MIDDLE AND PUT THE TITLE OF THE
STORY IN
THAT BOX. EVERYHTHING THAT WE WRITE FROM NOW ON WILL BE ATTACHED TO
THIS BOX IN
SOME WAY BECAUSE THIS IS THE STORY THAT WE ARE SUMMARIZING. Take
answers about
what the children thought were the main points and what was most
important. Add
a box from the original centered box for each separate fact.
NOW THAT WE HAVE THIS MAP TO TELL
US ALL OF
THE INFORMATION THAT IS MOST IMPORTANT ABOUT LAND OF THE
RINGS, TAKE THIS INFORMATION AND WRITE YOUR SUMMARY
(WHICH WILL BE ABOUT ONE PARAGRAPH) ON A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER!
Next I will give the students the
second
article, Siberian Survivor, and ask
them to read silently, make a map, and summary on their own. NOW, YOU
ARE GOING
TO TRY THIS ON YOUR OWN! I AM GIVING YOU THIS OTHER ARTICLE, Siberian Survivor. I WANT YOU TO DO THE
SAME THING WE JUST DID TOGETHER. READ THE ARICLE SILENTLY TO YOURSELF,
MAKE A
MAP OF THE MOST INPORTANT POINTS, AND WRITE A PARAGRAPH LONG SUMMARY.
Assessment: I will collect all of
the student's
papers and check to see if all understand how to summarize and map. I
will pay
attention to trivial details and repeated points to be sure that there
are no
unnecessary things.
Reference:
Pressley, Michael. Strategies That Improve Children's Memory and
Comprehension
of Text. The Elementary School Journal. Volume 90, no.1. 1989.
Williams,
Alyssa. Sum Stuff. http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/openings/williamsrl.html
Picture found: members.tripod.com/~doxie_44/
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