Rationale: 

Summarization is a strategy to help readers focus on the most important parts of the text. This helps readers better comprehend what they read. An effective summarization strategy is called about-point. When using this method, two questions should be asked: 1) What is the text about? Usually, this is an easy question that helps identify the topic sentence. 2) What is the main point that the writer is making about the topic? This question can be a little more challenging. Often, several points are made; the reader must decide on the overall most important message of the text. The main point will become the predicate of the topic sentence.  

 

Materials: 

• White board 

• Dry erase markers 

• Paper for each student

• Pencil for each student

• Individual copies of the article “Space Exploration – Britannica Kids” 

• https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/space-exploration/353794

• Summarization checklist written on the board: 

  • I have written my topic sentence, including the main idea. 

  • I have picked out details that support the main idea. 

  • I have crossed out details that are unimportant or do not support the main idea.

  • I have an ‘umbrella term’ for the passage. 

  • I have written 3-5 sentences summarizing the article. 

• Comprehension Quiz (Below) 

 

Procedures: 

1. Explain to children why summarization is an important skill to learn: “Whenever we read a text, we won’t be able to memorize every single word because there are just too many details. Good readers don’t try to remember every word; instead, they focus on summarizing the most important points that the author is trying to make about the topic. When we break large texts into smaller chunks, the main ideas become easier to remember. 

2. The best way to summarize is to use the about-point method. You must ask yourself two questions. The first question, which is also the easiest, is “What is the text about?” The tough question is, “What is the main point the writer is making about the topic?” To answer this question, you have to think of a way to summarize all of the important points in the text. Once you form your answers, you can use them to create a topic sentence. 

3. In a few minutes, I am going to model how I would do the about-point method with a paragraph on space exploration, which is what your article is about today. What is space exploration? What is gravity? When did space exploration start? Where did the first launch happen? These are just a few of the questions that you will learn how to answer. 

4. Let’s talk about an important vocabulary work that you’ll be reading: exploration. Exploration means the action of traveling in or through an unfamiliar area in order to learn about it. Doesn’t this sound like space travel to you? Another way to think about exploration is researching about ideas/places that are unknown to you. For example, “Several students decided to conduct an exploration in a mysterious cave they found behind the school.” That means that the cave was a new find, and no one had ever been there before. What is something else that you could explore? Finish the sentence: _____ exploration is very exciting, especially when finding new ideas about science. (Example answers: ocean, space, etc.) 

5. Here is a paragraph from the story: 

“Through space exploration humans have learned a great deal about the planets, stars, and other objects in space. More than 5,000 spacecrafts have been launched into space to gather information since 1957. They include spacecraft with humans on board, space probes, and satellites. The Soviet Union (now Russia) and the United States were originally the main countries exploring space. Many other countries are now involved.” 

1. Now it’s your turn! I’d like you to finish reading the article and use about-point to make a topic sentence for each paragraph. When you are finished, you should have a good summary of the article. This will help you remember the important facts about space exploration. Remember, we shouldn’t summarize examples or trivia; these are only written to help you understand the main ideas. Your job is to write a short version of the article by summarizing in your own words. After everyone finishes, we will have a quiz to check for our understanding. 

 

Assessment: Collect each student’s summary of the article. Evaluate the responses using the following checklist: 

            _____ Collected important information

            _____ Ignored trivia and examples in summary 

            _____ Text is significantly reduced from the original 

            _____ Sentences brought ideas together from each paragraph 

            _____ Sentences are organized coherently into essay form 

 

 

Quiz: 

1. What is gravity? 

2. When was the first U.S. satellite launched? 

3. Who was the first human to walk on the moon? 

4. What are space probes? 

5. What was the name of the first woman from the U.S. to travel to space? 

6. Name at least three of the planets that space probes landed on. 

7. How do astronauts survive in space? 

8. What was the purpose of the International Space Station? 

 

References: 

Murray, Bruce: Using About-Point to Awaken the Main Idea 

http://wp.auburn.edu/rdggenie/home/classroom/handoffs/

https://murraba.wixsite.com/reading-lesson/rl

 

 

Sbrissa, Julia: Swimming into Summarization

https://juliasbrissa.wixsite.com/sbrissa/reading-to-learn

 

Space Exploration Article:

Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., kids.britannica.com/kids/article/space-    exploration/353794.

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