Introduction to Summarizing

1
Introduction to Summarizing
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What is Summarizing?

• Summarizing is finding the key ideas and
  supporting details to get the gist of a piece
  of writing.
• Skilled readers distill what is important --
  based on the purpose of reading -- to understand
  and recall the text.

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Three Key Elements of Summarizing

• Provide an overview or topic statement.
• Include key details.
• Leave out irrelevant or unimportant details.

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How is Summarizing Important?

• Aids students in processing information and
  focusing in on the key ideas.
• Helps students see how ideas fit together to form
  a coherent whole.
• Provides students with a means for presenting
  their ideas in ways that others can understand.

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How Does Summarizing Help Students?

• Encourages your students to get used to looking
  for key ideas in the text as they read. This is a
  key element of comprehension.
• Helps students connect key ideas to sense or
  meaning. Summarizing helps them absorb the ideas
  in the text.
• Selecting key vocabulary words from the text
  helps your students expand their word knowledge.
  
• Supports students in both comprehending and
  remembering information.

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How Can I Prepare Students to Use This Practice?

• Provide clear explanations about what summarizing
  is and how it can help students in all subjects.
• Share real examples of how students use
  summarizing every day.
• Offer strategies and tools to help students with
  summarizing, including digital tools.
• Give students lots of opportunities to practice
  summarizing many types of texts, both online and
  in print.

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Discussion Questions 1

• What types of problems do your struggling readers
  encounter when they are asked to summarize
  literature or informational texts?
• Which Common Core State Standards focus on
  summarizing?
• Which specific features of digital text could
  support students' ability to summarize?

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How Can I Support Students in Summarizing Text?
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Use of Evidence-Based Practices

• Provide Clear Explanations
• Give Students Strategies and Models
• Provide Opportunities for Practice

10
Differentiated Instruction

• Plan instruction that considers students'
  readiness, learning needs, and interests.
• Use a range of technology tools to
• engage learners at varying levels
• engage learners in multiple ways.
• offer students options for demonstrating
  understanding and mastery

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Teacher-Dependent Ways to Differentiate

• By Content
• Different levels of reading or resource
  materials, reading buddies, small group
  instruction, curriculum compacting, multi-level
  computer programs and Web Quests, audio
  materials, etc.
• By Product
• Activity choice boards, tiered activities,
  multi-level learning center tasks, similar
  readiness groups, choice in group work, varied
  journal prompts, mixed readiness groups with
  targeted roles for students, etc.
• By Process
• Tiered products, students choose mode of
  presentation to demonstrate learning, independent
  study, varied rubrics, mentorships,
  interest-based investigations

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Student-Dependent Ways to Differentiate

• By Readiness
• Options in content, topic, or theme, options in
  the tools needed for production, options in
  methods for engagement
• By Profile
• Consideration of gender, culture, learning
  styles, strengths, and weaknesses
• By Interests
• Identification of background knowledge/gaps in
  learning, vary amount of direct instruction, and
  practice, pace of instruction, complexity of
  activities, and exploration of a topic

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Discussion Questions 2

• How do you explain summarizing to your students?
• Do you build practice in summarizing into your
  ongoing reading instruction?
• Over time, how could you increase the complexity
  of the reading materials that students have to
  summarize?

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Activities Before Reading

• Ask students to
• Review the headings and key words, as well as any
  pictures, graphs or maps within the text.
• Use these clues to brainstorm what the text is
  about.
• Think about what tools and strategies they'll use
  to help them build summaries -- note taking,
  highlighting, or using graphic organizers. This
  is a great opportunity to use digital text!

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Activities During Reading

• Ask students to do the following on their own, in
  pairs, and in groups
• Read and reread text as needed.
• Use planned/selected strategies and tools for
  marking text and taking notes.
• Pause at set intervals to jot down ideas, talk to
  a peer, or speak into a recording device.

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Activities After Reading

• Ask students to
• Collect their ideas.
• Review and organize their notes.
• Discuss their plans for their summaries with
  others.
• Draft their summaries and get feedback.
• Revise their summaries.
• Digital tools for outlining, drafting, and
  sharing are great for these activities! Consider
  allowing students to create visual summaries as
  well.

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Discussion Questions

• How do you vary instruction if students are
  reading literature or informational texts?
• What strategies help students to dig more deeply
  when they reread the text?
• Which technology tools could help students after
  reading to draft their summaries?

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Disclaimer

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  Special Technology (CAST).
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