Meatballs, Meatballs Go Away

Reading To Learn
Lyndsey Ford

Rationale:  A major goal of reading is comprehension.  In order to comprehend meanings of written text, there are certain techniques that students can use in order to have a better understanding of what they are reading.  One of the best techniques a student can use is summarization, because it is important for children to be able to locate the most important information from the text.  The lesson will teach summarization by having students listen to the story closely and be able to recall certain events, details, etc.

Materials:  Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett (enough copies for each student)
                    Paper
                    Pencil
                   

Procedures: 
1. REMEMBER WHEN WE DISCUSSED SILENT READING?  Ask what it is/take answers  SILENT READING IS READING TO YOURSELF SO YOU CAN HEAR THE WORDS IN YOUR HEAD.  WHEN WE READ SILENTLY, OUR VOICES SHOULD NOT BE HEARD BYOUR NEIGHBOR BECAUSE THEY ARE SO SOFT.  TURN TO THE FIRST PAGE OF YOUR BOOK AND LET'S PRACTICE READING IT SILENTLY. IF YOU ARE READING TO LOUDLY I WILL COME ASK YOU TO READ MORE QUITLY.
2.  TODAY WE ARE GOING TO READ Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.  I WANT YOU TO PRETEND I HAVE NEVER READ THIS STORY.  HOW CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THIS STORY IS ABOUT WITHOUT RETELLING THE WHOLE STORY?  RIGHT!  GIVE ME A SUMMARY!  JUST A REMINDER A SUMMARY IS WHEN YOU GIVE THE MAJOR PARTS OF A STORY WITHOUT RETELLING EVERY SINGLE DETAIL.  (Give the students a chance to give the definition of a summary first.)  ON THE BOARD I HAVE WRITTEN THE STEPS YOU SHOULD USE WHEN SUMMARIZING: a.  Find all of the main points  b.  Take out small details that are not important  c.  Put together any ideas that are the same so you do not repeat yourself.
3.  AT YOUR DESK, READ THE BOOK SILENTLY.  BE THINKING ABOUT THE MOST IMPORTANT DETAILS OF THE STORY.  Give students about 15-20 minutes to read silently.
4.  When they finish reading, they should begin answering the questions Who, What, Where, When , Why, and How.  LET'S TALK ABOUT THESE FIVE QUESTIONS.  WHAT DOES 'WHO' ANSWER?  take responses  RIGHT, IT IS WHO THE CHARACTERS ARE.  WHAT ABOUT 'WHAT'?  GOOD!  IT TELLS WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE STORY.  STOP AT THAT QUESTION.  THIS IS WHERE WE WANT TO GIVE OUR SUMMARY.  MAKE SURE YOU TELL THE AUDIENCE THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING AND YOU DON'T WANT TO TELL TOO MUCH. 
5.  While students are writing, go around the room to make sure they are on the right track.  (Give them about 15 minutes to write)  When you finish your summary, draw a picture of your favorite part.

Assessment:  Students should share their summaries with a partner.  They should compare summaries deleting useless information or adding important details. They should also make sure that their partner has answered the questions, Who, What, When , Where, and Why.  I will go over the papers when they finish.

References: 

Edberg, Kellie.  "It's Raining Meatballs."

Reading Genie web site

Click here to go back to Journeys Web Site