Rationale:
Comprehension is the ultimate goal of reading. Students who are at this level are ready to learn strategies to better understand a text. This lesson introduces the strategy of summarization. An effective method of summarization is called about- point, which asks two critical questions about the test. 1) What is the text about? While this question is easy, it helps locate the subject that will be in your topic sentence. 2) What is the main point the writer is making about the topic? Students will have to understand which information is important and which is trivial. In summarizing, only the most important parts are included. Being able to summarize leads students into asking higher level thinking questions and comprehension.
Materials:
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Individual copies of Monkey written by author at Britannica Kids https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/monkey/353485
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Summarization checklist and comprehension quiz
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White board and markers
Procedures:
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Say: “Summarizing is the act of remembering and recalling the main points of the text that was read. An example of summarizing could be you telling your mom about a fun show you watched. You won’t include every little detail, so it is important that you’re able to summarize the main points so that your mom can understand what happened in the show without watching it herself. Summarizing is important because you should reduce what you read to remember the most important points that the author made about a topic.”
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Say: “One way we can summarize is by using a strategy called about-point. When we use about-point, you will ask yourself two different questions about your reading. [Write the questions on the board for students to reference]. You will answer a more simple question, “What is the text about?” and a harder question, “What is the main point the writer is making about that topic?” When you answer the tough question, it will help you to identify the “umbrella term” that covers the important parts that the author has written. To find the important parts the author wrote, you must find and take away any unimportant information. It helps to cross it out so you can’t see it. When you have the answers to these questions, it will later help you to formulate your sentences, especially your topic sentence!”
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Say: “Later in this lesson, I will model how to practice the about-point strategy with a paragraph in an article called “Monkey” You are going to read this article today so we can get the hang of summarization! Does anyone think they’ve ever seen a monkey? Did you know Monkeys are different from apes? Do you know how many species of monkeys there are? These are all things we’ll learn today.
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Say: “Let’s talk about an important vocabulary word you’ll be reading: endangered. Endangered refers to animals or plants that may soon not exist because there are very few now alive. For example, “Because the bald eagle was once endangered, a law was put in place to stop their killing.” Finish this sentence: “If a plant or animal is endangered we should…”
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Say: “Here is a paragraph from the article:
Monkeys use facial expressions, body movements, and various noises to communicate with each other. For example, squirrel monkeys have more than 25 different calls. These calls can sound like barks, purrs, screams, peeps, and squawks. The deep howls of howler monkeys can be heard from 2 to 3 miles (3 to 5 kilometers) away.
This paragraph is about how monkeys communicate with each other, but what important points is the author making? The author is talking about the different ways monkeys communicate with one another: barking, purring, screaming, peeping, and squawking. However, monkeys also communicate through facial expressions and bodily movements. Putting these points together, I can make a topic sentence: Monkeys communicate through facial expressions, various noises, and bodily movements.”
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Say: “Now I want you to use about-point on a paragraph:
Many types of monkey are endangered, or at risk of dying out completely. People have cut down the trees in large parts of the rainforests where monkeys live. People also hunt monkeys for their meat and fur. In addition, some monkeys are captured and sold as pets.
What is this paragraph about? Yes, why some monkey species may be endangered. What are the main points the author is trying to make? Correct, there are many reasons monkey species are endangered. Yes, another point is that monkeys' habitats have been destroyed so they have nowhere to live. How could we combine those ideas in one sentence beginning: Monkeys....? There are many causes of monkey species endangerment, but one in particular is their loss of habitat because people cut down the rainforests they typically live in.”
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Say: “Now I’d like you to finish reading the article and use about-point to make a topic sentence for each paragraph. When you are finished, you will have made a good summary of the article, which will help you remember important facts about monkeys. You are writing a short version of the article in your own words, including only the important ideas to remember. Remember, we will take a quiz once everyone is done writing their topic sentences!”
Assessment: Collect each student’s journals and evaluate the summarization using the following checklist:
___ Collected important, meaningful information
___ Ignored trivia and examples in summary
___ Significantly reduced the text from the original
___ Sentences brought ideas together from each paragraph
___ Sentences organized coherently into essay form
Quiz:
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What group of mammals do monkeys belong to?
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How many species of monkeys are there?
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What are the two groups scientists divide monkeys into?
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Where do most monkeys live?
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Are all monkeys the same size?
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How many limbs do monkeys use to move about?
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How do monkeys communicate?
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What are some of the things monkeys eat?
Sources:
Bruce Murray, Using About-Point to Awaken the Main Idea https://murraba.wixsite.com/readinglessons/reading-to-learn
Grace Loggings, Flying Into Summarization