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Flying into Summarization!
A Reading to Learn Design
By: Maggie Van Thullenar

Rationale:

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While word recognition and decoding are goals of reading, our ultimate goal for our students is text comprehension. How do we do that? There are a few effective strategies to assist in text comprehension when learning to read independently. One of these effective strategies and the one that the student will practice in this design is silent reading and summarization using graphic organizer worksheets, checklists, and comprehension exit questions. The student will be able to compare the main ideas with supporting details using their understanding of the text. The student will also be able to answer summarization exit questions by the end of lesson using the summarization strategy in their independent reading. The student will also be able to identify vocabulary words within the text and use the content of the book to figure out what the word means. The teacher will model how to find an umbrella term for the events that happen within the text. The teacher will help the student eliminated accessory details and highlight important details for contextual understanding.

 

Materials:

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- pencils

- paper

- dry erase markers

- white boards

- highlighters

- sharpies

- Copies of “National Geographic for Kids: Mallard Ducks”, “National Geographic for Kids: Beluga Whales”, “National Geographic for Kids: Emperor Penguins”, and “National Geographic for Kids: African Elephants”

 

  1. Say: Today we are going to read and learn how to UNDERSTAND what we are reading. This is called comprehension. When we read, afterwards, we do what is called summarization. Does anyone know what summarization is? [Write student answers on board]. Summarization is when we take the main ideas and important details of a story and put them all together to create a shorter version of what happened. We retell the story with only the important concepts. This is a summary!

  2. Say: Why is summarization important? [Give students a chance to answer]. Summarizing helps us to highlight the most important parts of the story so we can tell others what it about. We just go over the key points and leave the unimportant details out in a summary. Find an umbrella term for the important points made in the text. In this case, we would use the umbrella term of flocks and migration because both are main points of specific paragraphs.

  3. Now we are going to practice summarizing together. I have put a passage up on the SmartBoard. Read it independently. Move your pencil to the top of your desk when you are finished. [Show the “Mallard Ducks National Geographic” article on the board] When you are finished, I want you to fill out the worksheet that I am now passing out. You can use bullet points to briefly jot down what you learned.

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Summary:

 

Text:

[You'll find mallard ducks near ponds, marshes, streams, and lakes, where they feed on plants, invertebrates, fish, and insects. Mallards are dabbling, or surface-feeding, ducks because they eat by tipping underwater for food—head down, feet and tail in the air—rather than diving. Mallards also forage and graze for food on land.

The male mallard duck, called a drake, sports a glossy green head, a white ring around its neck and a rich, chestnut-brown breast. The mottled brown female mallard looks downright dull next to the male's showy feathers.

The mallard duck's outer feathers are waterproof, thanks to oil that’s secreted from a gland near the tail. Beneath this tightly packed waterproof layer of feathers lies a soft, warm layer of feathers called down. Twice a year, mallards molt, or shed, their flight feathers, temporarily grounding the birds for several weeks until the feathers grow back.

Check out where mallard ducks live.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAPS

Mallards fly in groups called flocks. Like most migratory birds, mallards fly in the famous V formation. During winter migration, mallards fly south in search of warm weather, often resting at the same spots year after year. Migrating mallards can travel great distances, relying on rivers, coasts, and valleys to find their way.

A female mallard lays up to a dozen eggs in nests on the ground near water, often in a small depression or tree hole. She lines the nest with warm down plucked from her undercoat. Soon after birth, baby ducks, called ducklings, open their eyes. A little more than a day after hatching, ducklings can run, swim, and forage for food on their own. They stay in the nest for less than a month. A group of ducklings is called a brood. Outside the nest, the brood sticks close by the mother for safety, often following behind her in a neat, single-file line.]

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  1. Say: Using this worksheet, can anyone give me a brief summary of what happened in this article? [Allow 5 students to answer and assist as needed.] Why do you think I had you write down two unimportant details about the text? We have to learn how to tell the difference between an important concept for our summaries and the unimportant details that can be left out. As we practice more, we can understand the key concepts in our head and won’t have to write them down on a worksheet. Let’s take a look at my copy on the board. What do we think a key concept is in this article? [Highlight the key concepts on the board as the students call them out]. What details do we absolutely not need when making our summary? [cross out unimportant details with black marker] By crossing things out and highlighting, I am able to keep straight what information I will need when I summarize.

  2. One example of a key concept is the idea that Mallards females lay eggs to reproduce. However, a trivia point would be that the babies only stay in the nest for less than a month. The reproduction point is crucial because it covers the key concept of how mallards flocks grow but we do not need to include every detail in our summaries.

  3. Next, we are going to practice together. I want you to find a partner and sit with them. Send one partner up to the front of the room to get one of each article. There will be an article A and an article B. Also, get one highlighter and one sharpie for each partner. [Have the students grab “National Geographic Kids: African Elephant” and “National Geographic Kids: Beluga Whale] When you read, highlight details you think are important or are key concepts of the story. Take the Sharpie and cross out the unimportant details. This will help you to decide the parts of the story that will go into your summary. When you are finished reading and marking up your story I want you to turn and talk to your neighbor and ask them, “What is this story about?” Take turns summarizing your article to the other person. Remember, they have never read yours, and you have never read theirs so make sure you pick the most important parts to tell them!

  4. When you are both finished giving your summaries, I want you to write your summary in your journal in 6 sentences or less. Remember, it is a summary, so only use the highlighted parts of your article, the main ideas and details. Write in complete sentenced and use correct punctuation. Before you read, let’s point out a few words in the passages that are important to these passages. To migrate is to “move from one region or habitat to another according to the seasons.” Lots of animals migrate together, both on land and in the water to stay warm and produce healthy offspring.  When it gets too cold for an animal to live in one place, it migrates to a warmer climate. Typically, birds migrate in the winter time because they want to live in a warmer climate to have their babies. What animals do you know that migrate? When you figure out another animal that migrates, I want you to write one sentence using the word migrate, please.

  5. Once you have written your summary, I am going to pass out one more article. This one we are going to summarize and comprehend as a class together. This one is called “National Geographic: Emperor Penguin.” What do we want to know about emperor penguins? [Have students ask questions and write them on the board.] Where do they live? How much can they weigh? Can they fly? We have to read this article to find out the answers to all of our questions! I want you to read and then summarize this article. What do we do when we find a key point? Yes, highlight it. We are looking for key ideas and words in the text. When you have finished reading, I want you to put your papers on my desk.

  6. Rubric for summary and analysis of each student:

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Sample Checklist: Summarization
___ Student underlined important ideas.
___ Did not underline trivia.
___ Summary used 1+ complete sentences.
___ Identified topic accurately.
___ Included key details.
___ Omitted trivia.
___ Captured main idea of text.


Sample Checklist: Asking questions
___ Questions drawn from text.
___ Asks about important ideas.
___ No trivial questions.
___ Questions brings ideas together.
___ No literal questions.
___ Gives sample answers.
___ Answers are correct.

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In addition, be sure to ask 3-6 comprehension questions to
see if students understood your article. These questions
should not all be literal (some should require bringing
ideas together), but they should have right and wrong
answers (not open-ended questions)

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 Assessment Questions:

 (answer in journal)

  1. Where do emperor penguins live?

  2. Who protects the young egg before it hatches?

  3. Who hunts for the food and brings it to the baby?

  4. Can emperor penguins fly?

  5. What is a group of emperor penguins called?

  6. Do they raise their young together or on their own?

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Resources:

 

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