Rationale: In this lesson, the students will learn how to gather information by reading expository texts. After children learn to read fluently, the best thing to do next would be to strengthen reading comprehension through reading informational text. Summarization allows the teacher to assess student understanding of what they are reading. It is important for students to learn how to summarize and gather the correct information from the text. This lesson plan is designed for students to practice their summarization and comprehension skills without getting bogged down by extra detail.
Materials:
Pencils, paper, highlighters, Smart Board, comprehension questions, “Swimming” KidsHealth article
Procedures:
1. Say: Today, we will work on summarization and practice how we will gain information by reading an article about swimming from KidsHealth. Summarizing is a great tool to use after reading to gain information. When summarizing, you want to go on a treasure hunt; to only get the important information from reading, and leave behind the information that is not important. I have picked out an interesting article that we will practice summarizing with. We will try to focus on just the main idea and the important facts that support that idea.
2. Say: I am going to give out paper, and I want everyone to take one piece. I will show you all how to fold the paper, so watch carefully. First, we are going to fold the paper horizontally. Next, we will fold it vertically. (do demonstration). Now it is your turn! Your paper should be divided into four little boxes. I will walk around the room if anyone needs any help.
3. Say: Now that everyone has their paper folded, you may be wondering what we are going to use it for. This will be our study card to help guide us in the summarization of our story we are reading today. You can use this idea whenever you summarize articles. The first step in summarization is picking out what is important in the story and highlighting it. The next step is finding the unimportant details or repeated details and crossing them out. The third step is coming up with something called an umbrella term, which gives a general way of labeling similar things. For example, if you were reading a story that talked about pigs, cows, horses, and sheep these could all be labeled as animals, or more specifically, farm animals. Finally, the last step is taking the information you got in step one and making a topic sentence that wraps up what you need to know. Now, I want you to write these steps down at the top of the corresponding boxes on your study card. (Ask students to recall steps and write them at the top of each corresponding box.) (Ex. box one will have “highlight important details” at the top. They can shorten the steps to make them fit at the top). Box one will be for important details. Box two will be empty, except for the directions, because it is for unimportant details. Box three will be where you come up with an umbrella term and vocabulary. Box four will be where you make one topic sentence for the whole article. On the back, I want you to write a 3-5 sentence paragraph summarizing the article as a whole.
4. Say: I am going to hand out the article, which is a fascinating article about the different bodies of water that we swim in. We are going to all work together as a class to summarize the first paragraph. Have you ever thought, I wish I knew more about the different types of bodies of water! How many types do you think there are? Good guess! We will have to read the article to find out! So, I am going to read the first paragraph aloud and we are going to pick out what is important together (Read first paragraph aloud). Now that we are finished reading, let’s highlight what is important and cross out what is not.
(Demonstrate on the SmartBoard) Say: The second sentence begins with “Swimming is a lot of fun, but drowning is a real danger. Even kids who know how to swim can drown, so let's find out how to stay safe in the water.” We could cross out the idea “swimming is a lot of fun” because this is not important. We know that swimming is fun, but this statement does not provide us with facts or key information. We can highlight “drowning” because we need to know that this is an aspect of swimming that could be dangerous. The article goes on to talk about why it is important to be safe in the water. We can use this topic sentence to identify and summarize what the article will be about.
5. (Ask students about what they think the main point is of this paragraph is) Say: That’s right! The paragraph talks about important rules that help us stay safe while swimming!
6. Say: Now I want you to go through the rest of the article, paragraph by paragraph. Remember to highlight the important information and cross out the parts of the sentence that are not important. Write the main points in the first box of your study card.
7. Say: Everyone’s study cards are looking really good! Once you have found the important details and crossed the the un-important details, the umbrella term for this article could be as simple as swimming safety. Some important vocabulary words from the article are: depth markers and sunscreen. These words should be written in box 3 along with any others you find important in a sentence. For example, let’s try sunscreen. Sunscreen provides protection from the sun’s harmful rays. “Always put on plenty of sunscreen before you go outside.” Now you try to finish a sentence using what you know about the sunscreen. “If I visited the beach, I would want to wear _______.” Let’s put your knowledge to the test with more questions. “Would I wear sunscreen even if it was cloudy?” “Is it really necessary to protect my skin against the sun’s rays?”
8. Say: Finally, we will learn to write a topic sentence. We looked at a topic sentence earlier about water safety. Overall, for this article, what would the topic sentence be? Take into account all of the important information that you wrote down in the first box of your study card. Use these details to formulate a simple sentence that summarizes what you need to know. Would anyone like to share what they believe is the main idea of this article? (Allow multiple students to answer) Good! So, if I were to formulate a topic sentence for this article, I would probably say something like: “It is important to follow safety rules while swimming or playing in the water, no matter what body of water you are in.” Now, I want you to try. Do your best to write a topic sentence based on the important information you recorded. I’m going to come around the room and help anyone who has questions. (Assist students and offer feedback on their topic sentences.)
Assessment:
To wrap up this lesson, students will be assessed on their summaries of the article. I will use this rubric to assess if they gained the proper information from this lesson:
Rubric
On the study card and summary, did the student…
· Provide important facts? YES/NO
· Remove trivial information? YES/NO
· Provide vocabulary and correct sentences? YES/NO
· Write a 3-5 sentence, good summary? YES/NO
I will call each student up individually to answer some comprehension questions. Students can free read while they are waiting for me to call them up.
1. What causes a person to drown? (too much water gets into their lungs)
2. What do you call the big numbers painted on the side of the pool? (depth markers)
3. If you are going on a boat, what is necessary for you to wear? (life jacket)
4. Why should you never run at the pool or water park? (it is wet and slippery)
5. What should you always wear when you go outside in the sun? (sunscreen)
References:
Adapted from Ray, Sarah “Searching for Summarization” https://ser0019.wixsite.com/lessonplans/reading-to-learm
Picture: http://clipartmag.com/flowing-water-clipart
Article: KidsHealth, “Swimming” http://kidshealth.org/en/kids/swim.html?WT.ac=k-ra - catfit
For more lessons: Horizons Website on Reading Genie
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