IV. Reading To
Learn
Rationale:
One of
the main
goals of reading is to possess the ability to understand, or
comprehend, what
you have just read. A great strategy to help children comprehend text
is to
teach them how to summarize. This lesson will provide children with a
model of
how to better comprehend text through using a summarization rubric
which
includes: deleting trivial information, deleting repeated information,
substituting
easy words for lists of items, adding a series of events with an easy
action
term, selecting a topic, and creating a topic sentence if there is not
one
provided. Students will read short articles, create summarization maps,
and
summarization paragraphs to show their understanding of comprehension
and
summarization skills.
Materials:
Summarization
rubric (one per student), Steps To
Remember When Summarizing poster (to hang in classroom) , pencil,
paper, copy
of Sea Turtle Soup, No Thanks! (one
per student), poster board (one per group of 4 students), copy of Baby
Boom! Giant Panda Cubs Give Hope to an
Endangered Species (one per student).
Procedure:
1.)
Begin the
lesson by reviewing how to read silently and introduce the article Sea
Turtle Soup, No Thanks! . Ask students, “Who likes sea turtles?
Who likes
soup? Today we’re going to learn how sea turtles and soup are related
and how
sea turtle soup can be harmful to humans. Before we begin reading, I am
going
to review how to read silently. Please watch me.” Model how to
correctly hold a
book while reading. Students should be able to see the teacher’s eyes
moving
along the page as well as seeing her mouth move as she reads to herself
without
making any sound. “Now, I want you to show me that you know how to read
silently as you read the article Sea
Turtle Soup, No Thanks! silently. As I observe you, I should see
your eyes
moving along the page as you read and maybe see your mouth move as
well, but no
sound coming out.” Provide enough time for everyone to finish reading
the
article.
2.)
“Great job
reading silently everyone! Now, raise your hand and tell me if you know
what a
summary is.” Allow for various responses. “Right! A summary means the
main
points in a story or passage. When you write a summary, you are trying
to write
the most important details of that article in the fewest sentence
possible.
Today, we will be working on summarizing and I have 6 tips to help you
as you
summarize.” Display the Steps to Remember
When Summarizing poster which includes:
1st-Delete
unimportant information.
2nd-Delete
repeated information.
3rd-Substitute
easy words for a list of items.
4th-Add
a series of events with an easy action term.
5th-Choose
a topic.
6th-Create
a topic sentence if one is not given.
3.)
Next, divide
the class into groups of 4. “A great way to summarize a article or
story is to
create a map. When we create a map, we begin with the main idea, or
topic, in a
middle of our paper and draw a cirlce around it. Next, we will include
supporting details around the outside of our middle circle in other
smaller
circles linking to the main idea. Now I want you and your Just to
review, the
middle circle is called our what? Right! Our topic or main idea! Can
someone
tell me the topic of our article? Yes, sea turtles are the topic for
our center
circle. Now, we need to create links of supporting details about sea
turtles
around the middle circle which is important details in the article. Can
someone
raise their hand and tell me one important piece of information we
should
include in our supporting details? Great job! Let’s include that some
sea
turtles may become extinct from being hunted and eaten by humans. Now,
I want
you and your group to use these six steps to summarize and finish
creating a
map of the sea turtle article on a poster board. Come up with three
more
important details to include on your poster.” Allow students to work
with their
group and walk around to help any students who need further assistance.
After
students have finished, have them write complete sentences for each
idea for
their summary of the article. Also, students should first, include a
topic
sentence to let readers know what the article is about.
4.)
Finally, give give
students the article, “Baby Boom! Giant
Panda Cubs Give Hope to an Endangered Species.” Instruct
students to create a summarization
map of the passage and write a summarization paragraph using their map.
While
students are working, walk around and observe to see if students are
using all
six steps of summarization.
5.)
For
assessment, collect students summarization papers and maps and use the
summarization rubric to grade. The summarization rubric includes these
questions:
1.)
Deleted
unimportant information? Yes or No
2.)
Deleted
repeated information? Yes or No
3.)
Substituted
easy words for lists of items? Yes or No
4.)
Added a series
of events with an easy action term? Yes or No
5.)
Selected a
topic? Yes or No
6.)
Invented a
topic sentence if none was given? Yes or No
References:
Fox,
Catherine Clarke. Sea
Turtle Soup, No Thanks! http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Stories/AnimalsNature/Seaturtle
Gordon,
David George. Baby
Boom! Giant Panda Cubs Give Hope to an
Endangered Species. http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Stories/AnimalsNature/Giantpandacubs
Pressley,
M. Johnson, CJ Symons, McGoldrick, JA. (1989) Strategies
that
Improve Children’s Memory and Comprehension of Text. “The
Elementary
School Journal.” 90, 3-32.
Return to the Odysseys
index.