Rationale: Comprehension is the main goal when reading. We want to be able to understand what we have read and be able to make sense of it. When students are at this level, they are able to learn various strategies to use so that they can better understand texts. Summarization is a great way to test whether students retained what they have read. This lesson helps students retain the information they have read by asking them to compact information so that is its memorable through summarization. Students will mark out unnecessary information, highlight important information, and find umbrella terms in order to learn how to bring out the main ideas of a text so that they can summarize it into fewer sentences.

Materials:

1. Paper

2. Pencils

3. Highlighters

4.Class set of copies of National Geographic’s “Snowy Owl”

5. Summarization Rules on Poster Paper

            1. Leave out unimportant information

            2. Leave our repeated information

            3. Pick out (highlight) important information

            4. Find umbrella terms for what happened in text

            5. Create a topic sentence

6. Summarization Checklist Rubric

7. Comprehension Quiz

Procedures:

1. Say: “Has anybody ever been asked to read a book or a short story then explain what it was about? Was it hard to remember all of the information from the story? [wait for responses]. Yes, most of us have experienced this struggle. Today, we are going to learn a strategy to help make remembering all of the information we read easier. Our new strategy is called summarization. Does anyone know what a summary is? [wait for responses]. That’s right! A summary is when a reader reads a story or part of one and pulls out all of the important information and retells it in only a few sentences or sometimes even in just a few words. In saying that, do you think we still try to mention every single detail? [students respond]. Certainly not! We only want the important details so that it is easier to comprehend, or understand, the message of the story.”

2. Say: “Before we read our article today, I am going to show you one way to summarize a text when you are reading. When we are reading, the first thing we need to do is find the main idea. Then, we are going to highlight important facts that support that main idea. We can do this by asking two simple questions: ‘what is the text about?’ And ‘what is the main point the author is trying to tell me?’ Once you answer these questions, you will have an ‘umbrella term’ or general term, that tells the most important parts of a text. This helps you be able to create a topic sentence for your summary.”

3. Say: “I have an interesting article for us to read about snowy owls. After you read it, you will practice summarization. Has anyone heard of a snowy owl before? [wait for student response] Based on their name, do you think they live where it is hot or where it is cold? [wait for responses] Yes, they live where it is cold and where it snows a lot. Snowy owls are large owls that live in the Arctic where it is really cold. Their feathers are bright white like the snow too. In a few minutes, we are going to read about Snowy Owls to learn more information.”

4. Say: Before we read, though, I am going to go over a few words that are a little tough. The first word we are going to look at is scarce [write word on board]. Scarce means that there is not enough for demand, or what is needed or wanted. Scarce is usually used when talking about food. When the article says, ‘When there is plenty of food available, snowy owls tend to lay more eggs than when food is scarce,’ that means owls lay less eggs when there is not enough food to feed themselves and their babies. You would not use the word scarce if there is plenty of something. Which one of the sentences uses the word scarce correctly? ‘The food the party was scarce so everybody was able to make two plates’ or ‘The bears could not all eat lunch because the amount fish in the river was scarce.’ That’s right! The second sentence is correct because it uses scarce to say they there is not enough fish for all the bears to eat. The first one is wrong because there was more than enough food so everyone could get seconds. See if you can complete this sentence: In the grocery store, ______ was scare. [potential answers: food, customers, money] Great! Now that we know some of the tough words, we can move on to reading the article.”

5. Say: “Now we are going to read a few lines from the article together: ‘Female snowy owls lay from 3 to 11 eggs at a time, in a nest built on the ground. When there is plenty of food available, snowy owls tend to lay more eggs than when food is scarce. Lemmings make up the main part of the snowy owls' diet, and lemming population numbers rise and fall naturally. Sometimes, if there is not enough prey around to feed baby owls, the adult pair won't lay any eggs at all until the supply of food improves.’ We know that our article is talking about snowy owls, but what are the most important points the author is trying to make about them? Snowy owls mainly eat lemmings. They only have babies if there is enough food. You need to highlight the important points we pick out; then, we can put all of these main ideas together to create a topic sentence like this, ‘Snowy owls mainly eat lemmings and only have babies if there is enough food for them all to eat.’”

6. Say: “Now it’s your turn to try our summarizing strategy. Read the first paragraph of the article [‘When you see a snowy owl, it's clear how the bird probably got its name: they're snow-white. Males are generally whiter than females. As males grow older, they get whiter. The females never become completely white—remaining brownish with darker markings.’] and when you are done, try to gather the main points to create a topic sentence. [allow time for students to read] So, what is this paragraph about? That’s right, snowy owls! What are the main points to author tries to make? Yes, that snowy owls get their name from being white like the snow and that the males are white while females are browner. Now you try to make your own topic sentence.” [Example answer: Snowy owls get their name because they are white like the snow, but the females are usually brown while the males are whiter.]

7. Say: “Now, I want you to finish reading the article on your own. As you read, highlight the important facts and write a topic sentence for each paragraph. Remember our steps to create a topic sentence! After you are done writing a topic sentence for each paragraph, you will end up with a summary of the article. This will help you only remember what was important about snowy owls and cut out everything that was unimportant. Also, be sure that what you write is in your own words. When you are done, turn in your summary to me and pick up a quiz from my desk.” When student work is turned in, review their topic sentences to decide if they successfully created a summary. Use the summarization checklist rubric to grade student work. The students will also take a short comprehension quiz to ensure that they understood what they read and learned from it.

 

Summarization Checklist Rubric

Name: __________________

1. ____ wrote a topic sentence for each paragraph

2. ____ omitted unimportant/ repetitive information

3. ____ significantly reduced text from the original to form a summary

4. ____ highlighted important points

5. ____ successfully conjoined the important ideas to form a topic sentence

Comprehension Quiz

Name: ___________________

1. Where do snowy owls live? [in the tundra in the Arctic]

2. What are a snowy owl’s two best senses? [hearing and eyesight]

3. Do you eat at the same time as a snowy owl? [no, they eat at night, I eat during the day]

4. What do snowy owls mainly eat? [lemmings]

5. How do snowy owls care for their babies? [they sit on their eggs until they hatch and take care of them for about 4 months]

 

References

Article: Maps, National Geographic. “Snowy Owl.” Kids' Games, Animals, Photos, Stories, and More, National Geographic Partners, LLC, 21 Oct. 2019, kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/snowy-owl/.

Owl Gif: https://giphy.com/gifs/natgeowild-owl-nat-geo-wild-national-geographic-uiWEecniZ0kqZDmrom

Allison King, Summarization Skills Like No Otter https://atk0016.wixsite.com/mysite/reading-to-learn

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