Rationale: Summarization is one of the most important skills for comprehending text. An efficient method of summarization is called the about-point method, which consists of the reader asking two questions of the text: 1) what is the text about and 2) what is the main point that the author is making about the topic. The first question is typically simple to answer, but the second requires the reader to “superordinate” all of the points made in a text and create an “umbrella” point that covers them all.
Materials: Copies of the National Geographic Article for each student and the teacher (link below), pencils and paper for each student, Summarization checklist for teacher (below), quiz for each student (below)
Procedures:
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Say: After we read a text, it could take forever to remember every detail that is brought up. Good readers don’t try to remember everything; they use a technique called summarization to remember the most important points of a text.
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Say: One of the best ways to summarize is called about-point. When you use this strategy, you ask yourself two questions while reading a text. The first question is “what is the text about?”, and the second question is “what is the main point that the author is making?”. The first question is usually easier to figure out, but the second question really makes you think about the whole text. You have to think of a superordinate, also called an “umbrella term”, for all the important points that the author talks about in the text.
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Say: We are going to use the about-point method on an article about otters. Raise your hand if you’ve ever seen an otter. Where did you see it? (at the zoo, etc.) The article that we will read will teach us about what otters look like, what they do, and where they live.
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First, we’ll talk about a new word you will see in this article: repellent. When something is repellent, it means that it repels, or opposes, a certain thing. Repelling is the opposite of attracting something. In the article, it is used to say that something is “water-repellent”, which means that water cannot go through it. We can practice using it in a sentence: “Your raincoat is hopefully water-repellent on a rainy day!”. Is a washcloth repellent to liquids? (wait for responses, No) Finish this sentence: “I knew that the candle on my back deck was repellent to insects because…”
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Say: Here is the first paragraph from the article:
Sea otters are part of the weasel family. They have webbed feet, water-repellent fur to keep them dry and warm, and nostrils and ears that close in the water.
What is the main point of this paragraph? (wait for student responses) Right, it’s talking about what sea otters look like! It talks about their, feet, fur, and senses. Does this paragraph have a topic sentence or do we need to make one? (wait for student responses) Right, the first sentence is topic sentence, because the entire paragraph is talking about the characteristics that make sea otters members of the weasel family.
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Now I want you to use about-point on a paragraph:
While floating on their backs, sea otters not only nap, but also use rocks to help them open mussels or other shellfish. Otters place a rock on their chests and smash the shellfish against it until it breaks open to reveal the tasty meat inside. They also snack on such aquatic creatures as sea urchins, crabs, squid, octopuses, and fish.
What is this paragraph about? Yes, how otters eat. What are the main points that the author makes about this? (They use rocks to open their foods, they use their chests like a table, they eat sea urchins, crabs, etc.) How could we combine all of these main points into one topic sentence? Sea otters… Sea otters get their food from and eat their food in the water.
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Now, I want you to read the rest of the article and use your about-point skills to make (or find) a topic sentence for each paragraph. When you are done, you will have a summary of the whole article if you put the sentences together! Don’t summarize examples of things or information that is not important, which we call trivia. These things are only in the article to help you understand the main ideas. You are writing a shorter version of this article in your own words, but only including the most important ideas. To make sure you work hard to read, because we will have a quiz when everyone finishes writing.
Assessment: Collect each student’s summary of the article, and evaluate the summarization using the following checklist:
__ Collected important information
__ Ignored trivia and examples in summary.
__ Significantly reduced the text from the original
__ Sentences brought ideas together from each paragraph
__ Sentences organized coherently into essay form.
Quiz:
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How do otters keep themselves from being pulled by the sea’s currents?
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What is an example of something an otter eats?
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How do sea otters keep warm in the cold water?
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Where could we find a sea otter (other than the zoo)?
References:
Article: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/sea-otter/#sea-otter-closeup2.jpg
Gorman, Maddie. “Sweet Summarization”
You OTTER Know How to Summarize!
A Reading to Learn Lesson Design
