Summarizing (Reading) Strategies Using Mini High-Interest Texts

During this ongoing class, students will learn how to create effective summaries using engaging multi-part texts. #academic

Summarizing is a critical reading skill.  Knowing strategies to help make that process easier builds confidence!  Students will love the high-interest texts, and we will learn a new type of summarizing format each week! 

Each week, we will first discuss/review what it means to summarize a text.  How do we know which parts are essential and which parts are details?  We will also learn text-marking strategies, including how to determine which parts are worth highlighting, how to know what information is actually important, and using our markings to help us create a "road map" we can use to correctly summarize the section(s) later!

As the teacher, I will model how to create the summary (different format each week), encourage the students to collaborate with both me and with their classmates, and gradually release students to confidently create their own summaries.  I will model fluent reading and think aloud concepts as we read and work together, using humor, immediate feedback and encouragement, and high energy to keep learners focused and involved!

Learners will use the chat feature/verbal discussion throughout the course to collaborate with classmates on effective summary phrases that reflect the overall main concepts of the text.

If time permits, students will reflect on the benefits of using this strategy through verbal discussion and/or chat feature.  They may also have a chance to make a summary of multiple sections of text altogether, further synthesizing their key ideas!

Since this course is ongoing, students can join/leave at any time because the skills are not dependent on one another.  Wherever your child begins in this course, they will be successful and will be able to grow their summarizing knowledge with their class community!

Week of April 28: Bermuda Triangle; $2 Summaries
Week of May 5: Paris Catacombs; #Summaries
Week of May 12: Amelia Earhart; Magnet Summaries
Week of May 19: Flannan Isles Lighthouse; Headline Summaries
Week of May 26: Blackbeard; 5Ws/Reporter's Summaries
Week of June 2: Mystery of Oak Island; Sentence/Phrase/Word Summaries
Week of June 9: NO CLASS - HOLIDAY
Week of June 16: Emperor Penguin in Australia; Word Splash Summaries
Week of June 23: Octopus Builds Underground Cities; 531 Summaries
Week of June 30: $2 Summaries
Week of July 7: #Summaries
Week of July 14: Magnet Summaries
Week of July 21: Headline Summaries
Week of July 28: 5Ws/Reporter's Summaries
Week of August 4: Sentence/Phrase/Word Summaries
Week of August 11: Word Splash Summaries
Week of August 18: 531 Summaries

**When we reach the end of the list, we will loop back to topic #1.**