Reading to Learn Design

Rationale:

In reading, comprehension is the main end goal. Once students get to this level of reading, they are ready to begin learning how to better understand the text. This lesson will introduce the definition and strategies of summarization. One strategy that is highly effective and will be used throughout this lesson is known as “about-point.” This strategy poses two critical questions about the text: “what is it about?” which helps locate the subject of the summary’s topic, and “what is the main point the writer is making about the topic?” which requires the students to be able to pull important information about the text. These questions may be challenging to the students when they first begin practicing but it will teach them how to identify important information and develop higher level thinking and comprehension skills.

Materials:

Individual copies of ‘African Elephant’
pencil and primary paper for each student
summarization checklist
African Elephant quiz
dry erase board and expo marker

Procedures:

1. Say- “have you ever had something happen to you or been on a fun trip that you could not wait to tell your friends about? When you tell your friends about your memory or trip you are actually summarizing, and you don’t even know it! Summarization is a strategy reader use to comprehend a text by pulling out all the important stuff through something called a summary. Summaries are important because it is not realistic to remember every single-thing we read but ARE able to identify the topic and record the most important points that the author made.”

2. Say- “one way we can begin to summarize is by using a strategy called about-point. When you use about-point, you will ask yourself two different questions after you read. “Then write the questions on the board for students to reference. “First you will answer the simpler question: ‘what is the text about?’ and the more in-depth question: ‘What is the main point the writer is making about that topic?’ The tough question will challenge your critical thinking and it will help you to identify the ‘umbrella term’ that covers the author’s most important points. To find the important points, you must look for, find and take away the important ‘fluff’. It really helps to cross it out as you read so you will not go back to it. When answer these questions, it will help you form your topic sentence and build your summary!”

3. Say- “I have an article called ‘African Elephant’ that you will read individually and once we get this lesson going, we will read it together and then I will show you how to practice the about-point strategy with a short paragraph before you attempt to do it on your own. Has anyone ever seen an Elephant in person before? Did anyone know they can grow up to be 10 ft tall? That is pretty tall! We are going to learn more about these Elephants in today’s lesson.”

4. Say- “Now, we will look at a paragraph from the article together: ‘Weighing up to 6000 kg (6.6 tons) and measuring up to 3.3 m (10 ft.) at the shoulder, the African elephant is the world’s largest land mammal. It is characterized by its highly dexterous trunk, long curved tusks, and massive ears’ This paragraph introduces the African Elephants. What is something important you noticed? Elephants are the world’s largest land mammals! Do you think I can form a topic sentence about African elephants from this information? Yes, I can! Let’s write ‘African Elephants are quite extraordinary because they can grow to be 10 ft tall and weigh up to 6000 kg, making them the largest land mammal today. As our topic sentence!” [Instruct students to write this topic sentence on the top of their sheets of paper]

5. Say- “Now, it is your turn to try about-point by yourself! Read these sentences: ‘Aside from their ability to learn through watching and mimicking, African elephants also possess other very human qualities. Their great capacity for compassion is demonstrated as they care for the wounded and grieve the deceased. Their developed sense of memory allows them not only to remember lost loved ones, but also to harbor grudges, and recognize long-lost friends. Upon the return of a friend, elephants take part in a joyous greeting ceremony where they spin in circles, flap their ears, and trumpet.’

6. After they are done reading ask them- “What is this paragraph about? Good, the African Elephant’s qualities that compare to us! What are some emotions they share with human beings? Yes, they experience joy, compassion, and grudges! What is another point? Yes, they have a developed sense of memory! Let’s try to make a topic sentence with this information on our own and write it on the second page of your elephant guide and illustrate in the space provided what it describes.” [give students a couple of minutes to come up with their topic sentences.]

7. Say- “Now that everyone had the time to write their own topic sentences, lets share!” [allow students to share and ask one student to volunteer to write their sentence on the board and approve of it or help them fix it and explain why it’s right or why you fixed certain things.]

8. Say- “Now, I want you to finish reading the article and write a topic sentence for each paragraph using out about-point strategy. By the time you have done this for every paragraph, you will have a great summary about what you learned on African Elephants. Your summary will help you remember the key details about what you read. Remember to always answer both questions in about-point to help you form your topic sentence as you go. You can refer back to the board for the questions and examples if you forget them or need help. Don’t forget to only pick out the key details that the author is making in each paragraph, throw out the fluff and to summarize in your own words. When you are finished, I want you to look at your bird book and put all of your sentences together on your lined primary paper to put your summary together, then illustrate your own African Elephant above it! When your done putting your summary together, turn bother your Elephant Guide and Summary Sheet into me!”

9. Teacher instructions: look over each student’s submission to ensure the grasped the concept of summarization by using the checklist below to grade. Students will also take a short quiz while you are grading to make ensure they understood the article as a whole.

10. After the quiz allow students to share their favorite fact they learned and hang up their writings and illustrations.

References:

Grace Loggins, Flying into Summarization: https://sgloggins17.wixsite.com/mysite-1/reading-to-learn

Article: P.A. Smith. ‘African Elephant’. https://animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/african-elephant/

Checklist:

Student Name: ________________

1. ______ Wrote a topic sentence for each paragraph

2. ______ Excluded unimportant or repetitive information

3. ______ Significantly reduced the text from original to form summary

4. ______ Identified important points

5. ______ Successfully conjoined the important points to form a topic sentence

Quiz: