1. Methods for Summarizing Texts Effective Strategies

2. The Benefits of Summarizing Summarizing the information presented in a textbook or novel reinforces and consolidates the processes involved in learning that information. These processes include separating important from unimportant information, recognizing the structure of the text, and drawing inferences.

3. Strategies for Summarizing Hierarchical Summaries R.E.A.P. G.I.S.T.

4. Hierarchical Summaries Preview the text, giving special attention to headings, subheadings, bolded or italicized vocabulary, etc. Develop a skeletal outline. Read the text and use the outline as a guide. Generate main ideas for each main point in the outline and then include supporting detail. Generate a summarizing statement for the entire passage.

5. R.E.A.P. This is an acronym for the four stages of reading and understanding: R ead the text; E ncode the text in your own language; A nnotate the text by writing down the message conveyed in the text; P onder the message on your own or with others.

6. G.I.S.T.: Generating Interactions between Schemata and Text First, restate the first sentence of a paragraph in 15 words or less. Then, summarize sentences one and two in 15 words or less. Continue until the entire paragraph has been summarized in 15 words or less.

7. Source Alvermann, Donna E., and Stephen F. Phelps. Content Reading and Literacy: Succeeding in Today’s Diverse Classrooms. 2 nd ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998.