Summarizing Strategies

Summarizing Strategies Resources you can use year-round

Selective Underlining • Underline what is important • Try to recall what you underlined • Only look back if you are stumped

Underline the key ideas Do you know the difference between a frog and a toad? Frogs and toads are similar in some ways, but there are also differences. The main similarities are that both frogs and toads are amphibians. Amphibians are animals that breathe with gills when they are young, like fish. When they are older, they breathe with lungs. In their early life they live in water, but later they live on land. Also, neither frogs nor toads have tails. Both frogs and toads catch their prey with their long, sticky tongues. They eat insects, small fish, spiders, and other tiny animals, like snails. Some toads are cannibals.

How many facts can you remember?

Name: ___________________________ TheIncredibleShrinkingNotes Remember as much as you can. What all did you underline? Do we need everything in the blue? What can you leave out? Think of one sentence to “sum up” what you read.

Tweet About It Tell what the story is about using only 140 characters(like a tweet_

Getting the “Gist” of it Who or what is this article mostly about? What about the “who or what” is the most important information? Write the “gist” of the article in 10 words or less: __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________

Newspaper Writing • Look at these newspaper headlines • These “sum up” the article in very few words

Find the Newspaper Headline It has been reported that Little Bo-peep cannot find her sheep. They seem to have magically disappeared. She has looked for them everywhere. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of her sheep should contact the Fairy Tale Police Dept. A. Police Steal Sheep B. Sheep Magically Disappear C. Sheep Arrested D. Fairy Tales are the Best

Find the Newspaper Headline A Broomfield girl’s only way to the library is by catching the bus at the town bus stop. The bus is rarely used, so council has decided to close this bus stop. They do not have enough funds to keep it running. • No buses to or from Broomfield • Girl runs out of bus fare • Buses save taxpayers money

Find the Newspaper Headline It would be good to have school run year-round. The summer holiday is too long. Students forget a lot during 12 weeks off. If summers were shorter, students would not need to spend so much time reviewing every September. • Longer Summer Break • School’s Optional • Recess is the Best • Year-Round School

Find the Newspaper Headline Three children were walking across a field in Pennsylvania, when they discovered a hole. At the bottom of the hole was a chest filled with gold and silver. The children ran and told the police about their discovery. The police let them keep $100 each! • Kids Find Treasure • Stolen Treasure…Kids Arrested • Leprechaun found! • Pirate Petey’s Stash Found!

Find the Newspaper Headline Yesterday there was a bad storm at sea. The fishing vessel Saucy Sal began to sink. The captain of the vessel sent out a distress signal. A lifeboat went out to sea and rescued the fisherman just in time. A. Saucy Sal Flies Again B. Fisherman Rescued! C. Hurricane Hits Harrisburg D. Sailors on a Plane

Send your friend a telegram. Summarize the passage. Each word costs 10 cents. You have $1.00 to spend. Article: Your Telegram: Words ____X 10¢= ______(total)

You are writing a newspaper ad about this article, and you are charged 10 cents per word. Can you write an ad that would cost less than $2.00? How about less than $1.00?

Create a Bumper Sticker! • Summarize the article by creating a bumper sticker in the space below:

Summarizing Strategies