Summarizing (AKA Get the Gist).
Definition:
"Summarizing teaches students how to discern the most important ideas in a text, how to ignore irrelevant information, and how to integrate the central ideas in a meaningful way. Teaching students to summarize improves their memory for what is read. Summarization strategies can be used in almost every content area," ("Summarizing," 2014).
These are the things teachers want students to do when summarizing:
Steps to Implement this Strategy:
"Summarizing teaches students how to discern the most important ideas in a text, how to ignore irrelevant information, and how to integrate the central ideas in a meaningful way. Teaching students to summarize improves their memory for what is read. Summarization strategies can be used in almost every content area," ("Summarizing," 2014).
These are the things teachers want students to do when summarizing:
- "pull out main ideas
- focus on key details
- use key words and phrases
- break down the larger ideas
- write only enough to convey the gist
- take succinct but complete notes," (Jones, R, 2012).
Steps to Implement this Strategy:
- Assign a reading passage.
- Have students answer some framework questions over the selection (main ideas, crucial details, irrelevant information, etc.).
- The students will then use the answers to the framework questions to identify the key words of the text, ("Summarizing," 2014).
Benefits of this Strategy:
- Increases comprehension.
- Teaches students to pick out important information.
- Teaches students how to reduce a lengthy piece of text using important information.
Video 1: This video is a good example of a teacher modeling how to summarize a piece of text. Before the teacher reads the selection to her students, she gives them a task to think about while listening. She asks the students to think about the main topic of the reading while they listen. After the teacher is done reading, she asks the students for key words from the text. She models picking out key words first, thinking aloud to model her thought process. After the teacher is done modeling picking out key words, she rereads a passage of the text, and allows the students to pick out key words in their groups. Finally, the teacher models using the key words to write a summary of the text in her own words. Picking out the key words assesses whether or not the students comprehended the material, and using those key words to come up with a summary assesses the students knowledge of the strategy.
Video 2: This video uses the "Get the Gist Strategy" to summarize a piece of text. This video is not in a classroom. Instead, it is a teacher explaining the strategy and then modeling it. After explaining the "Get the Gist" model, the teacher reads the section of a book aloud. After she reads the section, she picks out key words to make a gist statement. She tries to get the statement in less than ten words. She repeats this strategy of reading and gist statements several more times. This video does a nice job of explaining and modeling this strategy. The gist statements from the students would be what the teacher assesses to determine if the students comprehended the material.
Writing Component:
The writing component for this strategy is a pretty simple one. Have students summarize a section of text using the main ideas and key words. The students would be assessed on pulling out all of the main ideas, and using the key words correctly in their summary.
Writing Standard Addressed:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.8
Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
Sources:
Jones, R. (2012). Strategies for Reading Comprehension: Summarizing. Retrieved July 16, 2014, from
http://www.readingquest.org/strat/summarize.html.
Summarizing. (2014). In Reading Rockets. Retrieved July 16, 2014, from
http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/summarizing.
The writing component for this strategy is a pretty simple one. Have students summarize a section of text using the main ideas and key words. The students would be assessed on pulling out all of the main ideas, and using the key words correctly in their summary.
Writing Standard Addressed:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.8
Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
Sources:
Jones, R. (2012). Strategies for Reading Comprehension: Summarizing. Retrieved July 16, 2014, from
http://www.readingquest.org/strat/summarize.html.
Summarizing. (2014). In Reading Rockets. Retrieved July 16, 2014, from
http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/summarizing.