1. Summarizing in the Elementary Grades
Suzanne Whisler
ESU 4
March 2, 2012

2. Learning Targets Understand the purpose and importance of summarizing.
Identify ways to implement summarizing in the classroom.
Review examples of summarizing activities.

3. Category Summarizing and note taking 1.00 34 Ave. Effect Size
Percentile gain
Identifying similarities and differences
1.61 45
Summarizing and note taking
1.00 34
Reinforcing effort and providing recognition
.80 29
Homework and Practice
.77 28
Nonlinguistic representations
.75 27
Cooperative learning
.73
Setting objectives/providing feedback
.61 23
Generating and testing hypotheses
Questions, cues, and advance organizers
.59 22

4. WHY do we ask kids to summarize?

5. How do you currently teach your students to summarize information?

6. Students & Summarizing
When you ask your students to summarize, what usually happens?
What do you want them to do?
Pull out the main idea
Focus on key details
Use key words and phrases
Get the “gist”

7. The time to begin teaching students how to summarize is on the first day of kindergarten.
~Elaine K. McEwan

8. One of the greatest gifts we can give our students…
The ability to identify important information, and
Processes to structure that information for meaning and successful application
Summarizing!
Rick Wormli, Summarization in Any Subject, 2005

9. Kids Aren’t Born Knowing How To Summarize…
We have to teach our students to summarize.
Many teachers say: “Summarize what we’ve learned today.” But they don’t do direct instruction (that means teaching) on summarizing.
Use direct, explicit instruction to teach summarizing.

10. Summarizing is Procedural
Summarizing is “procedural knowledge”. If students are expected to become proficient in procedural knowledge, they need to be able to“practice.”
Mastering a skill or process requires a fair amount of focused practice. Practice sessions initially should be spaced very closely together. Over time, the intervals between sessions can be increased. Students also need feedback on their efforts.
While practicing, students should adapt and shape what they have learned.

11. Gradual Release of Responsibility

13. Think Alouds Name a strategy, a skill, or a task.
State the purpose of the strategy, the skill, or the task.
Use “I” statements.
Demonstrate how the strategy, the skill, or the task is used.
Alert learners about errors to avoid.
Assess the usefulness of the strategy or the skill.

14. Summarizing Think Aloud
So what it’s saying is . . .
The big idea here is . . .
I think the point is . . .

15. Modeling is key!

16. 10-2 Strategy
For every ten minutes of new learning provide students two minutes to process the new learning.
Time to process is essential to transfer learning to long term memory.
Take 2 minutes and reflect on summarizing, gradual release of responsibility, and think alouds.

17. Summarizing Strategies

18. Fiction Strategies

19. Narrative Framework Elements commonly found in fiction
Use the framework to help students summarize stories.
Introduce the framework questions to students.
Ask students to think about the questions as you read the story aloud.
Read the story again stopping to let the students answer the questions.
Finally, use the answers to the questions to write a summary.

20. Marzano, 2001

22. Visualize a Video
Explain to students that as you read a story to them, you want them to make pictures in their minds, about 4 very important things that they will hear during the read aloud.
Main character – which person or animal is most described in the story
Setting – looking at the pictures and noticing what is in the background
Problem/Solution – takes more thinking and you have to look and listen for clues in the story

23. Visualize a Video

25. Setting
Characters
Title
Problem
Solution

27. Story Maps Have Fun Teaching Read Write Think Story Cube
Scholastic Interactive Story Train
Education Place
Enchanted Learning
map/
Have Fun Teaching

28. What about DIBELS Retell?
In addition to having students summarize a story, provide them with opportunities to retell everything they can remember about a story.
Elbow Partners
Tell your neighbor everything you can about the story we just read.

29. Take Seven Steps What have you heard so far that makes sense?
What strategy are you going to try with your students?
What are you still wondering about?

30. More Strategies

31. Model for Summarizing
Steps in Rule-Based Summarizing for Younger Students
Take out material that is not important to understanding.
Take out words that repeat information.
Replace a list of things with a word that describes the things in the list (e.g. use trees for elm, oak and maple.)
Find a topic sentence. If you cannot find a topic sentence, make one up.
Here is a set of instructions for older students and a different set of directions you can give younger students.

32. Traditional Rules-Based Summaries
T - Trivia (Remove trivial material.)
R - Redundancies (Remove redundant or repetitive information.)
G - Generalize (Replace specifics or lists with general terms and phrases.)
TS - Topic Sentence ( Determine the topic sentence, which is the subject plus the author’s claim about the subject. You might have to make one up if there isn’t one.)
T - RG - TS (TARGETS)

33. Traditional Rules-Based Summaries
Use regularly, but don’t exclude alternative formats
Provide models for students
Provide opportunities for practice
Do think-alouds to model the process

34. Practice with Summarizing
With your elbow partner, review the rules-based summary directions. (TARGETS)
Apply the strategy to the “Penguin” paragraph and write a summary.
Practice doing it as a “Think Aloud” with your elbow partners.
Google Docs & Word Documents

35. Paragraph Shrinking
A strategy designed to develop comprehension through main idea identification.
Steps:
Name the who or what. (The main person, animal or thing)
Tell the most important thing about the who or what.
Say the main idea in 10 words or less.
(Fuchs, Mathes, and Fuchs)
Today, then, we will focus on a strategy that builds in instruction in both text structure as well as summarization skills. We do this by teaching the main idea.

36. Paragraph Shrinking Card
Question Card
Paragraph Shrinking Card
Questions to Ask
Name the Who or What
Tell the most important thing about the who or what.
Say the main idea in 10 words or less. privilege.

37. One Word Summaries ABCYa http://bit.ly/w2XqdQ
Ask students to write one word that summarizes the lesson’s topic.
Ask them to explain why they chose that word.
I Have a Dream
ABCYa
Wordle
Tagxedo

38. One Sentence Paraphrase
Requires students to synthesize information
Puts focus on bigger picture learning rather than specific details
Steps in the process
Model the process
After reading, put away or hide passage
Students write one sentence that reflects their understanding
Share sentences, looking for similarities & differences

39. Inner/Outer Circle
Form two circles with equal numbers of people, one inside the other
Inside faces outside, speaking distance apart
Pose a summarizing question, allow time for discussion, one minute for each
Rotate the outer or inner circle to change pairings, pose additional summarizing questions

40. Partners A and B In pairs: One person A, other person B
A- talk non-stop about what we’ve read about so far today for one minute
B- talk non-stop for one minute
(B can’t repeat anything)

41. Carousel Brainstorming
Place topics on chart paper around the room
Divide students into small groups
Each group has a different color marker and goes to a different chart
Students write ideas/facts about the concept on the chart
Call time and rotate to next chart
Each time students arrive at new chart, they review what is already there and add to the list

42. Summarizing with the Final Countdown
Ask students to reflect on what they have learned about the topic.
Use the Final Countdown strategy.
First Tier - Write the three most important facts that the student learned.
Second Tier - Write two questions that the student still has about the topic.
Top Tier - Write one way in which the student can connect the topic to material previously learned.
from Instructional Strategies for Engaging Learners
Guilford County Schools TF, 2002

44. Summarizing with
Use the strategy to summarize a topic.
Write 3 things you found out
Write 2 interesting things you learned
Write 1 question you still have
Penny Juggins of Fairfax County, VA

46. Charades Divide the class into 2 teams.
Then have the students within each team form a small group of three or four.
Hand out slips of paper naming concepts, facts, people or skills you’ve been teaching.
Ask small groups to discuss what they know about the topics and determine how to act out the words.
When everyone is ready, reassemble the two teams and have the small groups present their pantomimes to the other small group on their team.

47. The Frayer Model Topic Essential Characteristics
Nonessential Characteristics
Topic
Examples
Nonexamples

48. Share One; Get One Give the students a note card or sticky note.
Ask the students to record 1 to 3 different concepts, facts, or skills they learned from a lesson.
Ask students to walk around the room, share their card with another student, and then trade cards with that student.
Continue the process.
Share out as a whole class or in small groups.

49. Sum It Up Directions Get a “Sum It Up” sheet.
Read the entire selection (chapter, article, handout, primary source, etc.) and as you read list the main idea words on the “Sum It Up” sheet.
Write a summary of the selection using as many of the main idea words as possible. Put one word in each blank. Imagine you have only $2.00 and that each word you use is worth ten cents.
You’ll “sum it up” in 20 words!

50. Sum It Up
See hand out.

51. Gist Log Who or what is the paragraph mostly about?
What is the most important information about the who or what?
Write the gist in a complete sentence of 10 words or less.

52. Say Something Form pairs of students
Ask students to read silently to a designated stopping point.
When each partner is ready, stop and “say something”.
Continue this process until the selection is read.

53. Summarization Pyramids
A synonym for the topic
An analogy between the topic and a sport
One question it sparks in you
3 facts about the topic
3 words that describe the topic
A book title or headline about the topic
Causes of the topic
Effects of the topic
Reasons why we study the topic
Personal opinion on the topic
Samples of the topic

54. Summary Ball Begin the activity by tossing a ball to any student.
The student who catches the ball has 3 seconds to state any fact, concept or skill learned from the lesson.
The student then tosses the ball to another student in the room who has not spoken.
The second student states a fact, concept, or skill that hasn’t been mentioned, then tosses the ball.

55. Think – Pair - Share
Give the students a prompt and have them reflect on the prompt and topic of the lesson.
Ask students to pair up and to share their responses.

56. SILENT Give One, Get One
Write down one new summarizing activity you want to try with your students on a sticky note
Take your sticky note and power point with you
Make eye contact with someone (smile) and swap sticky notes
Take time to read the note/record any new ideas
Mingle and make eye contact with a new partner
Shhhh!!

57. Technology Sites Into the Book Reading Rockets
ntvideo.html
Reading Rockets
Dabble Board
Reading Quest
Instructional Strategies that Work
Podcasting with Quick Time Player

58. What have you learned about summarizing?
Whip Around
What have you learned about summarizing?
Start with one person sharing an idea.
Go around the room with each person giving a new idea.
If the person’s idea has already been given he/she can say pass.
Keep going around the room until all ideas are presented.
(Participants should go around the room, each giving a new idea. If a participants idea was already given, he/she can say pass. Keep going around the room until all ideas are presented).
Optional alternate if time short, can just solicit responses from the whole group.

59. Please do a 3 - 2 - 1 Three things you learned today
Two things that surprised you
One thing you’ll commit to in your classroom during the rest of this school year