It can be difficult to teach summary writing to new students.If your children are young, they might not understand the purpose of summaries or have difficulty expressing themselves in a concise way.You can guide your students through the summary process with a bit of time, patience and repetition.
Step 1: To start your lesson, explain what a summary is.
A summary is a brief overview of a piece of writing.The summaries don't involve any opinions or arguments.Before you start the lesson, let your students know that they will be learning the basics of summarizing and practicing easy exercises.Encourage your students throughout the lesson.Your support and knowledge will help put new students at ease when they are Summarizing.While you explain the basics of summarizing, it may be helpful to use a projector, PowerPoint, or other visual aid.
Step 2: You can read a short story with your class.
A short passage won't take a long time to go over.If your students want to read it aloud, you can encourage them to do so.The students don't get confused when they read a text that is easy to understand.If you teach younger kids, consider using an excerpt from a children's book.An article, biography, or other passage is easy to understand if you are working with older kids.
Step 3: Encourage your students to highlight important ideas.
Encourage your students to highlight any important information that helps describe the passage as you read.They should be given essential information that answers the questions of who, what, when, where, why and how.You can find templates online.
Step 4: Give your students an example summary.
A popular story or passage can be used to help students understand a proper summary.Pick a movie or TV show that your students are familiar with and give an example summary based on that.Explain how you include the basic information in your summary.If you were to summarize the movie Titanic, you could say, "A wealthy woman and a poor man meet on an expensive cruise ship."The ship sets sail and they fall in love.Their journey ends in tragedy when the boat sinks in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
Step 5: Share the sentences the class highlighted.
Students can share sentences that they think are important.To record students' answers into a collaborative list, use a whiteboard, projector, or other type of technology.Continue until everyone shares their ideas.If you were reading a story like "Cinderella", you might have ideas about how Cinderella's stepsisters ruined her dress or how the fairy godmother gives her a new dress to wear.If you are working with older students and reading a book like "The Pearl", you may want to focus on when Kino first finds the pearl, as well as when he tries to sell it.
Step 6: 5 main ideas that sum up the main story are what you should choose.
Go through the ideas collected from your students.You might have some ideas that are more important than others.Encourage your students to choose points that capture the essence of the passage.In "Cinderella", the fairy godmother giving Cinderella a dress and carriage is more important than the fact that she had a dog and cat.If you are working with older students, you may be able to use a story like "The Great Gatsby." The main idea would be the pursuit and failure to find happiness, as opposed to a statement on what Gatsby's home looked like.
Step 7: To connect the ideas, include transitional words.
Start figuring out how to connect the points when you separate the 5 main ideas.Encourage your students to use transitional phrases like "at this point" or "after this" to make their summary sound smooth and polished.Your students will have a clear idea of what they need to do if you work on an example summary together.Phrases like "according to" are used to keep your summary objective.Jack uses his family's money to buy a packet of magic beans.Jack planted the seeds and climbed the beanstalk to prove to his mother that he didn't waste their money.He found a giant's kingdom and stole their golden egg, which gave lots of money to Jack and his family in the end.
Step 8: Encourage your students to use their imaginations.
It is important for your class to know that they do not want to copy the words from the article.Show them how to rephrase their own words.Give your students time to rewrite their own sentences.If the original text says, "The girl ran through the woods to escape her attacker", you can quote it as "A wolf started chasing the girl, so she ran very fast to get away."
Step 9: The summary should be tied up with a concluding sentence.
Ask your students to come up with a sentence that ties up the loose ends in your summary.The summary would seem repetitive if the sentence did not restate any of the original information.A concluding sentence for a summary of "Star Wars Episode 6" could be: "Luke, Leia, and Han reflect on the past before focusing on everything the future holds for them."
Step 10: Give your students another passage to read.
Students can read quickly if you give them an article, biography, or other easy passage.Give them time to mark down 5 main ideas that can be included in the summary, as well as who, what, where, when, and how.They can become more confident in their summary writing skills if they are allowed to figure out the information on their own.If needed, remind your students that you are there.For instance, if you and your students are reading "Romeo and Juliet", you could mark down the "who" as Juliet, "where" and "when"
Step 11: Students are invited to write a practice summary.
After your students have gathered the key points and information from the passage, invite them to write a short summary that is only a few sentences long.Review the summaries to see how your students did.Help your students to streamline their writing by giving feedback whenever necessary.A summary of "Three Little Pigs" can be written like this: Three pigs have their lives disrupted by a villainous wolf who destroys their home.A summary of "The Outsider" might state that several boys are involved in a gang conflict that threatens to tear apart their small community.
Step 12: Students should be encouraged to try verbal summaries first.
If your students are at a roadblock, be sure to ask them what they just read.The exercise may give them some ideas for their summary.A summary may sound like this: "Star Wars begins in a far, far away place where a war is currently raging."The main enemy of the heroes is their father.
Step 13: Students can practice answering questions about summaries.
You can give your students a sample passage along with a worksheet.Students should use the samples provided to write practice summaries.Review the summaries after they finish writing.