Rationale:
Summarization is
key to reading
comprehension. By being able to summarize, students are able to
find key points and main ideas in a story. In this lesson, the
students will access real-life articles in order to pull valuable
information from them.
Materials:
Pencils
Paper
Copies of Trouble in the Amazon and A
Brighter Future articles for each student
Whiteboard
Whiteboard Markers
Summary Checklist for each student
Projector or Smartboard
Procedures:
1. “Today we are going to learn about
summarization. Can anybody tell me what that is?
Right. Summarizing means that you look for the main points in a
story.”
2. “There is actually a checklist for
you to look at when you are summarizing.” [Pass out checklists].
“Okay, let’s go over this together.”
3. We will then take turns reading
out the checklist:
*Pick
out important details that are necessary to the story
*Pick out less important or repeated ideas from the passage and cross
through them.
*Highlight the important and necessary details using key words.
*Pick out a topic sentence.
*Create a topic sentence if there isn’t one.
4. I will then model to the class how
to use their summary checklists. “Let’s look at the article
called A Brighter Future and use our checklist.” I will read the
article out loud to the class as I show it on the projector or
smartboard. “What details are important in this article?
Good, the U.N. is a group of nations working together for peace. “ I
will allow the students to go through the article and look for
important pieces and underline what the students point out as important
information. “Now what can we cross through in here that’s not
really needed or is said more than once?” I will find one first
and then ask the students if they see any more as I cross them out on
the board for them to see. “What are some important key words in
here? What about overcrowded?” Students, again, will
continue as I demonstrate. “Alright, now what is the topic
sentence in this article? Is there one? What do we do if
there isn’t one? Right, we create one. Good job!”
5. “Okay, now that we know all about
summarizing, let’s take a look at this article individually called
“Trouble in the Amazon”. Now when you read through it, I want you
to use your checklists and create a summary for the article.”
6. Students will then individually go
through and read their articles and summarize them using their
checklists.
7. When students are done going
through and summarizing, I will take volunteers to share their
summaries.
Assessment
I will assess the
students based on their completion of the activity and the accuracy of
their summaries that they share.
References
Time for Kids: A Brighter Future. http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/teachers/ns/article/0,27972,1726339,00.html
Time for Kids: Trouble in the Amazon.
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/teachers/ns/article/0,27972,1730200,00.html
