Summarizing
What is summarizing?
Summarizing involves conveying correct information about a text in an efficient manner so that a reader can learn the main idea and details through a piece of writing that is much shorter than the original. Readers can condense information learned as well as develop vocabulary and critical thinking skills. Summaries are shorter than the original work, they paraphrase the author's words and they focus on the main ideas only, (Frey, Fisher & Hernandez, 2003). This is also called "determining importance," (McGregor, 2007 and Keene & Zimmerman, 2007).
Why is summarizing important?
Summarizing is important because a good reader needs to be able to perform applications from the text to their own life. It is the most important post-reading strategy (Susar & Akkaya, 2011). Summarizing causes students to read to comprehend, discriminate important ideas, and put information in their own words. Ultimately, summarizing causes readers to make meaning from text. It also requires a student to read carefully and employ the other reading comprehension strategies (Susar & Akkaya, 2011; Marzano, 2001). This is also a skill that is essential for life, especially with our current technology. We assume that students can filter out the fluff and unnecessary information that comes before them, but many cannot (McGregor, 2007). Many must be taught to determine the important information from the non important.
What are some strategies to help readers summarize?
- Distribute a short text divided into 4 or 5 sections.
- Explain GIST. Students read a portion of the text.
- After each paragraph or section, they highlight and write the most important information.
- When they are finished, they have a 4-5 sentence summary of the entire text. (Frey, Fisher & Hernandez, 2003).
Thinking Stems by Tanny McGregor
Prompt students to answer questions such as:
- What's important here?
- What matters most to me?
- One thing we should notice is?
- I want to remember...
- It's interesting that...
After reading a text, students answer the questions:
Somebody (main character)
Wanted (What did they want?)
But (What was the problem?)
So (What did they do to fix the problem?)
Then (How was the problem resolved?
(Diller, 2010)
Somebody (main character)
Wanted (What did they want?)
But (What was the problem?)
So (What did they do to fix the problem?)
Then (How was the problem resolved?
(Diller, 2010)