Summarising
"Research suggests instruction and practice in summarizing not only improves students' ability to summarise text, but also their overall comprehension of text content..."
-(Duke & Pearson, 2002)
What is summarising?
A summary is a shortened version of the original text that includes all the main ideas, important details and exhibits a similar structure to that of the original text.
It is one of the most difficult strategies for students to master and one of the hardest to teach. Effective teaching of summarising requires multiple and extensive modelling examples and many opportunities for students to practice. However, it is worth persisting with, as it is an extremely useful strategy for students to master as they progress through their education.
When we ask students to summarise, we often find that they copy out big chunks of text, including the unimportant details or write too little or too much. Students require explicit teaching to become proficient at summarising. They need to be able to:
Ultimately, we want students to be able to independently identify and collect the most important ideas before restating them in their own words.
(ACARA, 2015) (Adler, 2001) (Allington, 2001) (Cameron, 2009) (Fountas & Pinnell, 2006) (Gill, 2008) (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000) (Hill, 2012) (Hoyt, 2009) (Lanning, 2009) (McEwan, 2004) (McLaughlin, 2012) (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2010) (Oakhill, Cain, & Elbro, 2014) (Queensland Government, 2010)
Language we use when summarising?
Teacher / Class Discussion Questions:
(ACARA, 2015) (Adler, 2001) (Allington, 2001) (Cameron, 2009) (Fountas & Pinnell, 2006) (Gill, 2008) (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000) (Hill, 2012) (Hoyt, 2009) (Lanning, 2009) (McEwan, 2004) (McLaughlin, 2012) (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2010) (Oakhill, Cain, & Elbro, 2014) (Queensland Government, 2010)
Modelling summarising:
Before starting, two of the most helpful skills for students to acquire are the abilities to recognise keywords, facts and phrases and to take notes (using symbols and abbreviations). Therefore, it would be highly beneficial to discuss both concepts with students before beginning. Once you feel confident that students have some grasp of the skills mentioned above, it's time to start teaching summarising.
Start with a class discussion, probing students' prior knowledge, about what they know about summarising. The creation of a poster detailing the key aspects of summarising would be highly beneficial for students as at a later date they can refer to the poster to assists them while they summarise texts. Furthermore, review the poster/checklist, to clarify what a good summary contains.
Read a selection of examples of summaries to students.
Examples may include:
Using a short piece of photocopied text, enlarged big enough so that students can read along with you, model how you would summarise the text. Using a highlighter, identify key words, phrases and information. Link the highlighted information together to create a summary.
(ACARA, 2015) (Adler, 2001) (Allington, 2001) (Cameron, 2009) (Fountas & Pinnell, 2006) (Gill, 2008) (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000) (Hill, 2012) (Hoyt, 2009) (Lanning, 2009) (McEwan, 2004) (McLaughlin, 2012) (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2010) (Oakhill, Cain, & Elbro, 2014) (Queensland Government, 2010)
NOTE: this modelling strategy could also be applied to the other strategies as well.
-(Duke & Pearson, 2002)
What is summarising?
A summary is a shortened version of the original text that includes all the main ideas, important details and exhibits a similar structure to that of the original text.
It is one of the most difficult strategies for students to master and one of the hardest to teach. Effective teaching of summarising requires multiple and extensive modelling examples and many opportunities for students to practice. However, it is worth persisting with, as it is an extremely useful strategy for students to master as they progress through their education.
When we ask students to summarise, we often find that they copy out big chunks of text, including the unimportant details or write too little or too much. Students require explicit teaching to become proficient at summarising. They need to be able to:
- Identify the main idea/s
- Use key information - words, facts and phrases
- Take notes
- Retell a shortened version of the text in their own words
Ultimately, we want students to be able to independently identify and collect the most important ideas before restating them in their own words.
(ACARA, 2015) (Adler, 2001) (Allington, 2001) (Cameron, 2009) (Fountas & Pinnell, 2006) (Gill, 2008) (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000) (Hill, 2012) (Hoyt, 2009) (Lanning, 2009) (McEwan, 2004) (McLaughlin, 2012) (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2010) (Oakhill, Cain, & Elbro, 2014) (Queensland Government, 2010)
Language we use when summarising?
- The most important thing/idea is ...
- In my own words, the story is about ...
- Another name for this story could be ...
- If I had to explain this to someone else, I would say...
- So far I have learned ...
Teacher / Class Discussion Questions:
- What are the main ideas from the reading/viewing/listening?
- If you were to tell another person about the text in a few sentences, what would you say to them?
- What is the main theme? How is it connected to the world beyond the text?
(ACARA, 2015) (Adler, 2001) (Allington, 2001) (Cameron, 2009) (Fountas & Pinnell, 2006) (Gill, 2008) (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000) (Hill, 2012) (Hoyt, 2009) (Lanning, 2009) (McEwan, 2004) (McLaughlin, 2012) (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2010) (Oakhill, Cain, & Elbro, 2014) (Queensland Government, 2010)
Modelling summarising:
Before starting, two of the most helpful skills for students to acquire are the abilities to recognise keywords, facts and phrases and to take notes (using symbols and abbreviations). Therefore, it would be highly beneficial to discuss both concepts with students before beginning. Once you feel confident that students have some grasp of the skills mentioned above, it's time to start teaching summarising.
Start with a class discussion, probing students' prior knowledge, about what they know about summarising. The creation of a poster detailing the key aspects of summarising would be highly beneficial for students as at a later date they can refer to the poster to assists them while they summarise texts. Furthermore, review the poster/checklist, to clarify what a good summary contains.
Read a selection of examples of summaries to students.
Examples may include:
- a book blurb
- a film/television synopsis from a newspaper or website
Using a short piece of photocopied text, enlarged big enough so that students can read along with you, model how you would summarise the text. Using a highlighter, identify key words, phrases and information. Link the highlighted information together to create a summary.
(ACARA, 2015) (Adler, 2001) (Allington, 2001) (Cameron, 2009) (Fountas & Pinnell, 2006) (Gill, 2008) (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000) (Hill, 2012) (Hoyt, 2009) (Lanning, 2009) (McEwan, 2004) (McLaughlin, 2012) (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2010) (Oakhill, Cain, & Elbro, 2014) (Queensland Government, 2010)
NOTE: this modelling strategy could also be applied to the other strategies as well.
Activities
KEYWORDS
(NSW Department of Education and Training, 2010)
Students highlight words they believe are key to understanding the text. These words are written on post-it notes. After reading students close the book and arrange the keywords in a manner that supports a cohesive summary.
(NSW Department of Education and Training, 2010)
Students highlight words they believe are key to understanding the text. These words are written on post-it notes. After reading students close the book and arrange the keywords in a manner that supports a cohesive summary.
TIMELINES
(Cameron, 2009) Personal timelines are a great child-centered activity to introduce summarising. They also reinforce how to create a timeline, which is a versatile graphic organiser (which may be again used to summarise texts later). Personal timelines also work well at the beginning of the year to help you get to know your students. Materials:
Student Grouping:
Procedure:
Variation: Have student choose one event on their timeline and get them to expand on it. |
3,2,1
(Cameron, 2009)
In this activity, students take it in turns to orally summarise a text in an increasingly short amount of time. 3,2,1 has several benefits: it cements the text into the student's mind by having to summarise it a number of times, it reinforces the features of the text type used, and it requires a high level of engagement by all students over a relatively short period.
Materials:
Student Grouping:
Procedure:
(Cameron, 2009)
In this activity, students take it in turns to orally summarise a text in an increasingly short amount of time. 3,2,1 has several benefits: it cements the text into the student's mind by having to summarise it a number of times, it reinforces the features of the text type used, and it requires a high level of engagement by all students over a relatively short period.
Materials:
- Text (at instructional level)
- Stopwatch
Student Grouping:
- Pairs
Procedure:
- Discuss what makes a good summary.
- Students read or are read the text in its entirety.
- Students take it in turns to summarise their story with a buddy. The aim is to summarise it in less than 3 minutes.
- Once each student has had a turn, students rotate and swap partners for a new one and take it in turns to try and summarise the story now in 2 minutes.
- Finally, they rotate and swap for the final time but this time they summarise the story in under 1 minute.
Jigsaw Summary
(Cameron, 2009)
Jigsaw is an activity that requires students to work both independently and cooperatively to achieve an understanding of the text.
Materials:
Student Grouping:
Procedure:
(Cameron, 2009)
Jigsaw is an activity that requires students to work both independently and cooperatively to achieve an understanding of the text.
Materials:
- Text (at instructional level)
- Paper to take notes
- Pencils
Student Grouping:
- Small groups
Procedure:
- Introduce the text.
- Assign each student one page of the text to read and retell in their words. They do not read any other part of the text; rather, they become an expert on their page.
- Students may write brief notes to help them retell their part of the text.
- When each student has completed their notes, students get together and orally retell their story using their notes to guide them.
- You may want to have the students publish their retellings and illustrate them to create a book.
Filmstrip
(Cameron, 2009) (Queensland Government, 2010) Filmstrips are easy visual formats that kids identify with. They also make a great wall display or a book that can be revisited once the lesson has concluded. Filmstrip summary boxes or strips work well as an activity to follow up guided reading. Each student could complete their summary strip, or the story can be divided up amongst the class, with each student assigned their summary box to illustrate. Materials:
Student Grouping:
Procedure: Students read the story and either:
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Story Sticks
(Cameron, 2009) (Van Maren, 2012) Story sticks are a fun way of reinforcing the language structure of narratives. They are already questions you would discuss, but simply allowing students to choose will automatically increase engagement levels. Materials:
Student Grouping:
Procedure:
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3 WORD SUMMARY
(Cameron, 2009) Three-word summaries are a simple way to introduce the concept of summarising. They require deeper level thinking as students select and justify why they have chosen the three words that are the most important in the story. Materials:
Student Grouping:
Procedure:
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ABOUT ME
(Cameron, 2009) Keywords about me is a child-centred activity that introduces the idea of keywords. Materials:
Student Grouping:
Procedure:
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PASS AROUND RETELL
(NSW Department of Education and Training, 2010)
Just like parcel the parcel but with reading comprehension and everybody gets to have a go!
Students work together to recreate/retell the story.
Materials:
Student Groupings:
Procedure:
(NSW Department of Education and Training, 2010)
Just like parcel the parcel but with reading comprehension and everybody gets to have a go!
Students work together to recreate/retell the story.
Materials:
- Paper
- Pencils
- Timer
Student Groupings:
- Small groups
- Whole class
Procedure:
- Group students into small groups of 3-4. Or alternatively, work as entire class.
- Each student is given a piece of paper.
- On Go!, everyone begins writing a retell of the story on their own piece of paper.
- When the timer goes off, each writer passes their paper to the person on their right.
- Students then read over what has been written and continue from that point onwards.
- Continue until the piece of paper ends up back with its original writer.