Taylor Humphrey

 

 

 

Out of This World Summarization

Reading to Learn Design

By Taylor Humphrey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Rationale:

In this lesson, we will focus on students reading to learn. Summarization is one of the most powerful strategies for comprehending text. An effective method of summarizing is called about-point, which asks two critical questions about the text. The first question is: What is the text about? This question serves to identify the topic that becomes the subject of the topic sentence. The second question is: What is the main point the writer is making about that topic? Since the author usually makes several points, the reader must find an umbrella term that covers all the main points the author is making. The main point becomes the predicate of the topic sentence.

Materials:

• Copies of “What is Planet?” article

• Pencils

• Paper

• Summarization checklist

• Comprehension quiz 

Procedures:

1. Say: “Does anyone know what summarizing means? (Let students answer question). “Summarizing is when we reduce a text, such as a book or an article, and we include the most important points that the author is making. We would spend all day trying to remember all the words in a story or all the facts in an article, so we use summarization to help us remember all the important parts.”

2. Say: “We are going to summarize our text by using the about-point method. After reading the text, we are going to ask ourselves an easy question and a tough question. The easy question is “What is the text about?” The tough question is “What is the main point the writes is making about that topic?” To answer the second question, you have to think of an umbrella term for all the important points the writer is telling you.”

3. Say: “We are going to practice the about-point strategy with an article about the planets in our solar system. What exactly is a planet? Have you ever seen another planet from earth? Do you know how many planets are in our solar system? Are there different types of planets? These are some of the questions you will be learning to answer today.”

4. Say: “Before we begin, let’s talk about an important vocabulary word you will be reading: orbit. Orbit means the path an object takes in outer space when it goes around a star, planet, or the moon. Let’s use the word orbit in a sentence, “Some planets orbit around the Sun.” Which of these is an example of something that orbits? The moon traveling around the Earth, or an asteroid soaring past the Earth? (Let them answer) Yes! The moon traveling around the Earth is an example of something that orbits because it is moving around, and orbit means to go around.” Finish the sentence: “We can see planets orbit in… “

5. Say: “Here is a paragraph from the article:

 

Our solar system’s eight planets come in two flavors: smaller rocky planets with solid ground (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars) and larger gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune). You can spot six of the solar system’s planets with the naked eye from Earth—and all eight if you have binoculars or a telescope.

 

“This paragraph is about the types of planets. What are the main points that the author made? There are two types of planets. Small rocky planets with solid ground and large gas planets. You can see the planets with your eyes, or with a telescope or binoculars. I can combine these two points to make a topic sentence: There are two types of planet, solid rock or gassy, and you can see them with your eyes or the help of a telescope. “

 

  6. Say: “Now it’s your turn to use the about-point method on a paragraph:

 

The discovery of other solar-system “wanderers” rivaling Pluto in size suddenly had scientists asking what wasn’t a planet. They put their heads together in 2006 and came up with three conditions for planethood: A planet must orbit the sun, be large enough so that its own gravity molds it into a spherical shape, and it must have an orbit free of other small objects. 

 

   Say: “What is this paragraph about? Yes, it’s about what qualities a planet must-have. What are the main points the author is making? Yes, there are three conditions for something to be a planet. Yes, planets must orbit the sun and other objects can’t be in its orbit. Yes, another point is that it must be shaped like a sphere. How can we combine these points into a sentence? (Have students respond) Very good! In order to be a planet it has to be shaped like a sphere, it has to orbit the sun, and other objects can’t be in its orbit.

 

  7. Say: “Now you are going 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. This will help you remember the important facts about the planets. The point of summarizing is to condense or shorten all the main points into simple sentences, so only pick out the meaningful information. We will take a short quiz to see what you remember once everyone finishes. 

Assessment:

     __ Has important information from the article

     __ No trivia and examples in summary

     __ Reduced the text from the original

     __ Contains an idea from each section of the article

     __ Sentences organized coherently into essay form

 

Quiz:

1. What are the two types of planets?

2. Why did ancient Greeks call planets wanderers? 

3. How many planets were originally discovered?

4. What conditions must be met in order to be a planet?

5. Why is Pluto not considered a planet?

 

References

Johnson, D. Using the About-Point to Handle the Main Idea https://dtj0015.wixsite.com/mysite/reading-to-learn

 

 

Pincheon, E. Summarization within Reach https://emmapincheon13.wixsite.com/mysite/reading-to-learn

 

National Geographic Kids Article: What is a Planet https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/space/what-is-a-planet/

 

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