Rationale: Once students have learned to read fluently, the must move to the next level of reading: summarizing. Summarization is a great way to help readers focus in on the important parts of a text and comprehend what they are reading. An effective way to summarize is to use the method called “about-point”. Two questions should always be asked when using this method: What is the text about? (This helps a reader identify the topic sentence) And what is the main point that the author is making? (This question can be a little more challenging because the author could be making multiple points) When the reader is considering this question, they should carefully decide which message is the MOST important. This message will ultimately become the predicate of the topic sentence.

 

Materials:

• Individual copies of National Geographic Kids article about American Bullfrogs

• Pencil

• Paper

• Board with modeling on it

• Summarization checklist

• Comprehension quiz

 

Procedures:

1. Explain to children why summarization is such an important skill. Say: “Have you ever noticed how when you read a text, you are not able to immediately memorize it? Well, that is because it just has too many words and details. A good reader realizes this and uses a summarization strategy to remember only the really important points that the author is making. By doing this, they break a large text that could have hundreds or thousands of words into a few key ideas to help them remember it more easily.”

2. Say: “The best way to summarize is to use the “about-point” method. When using this 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 that topic?” To answer this question, you have to think of a way to summarize all of the important points that the author has made. 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 the question -- What’s an example of an amphibian? About how much do they weigh? Where are American Bullfrogs found? These are just a few of the questions that you will learn how to answer today!”

4. Say: “Let’s talk about an important vocabulary word you’ll be reading: Amphibians.  Amphibians are a cold-blooded vertebrate animal. This means that the animal is distinguished by having an aquatic gill-breathing larval stage followed by a terrestrial lung-breathing adult stage.  For example, we would say “That dog is not an amphibian because he’s warm-blooded and doesn’t go through a gill-breathing stage!” Could any of you guys give me some examples of some Amphibious animals or cold-blooded animals? What about warm-blooded animals? (Allow time for response/discussion)

5. Say: “Here is a paragraph from the article: (show on board) “The male bullfrog's call is deep and loud. Jug-o-rum, jug-o-rum, it calls. Some people think it sounds like a cow mooing, which is why the frog has "bull" in its name. Walking through a marsh or near a pond, you might hear a whole chorus of these calls as male bullfrogs let other bullfrogs know  where their territory is.”

       Say: This paragraph is talking about the loud ribbit that comes from American Bullfrogs, but what         is the main idea that the author is trying to tell the reader? People like the think that frogs are                 annoying creatures that make loud noises. These male frogs are letting the other bullfrogs know           where their territory is.

       1. Say: “Now, it is your turn! I’d like you to finish reading the article and use the about-point                   summarization technique to make a topic sentence for each paragraph. When you are finished,             you should have a good summary of the entire article. This will help you remember the important           facts about American Bullfrogs. 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 it in your own words. After everyone finishes, we will have a quiz to check for our         understanding.”

 

Assessment: Using the summarization checklist listed below, collect and evaluate each student’s article summary using that criteria.

 

SUMMARIZATION ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST

• Collected important information

• Ignored trivia and examples in summary

• Significantly reduced the text from original

• Sentences brought ideas together from each paragraph

• Sentences organized coherently into essay form

 Quiz

1. What is the classification given to Bullfrogs?

2. What is the typical Bullfrog diet consist of?

3. How long do bullfrogs typically live for?

4. What sound does the male Bullfrogs call resemble?

5. What do bullfrogs do when the weather turns cold?

 

References:

Reading Genie: http://wp.auburn.edu/rdggenie/

Emily Christensen Lesson Design: https://emilybchristensen.wixsite.com/beginningreading/reading-to-learn

Natoinal Geographic Kids Article: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/american-bullfrog/

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