SUMMARIZING
Lauren Parker

Rationale:
In order to become a skillful reader, students must learn to comprehend what they read.  Students must understand what they are reading.  A good way to help students understand is to teach them summarization skills.  By students being able to summarize, they will only be retaining the most important details.  This lesson will focus on summarization.  Students will be taught the basic skills of summarization by reviewing the main points in the text and they will create their own story web by using summarization skills.

Materials:
Multiple copies of March of the Penguins, by Luc Jacquet (enough for each student to have a copy of their own to read)
Class board for easy viewing of the class web
Writing Utensils for board

Procedure:
1.  Previously assign reading pages 1-12 in Luc Jacquet’s book entitled March of the Penguins one day before implementing this summarization lesson.

2.  On the reading assignment due date, have students get their copies of March of the Penguins for further class discussion. 

3.  First, I will explain the meaning of summarization. " To summarize means to pick out and remember the most important details.”   One way to summarize it to take mental notes or write down notes of what you think it important.  You want to try and pick out the main ideas of the story.  By summarizing, you will become stronger and more efficient readers.

4.      I will then tell the students that I am going to read a few pages of the assigned reading out loud to them.  I will tell them to write down any words or ideas that they think are important for understanding the text being read.

5.  Begin reading the selected text.

6.  After reading aloud, I will tell the students that we am going to make a class web based on what we read using what they wrote down as the important ideas of this book.  I will have a piece of chart paper hanging from the board, which I will write on.  I will tell the students, “First, draw a large circle in the middle of the paper.  This circle is where you write pages 1-12.  I am going to ask you what some of the words and ideas are that you wrote down.  Each time I write one of your words or ideas, I will draw a line from our big circle and draw a little circle to write your ideas in. As a class we will complete the story map.  Now, that we have finished our story map, we are going to write a summary.  Our summary only needs to be three to five sentences long, which makes a paragraph

7.  After creating a class summarization, I will assign the students more pages to read.  When they have finished reading, I will divide the students into groups and have them work together to create their own story web from the assigned reading.  After they make their story web, they will use that to write a paragraph that summarizes the new reading.  They will then present their story web, and also read their paragraph to the class.

 
8.   The student’s assessment will be based on their presentations, summaries, and story webs completed in class.  I will have a rubric made for the students to look at so they will know what I expect.

References:
Stacy Lide, Let's Summarize!  http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/openings/oglesbyrl.html (2005)

Jacuet, Luc.  March of the Penguins.  National Geographic:  2005.  160 p.