Lesson Objective: Students will understand how to write an effective summary through a classroom example.
Lesson OpeningAsk the children to review the key components of an effective summary: topic sentence, supporting details, conclusion. Write these terms up on the board.
Guided PracticeEach child receives a copy of a one page biography on Thomas Edison with the instructions to read silently. They will be told that they will help the teacher write a summary of the biography in the format that we have been working on all week. The biography is flawed. It contains some things that are opinions and some things that are facts. The topic sentence is hidden and much of it is not in chronological order. The students will have to extract the important information from the bio. The summary will be written by the teacher on the board. A lot of attention will be given to the opening and closing sentences. Different students will be asked what they think an appropriate topic sentence would be. Together, the class and the teacher will summarize the biography. The teacher will be careful to point out what it should look like.
Independent PracticeWhen the children are done, they will be asked to reread the biography with a different agenda. They will be asked to look for the problems that lie in the biography. The teacher will ask them to circle things like, poorly placed topic sentences, out of sequence events, opinions and frivolous details. The teacher then asks the children to suggest problems with the story and ways that it could have been written better.
ClosingThe teacher will explain that this lesson will prepare the students for the rest of their lives. Every day, they will have to read long things and summarize them for the benefit of others. He will ask for examples and provide examples such as reporters and news anchors. The teacher will also explain that more immediately, the class will be taking a three page biography and condensing it down to three paragraphs. That will begin next week.