Retelling and Summarizing A quick guide for students

Overview Retelling and summarizing are two important strategies and activities for readingRetelling and summarizing are two important strategies and activities for reading Retelling and summarizing share some key similaritiesRetelling and summarizing share some key similarities However, it’s important to consider their differences when reading/writingHowever, it’s important to consider their differences when reading/writing

What is retelling? Retelling is an oral activity in which a reader explains the main ideas of the textRetelling is an oral activity in which a reader explains the main ideas of the text For example, after reading a story, a reader retells the story by putting it into his or her own wordsFor example, after reading a story, a reader retells the story by putting it into his or her own words

Why retell? Retelling is a powerful tool for building comprehensionRetelling is a powerful tool for building comprehension Retelling fiction requires students to think about characters, setting, conflict,and important eventsRetelling fiction requires students to think about characters, setting, conflict,and important events Retelling nonfiction requires students to consider key ideas and important informationRetelling nonfiction requires students to consider key ideas and important information

As you or your partner retells the story…. Listen for:Listen for: –character names –specific details from the story, key events, and important ideas –events in sequence –ideas into their own words

Some key aspects of retelling A retelling of a story can be longer than the originalA retelling of a story can be longer than the original Retelling can be a great tool to build comprehension of fiction and nonfictionRetelling can be a great tool to build comprehension of fiction and nonfiction

What about summarizing? Like retelling, summarizing is an important reading strategy that builds comprehensionLike retelling, summarizing is an important reading strategy that builds comprehension Like retelling, the reader needs to put ideas into his or her own wordsLike retelling, the reader needs to put ideas into his or her own words However, there are some important differences to keep in mindHowever, there are some important differences to keep in mind

Key Differences Retelling is oralRetelling is oral Summarizing is writtenSummarizing is written In a retelling, the more details, the betterIn a retelling, the more details, the better A summary should include only the most important detailsA summary should include only the most important details

Why summarize? Summarizing is a key reading strategy—if a reader can’t summarize, chances are that full comprehension didn’t occurSummarizing is a key reading strategy—if a reader can’t summarize, chances are that full comprehension didn’t occur Summarizing requires a reader to think about the important ideas of a textSummarizing requires a reader to think about the important ideas of a text Many standardized tests require students to write summariesMany standardized tests require students to write summaries

What makes a good summary? A summary of fiction should include: –Names of important characters and locations –Important events from the story –A sentence or two that points to the theme of the story A summary of fiction should not include: –The reader’s opinions (This was a great book!) –Trivial details

What makes a good summary? A summary of nonfiction should include:A summary of nonfiction should include: –Key words from the passage –Main ideas from the text –A reflection of the text structure of the text A summary of nonfiction should not include:A summary of nonfiction should not include: –Trivial details –The reader’s opinions

How do we help readers learn to summarize? To improve fiction summaries, help readers locate important events from the storyTo improve fiction summaries, help readers locate important events from the story To improve nonfiction summaries, teach students how to identify text structures (compare and contrast, problem solution, chronological order, cause and effect, etc)To improve nonfiction summaries, teach students how to identify text structures (compare and contrast, problem solution, chronological order, cause and effect, etc)

Our next steps: 1. Turn and talk- each partner should take a turn retelling Tomas and the Library Lady 2. Whole group discussion- what did you notice? 3. Later this week…we’ll write a scaffolded summary together! :)