Learning to Read

Rational: Summarization can help students understand the text they are reading. To help them summarize larger texts, students can use the about-point method. To use this method, students ask themselves two questions after reading the text: 

 

1. What is the main text about? 

2. What is the main point the author is making about that topic? 

 

The first question helps identify the subject of the topic sentence. The second requires analyzation of multiple points throughout the text, so reader need to find an umbrella term that identifies all of the main points of the passage. 

 

Materials: 

• Pencils 

• Paper 

• Copies of Clown fish article 

• Summarization checklist for teacher

• Comprehension Quiz

Procedures:

 

1. Say: Summarizing is when we recognize the important points an author makes in a text, like a book or article, and leave behind information that isn’t as important. It can be hard to remember everything that is important when your read, so today we are going to learn about summarization. We will practice summarization by reading an article and picking out the main points the author is making. Then, we will write them down in sentences to help us remember them. 

 

1. Say: We are going to summarize our text using the about-point method, by asking ourselves two questions after reading the article: what is the text about and what is the main point the author is trying to make? To answer the second question, we will need to think of a umbrella term, or a big category, to combine all of the important points we found. 

 

1. Say: We are going to practice the about-point method using an article about clownfish! Does anyone have something cool they want to share about clownfish? (Have students comment or explain). I know that clownfish live in the ocean, are small, and have white stripes. In this article, we get to learn even more about clownfish and how they live in the ocean! (Pass out article to each student). 

 

1. Say: Before we read, we are going to talk about an unfamiliar word that our article will mention. This word is vegetation. Vegetation is another word for plant life, or when plants are collectively grown. For example: rabbits like to eat all kinds of vegetation. Where else might you see the word vegetation? Finish this sentence: Horses like to each what kinds of vegetation… (Call on a student to answer and explain). 

 

1. Say: Now let’s read a paragraph from the article about clownfish!

 

“Anemones have tentacles that sting, but the clownfish isn’t bothered by them. In fact, it lives among the tentacles” 

 

Say: This paragraph is about seahorses and where they live. What is something you found out in this little paragraph. What kind of underwater plant do clownfish live in? 

 

“The colorful clown anemonefish, also called a clownfish, is bright orange with three white stripes- and probably reminds you of the star of the popular movie Finding Nemo. The 4-inch-long fish shares an amazing partnership with another sea creature: the anemone. The partnership benefits both participants, and the close relationship led to the fish being named an anemonefish.” 

 

Say: What is this paragraph telling us? Clownfish bodies are small, with bright orange and white stripes. What new did you learn about clownfish? Yes, they have bright colors, but they are also close knit with what sea creature? Is an anemone vegetation or an animal?

 

1. Say: Now I want you to finish the article on your own and use the about-point method to make a topic sentence for the last paragraph. When you are finished, you should have the whole article summarized! This will help you remember the important facts about clownfish. Remember to only pick out the main points to create your sentences. The purpose of summarization is to pick out the key information and put it into sentences to be able to remember what you read easily. 

 

Assessment. Collect each student’s summary of the article and evaluate their summarization using this:

 Summarization Assessment Checklist:  

 

            ___ Collect important 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. 

 

Comprehension Quiz: 

 

1. Where do Clownfish live? 

2. What colors are the Clownfish?

3. How many white stripes do they have?

4. Is an anemone a plant or an animal? 

5. How big are clownfish? 

 

References:

 

National Geographic Kids, Clownfish.

 https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/facts/clown-anemonefish

 

Bruce, Murray. The Reading Genie. 

https://wp.auburn.edu/rdggenie/

 

Anna, Lupo. Swimming into Summarization. 

https://anneclupo.wixsite.com/my-site-1/reading-to-learn