This document provides guidance and examples for teaching students how to summarize texts. It discusses the importance of summarizing in developing comprehension and different strategies students may use incorrectly when summarizing. The document then offers various strategies and templates teachers can use to help students learn how to properly summarize, including having them identify main ideas and key details, write headlines, use graphic organizers, reduce details across multiple drafts, and focus on conveying the overall meaning in fewer words. Emphasis is placed on modeling the skill repeatedly and giving students practice time to develop their summarizing abilities.

2. What do you get?
 Random words
› Key words
 Copy and paste
 Change some words
 Use terms they are not familiar with
 Restatement of original source
› Retelling
 Repetition
 Poor grammar, caps, punctuation
 Poor bullet structure
 No sense

3. What do you want?
 Clear, concise description
 Individual thoughts and opinions
 Interpretation
 Big picture – generalizations
 Well-thought, clear details
 Understand the “why?”
 Mechanics

4. Summarize
 Shorter version
 In own words
 Shows main ideas
 SHORTER –
 Only key points
 Maintain same tone or attitude
 Must be in same order as article
 “Alien – test” Would they understand if
they read your summary?

5.  Grades 9-10
Determine the central
ideas or conclusions of
a text; trace the text’s
explanation or
depiction of a
complex process,
phenomenon, or
concept; provide an
accurate summary of
the text.
 Grades 11-12
Determine the central
ideas or conclusions of
a text; summarize
complex concepts,
processes, or
information presented
in a text by
paraphrasing them in
simpler but still
accurate terms.

6.  They write down everything
 They write down next to
nothing
 They give complete
sentences
 They write way too much
 They don’t write enough
 They copy word for word
 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
What You Want
Them to Do

7.  Synthesize information
› Very high level critical thinking
› mastery level of content standards
 Distill info into a concise new form
 Separate important info from extraneous
 Paraphrase info.

8.  Summarizing and Note-taking: promotes
comprehension because students have
to analyze what is important and what is
not important and put it in their own
words
› a. Provide a set of rules for asking students to
summarize a literary selection, a movie clip,
a section of a textbook, etc.
› b. Provide a basic outline for note-taking,
having students fill in pertinent information

9.  Students must analyze information at a
deep level to decide what to
› delete
› substitute
› keep
 Should be in both linguistic and
nonlinguistic forms
› idea webs
› Sketches
› informal outlines.

10.  - See more at:
http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php
?
title=Summarizing_Strategies&video_id=1
77533#sthash.pfxoyZrg.dpuf

11.  - See more at:
http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?
video_id=177535#sthash.PAavXUpJ.dpuf

12. Magnet Summary
 Movie Trailers
› Title
› Characters
› Interest
› Suspense
› Setting
› Mood
› “sell it”
› Hook
› music
 Discovery
› Marshall
› Gold
› Getting rich quick
› Sutter
› People
› Flocked
› Sawmill
› Dig
› Deeper
› discovery

13.  This activity helps students summarize narrative text
and provides a template for summary writing. After
reading narrative text, students complete the
following:
 Line 1: Character’s name
Line 2: Two words describing the character
Line 3: Three words describing the setting
Line 4: Four words stating the problem
Line 5: Five words describing one event
Line 6: Six words describing another event
Line 7: Seven words describing a third event
Line 8: Eight words describing the solution to the
problem

14.  Marshall
 Curious bossy
 California rivers sawmill
 No deed on land
 Tested gold is it real?

16. This activity can be used at
the end of a unit of study or
after reading an expository
text to help students
synthesize and summarize
information they learned.
 Pattern:
Now I know
that ________,
that ________,
that _______.
I still want to know
why ________
I’m glad I learned
that ________
because ________.
 Sample poem:
Now I know
that hardened lava is from
a volcano,
that Hawaii is a volcano,
that earthquakes can kill
people.
I still want to know
when the big earthquake
will
come because I want to
be ready.
I’m glad I learned
that volcanoes are under
water
because I can be more
alert.

17.  Students write a 3-4 word newspaper-like
“headline” for a section or paragraph.
› Examples:
 “Boy launches rocket!”
 “Town astounded!”
 “George crosses Delaware!”

18.  Flip Flop
› Selective Underline on first read
› Flip paper over
› Write everything they remember
› Flop to look for underlines they missed
› Write a paragraph or sentence from those details
 Processing the knowledge in student brain – necessary
for long-term retention of information
› Provide time for students to share and compare their paragraphs
› Process of sharing helps students PROCESS the knowledge
› Helps them identify additional important info they may have missed
› Cornell Notes: flip to back

19.  Students must write a summary of
selected material but have a “budget”
of $2.
 Each word costs 5c, 10c, etc.
 You may give students “free” words if
you like.

20. Summary Frames
 See Template!

21.  Procedure:
 Students individually generate four words that
capture the most important aspects of concept.
 Share their four words with partners and compile a list
of the words they have in common.
 Determine two words that capture the most
important aspects.
 Determine the 1 word or big idea that best captures
the reading.
 Share the various lists generated by their group in
order for the whole class to make as many learning
connections as possible.

22.  Write a summary of a reading
selection on the large index
card.
 Students take the information
from the large card and
condense it onto the medium
sized card.
 Finally, students condense it
down either further onto the
small card.
 This is a great way for students
to get to the main point/idea of
a selection.

23.  Keep in mind—it’s not easy
› Skills don’t come automatically
› Just because they are in high school doesn’t
mean they have mastered the skill
 Hard to learn/hard to teach
 Model repeatedly
 Give students practice time
Teacher Tips

24. Past and Future……
 I used to……………….
 But now I’m going to try……………………