Smelly Summarization

Reading to Learn Design

by Kaylyn Bugg

Rationale:

Summarization is one of the two most powerful strategies for comprehending text. An effective method of summarizing is called about-point, which asks two critical questions about the text: a) What is the text about? This is usually an easy question, and it identifies the topic that becomes the subject of the topic sentence. b) What is the main point the writer is making about that topic? This is a harder question. Since the author usually makes several points, the reader must “superordinate” the points, i.e., find an umbrella term that covers all the main points the author is making. The main point becomes the predicate of the topic sentence.

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Materials:

Copies of this Article from Kid’s Health on bad breath

Pencil

Paper

Summarization checklist

Comprehension quiz

 

Procedures:

1. Explain to the class why summarization is important: When we are trying to read a text to learn new information, we do not try to remember every word. We would spend all day trying to memorize it! Instead, good readers use summarization strategies to remember the important parts of texts. They reduce the hundreds or even more words into a concise gist, focusing on the author’s most important points.

2. Say, “One of the best strategies to use when summarizing is called the About-Point Method. Can everyone say that with me? About-Point. With this method, we ask ourselves two questions. The first one is simple, what is this text about? And the second is a little bit trickier, what point is the author trying to make? To answer this one, you have to think of an umbrella term to cover all the important points the author is making.”

3. Say, “Today, we are going to read an article on bad breath. Have you ever noticed that you have bad breath? [allow students to answer] Have you ever spoken to someone who had bad breath? [allow students to answer] This article is going to answer several questions like, what should I do if my friend has bad breath? What causes bad breath? How do I get rid of bad breath?”

4. Say, “before we get started, let’s go over a little bit of vocabulary. In this article you will come across the word, hygiene. Let’s say it together, hygiene. Hygiene is the practice of keeping clean to stay healthy, not staying germy and getting sick. “Good hygiene includes washing your hands after using the bathroom.” What is something you do to have good hygiene? Finish this sentence: “To stay healthy, I practice good hygiene by…..” [Allow students to answer]

5. [pass out article to each student] Say, “Now that we know this new word, let’s jump into our text. Take a look at this short paragraph from our article: 

[Poor oral hygiene leads to bad breath because when food particles are left inside your mouth, they can rot and start to smell. The food bits may begin to collect bacteria which can smell too]

1. Say, “Now it is your turn to use the About-point method! Look at the first paragraph under the heading, What’s That Smell? You will write the answers to the questions your topic sentence on your paper. [Bad breath is the common name for the medical condition known as halitosis (say: hal-uh-TOEsis). Many different things can cause halitosis - from not brushing your teeth to certain medical conditions.] What is this paragraph about? Yes, bad breath. What is the main point the author is trying to make? There are many causes, correct. So, what could our topic sentence be for this paragraph? [allow students to answer] Yes, there are many causes of bad breath.”

2. Say, “Now I would like you to read the complete article, writing topic sentences using our about-point method, on your paper as you go. Summaries only focus on the important points, so you do not have to include examples, or non-important details. At the end, you will write you topic sentences as a paragraph to have a concise summary of the article that will help you remember some facts about bad breath. Remember that we have a quiz after everyone is finished writing.”

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Assessment:

Collect each student’s summary and evaluate based on 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-

1. What are two causes of bad breath?

2. Is bad breath easy to avoid?

3. Can you get rid of bad breath?

4. What is one way to keep up good oral hygiene?

5. Why is flossing important?

6. How might a dentist help with bad breath?

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Reference:

Dr. Bruce Murray- https://murraba.wixsite.com/readinglessons/reading-to-learn

Kid’s Health- https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/bad-breath.html?WT.ac=ctg#catbody

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