Transcript A Tool Kit for Summary Writing - Selma Unified School District

A Tool Kit for
Summary Writing
Writing to Achieve Training #2
October 21, 2009
Welcome…

Changes to future WTA trainings:

4th Grade:
January 15th
Report Writing

5th Grade:
February 5th
Report Writing

6th Grade:
February 4th
Report Writing
RTL Follow-Up…

Goal for the next hour…

Analyze student writing

Select anchor papers for each score

Decide on instructional plans for the next three
weeks
RTL: Summary of Student Writing Strengths
and Needs

Categorize student writing into 4 stacks.

Begin with stack #1(those with a score of 1)
 Summarize the strengths & needs using factual
statements ( For example: 50% of students
scoring a 1 understand theme).
 Document on summary sheet


If you did not bring student writing, consider
strengths and needs based on teacher observation,
thus far.
Repeat process with remaining stacks
RTL: Summary of Student Writing
Strengths and Needs: Sharing

Share your summary with your partner.

Gather ideas for planning the next three
weeks.

Whole group chart of strengths and needs.

Planning time will be available this
afternoon.
RTL: Summary of Student Writing
Strengths and Needs

Once you have a set of writing for each
individual students, then…

Select one paper from each stack, that best
demonstrates that score.


This will provide you with an anchor for a score of 1, 2,
3, & 4.
Complete a rubric for each anchor paper and
attach.

Note: As you get closer to the end of the trimester,
you will want to re-assess to see if you need to
replace anchors.
Break (9:45-10:00)
Summary & Fictional Narrative
Writing Information

Writing prompts will be electronically emailed to
you in a couple of weeks.

Writing pacing guide:

Trimester 2: November 23rd-March 6th (12 weeks)

Fictional Narrative:
Summary Writing:


6 weeks
6 weeks
Trimester 2 Benchmark Testing Dates:
 March 9-13th
Table Group: Create a poster
that answers the following:

Why teach summary writing?

What are the essential components of a
summary piece?

What specific skills should kids
demonstrate when writing a summary?
**Whole group debrief to follow**
Why Teach Summary Writing?
 “It
is one of the two most
powerful skills students can
cultivate. It provides students
with tools for identifying and
understanding the most
important aspects of what they
are learning.”

Robert J. Marzano
Marzano adds that…
 “In
order to effectively summarize,
students must learn how to delete
some information, substitute some
information, and keep some
information.”
He goes on to say…

“ In order to effectively delete, substitute,
and keep information, students must
analyze the information at a fairly deep
level.”

“Being aware of the explicit structure of
information is an aid to summarizing
information.”
One summarizing strategy…

Teach students to:




Delete trivial material that is unnecessary to
understanding.
Delete redundant material.
Substitute super-ordinate terms for lists (e.g.,
“flowers” for “daisies, tulips, and roses”
Select a topic sentence or invent one if it is
missing.
The standards state that…
 Good
summary writing “is
characterized by paraphrasing of
the main ideas and significant
details.”
Paraphrasing simply means…
 To
put the author’s thoughts into
your own words.
The main ideas of the passage
mean…
 You
need to tell your reader simply
and clearly why the passage was
written.
 Basically,
you need to answer the
question, “What is this article
about?” in a sentence or two at the
beginning of your essay.
The significant details mean…
 That
you need to tell the reader only
the important facts about the
passage.
 Every detail in the article is not
equally important.
 Report only the facts that are needed
to understand the author’s point and
leave out extraneous information and
small details.
Lesson Demonstration
How to Write a Summary: Step 1
 Read
the title of the article. Think
about what you know about the
topic.
 Skim: read the first and last lines
of each paragraph in the article to
get an idea about what it’s about.
 Decide if this article is a narrative
or expository text.
How to Write a Summary: Step 2
 Write
a word or phrase in the margin
for each paragraph to remind you
what it was about.
How to Write a Summary: Step 3
 Read
the paragraphs carefully and
underline key words related to the
main idea of the paragraph.
How to Write a Summary: Step 4
 List

the main points of the article.
Matrix can be used
 Write
key words and/or a couple of
details (phrases) under each idea.
How to Write a Summary: Step 5

Oral practice



Have students practice using the key words
and main idea to summarize each section.
This needs to be done with a partner.
Providing oral practice, allows the
students to rehearse what they will be
writing; but also provide support for
language development.
How to Write a Summary: Step 6

Write a simple sentence that tells the
reader what the article was about. For
example:
 The
article, _________, tells how
________________________________
 The article, _________, is mainly about
________________________________
 In the article, _______, we learn that
________________________________
How to Write a Summary: Step 7
 Write
your summary by using the
key words or synonyms for the key
words to explain what it was
about, in a shorter way.
How to Write a Summary: Step 8
 Conclude
the summary with a
sentence that repeats the main
idea of the article in a new way.
Summary Frames for the Content Areas
Narrative Text
 Opinion Frame
 Compare and Contrast
 Problem / Solution
 Cause / Effect


Northern Nevada Writing Project. http://nnwp.org
Why Teach Note Taking
It is important to
“…explicitly teach two of the most useful
academic skills students can have:
summarizing and note taking.”
Marzano. Classroom Instruction that Works. p. 29.
to “provide students with tools for identifying
and understanding the most important
aspects of what they are learning.”
Marzano. p. 48.
4th Grade Standards

Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level
Appropriate Text


2.2 Use appropriate strategies when reading for
different purposes (e.g., full comprehension,
location of information, personal enjoyment).
Research and Technology


1.5 Quote or paraphrase information sources,
citing them appropriately.
1.6 Locate information in reference texts by using
organizational features (e.g., prefaces, appendixes)
Summary Link to Report Writing

Summarize from a book

Step One – Identifying type of research


categories
Step Two - Generate questions
“The less structure we create in the beginning, the
harder it becomes later to find patterns and
relationships in the fragments or the collection of bits
and pieces.”





Step
Step
Step
Step
Jamie Mackenzie From Now On: Educational Technology
Journal. Vol. 7. No 3. November-December 1997.
Three – Procedures
Four - Model Note Taking
Five – Student Taking Notes
Six - Organize notes into paragraphs
Matrix
Other
Step One – Identify Type of Research
People
 Historical Events
 Cultures
 Places / things
 Animals

Step Two – Generate Questions


Use blank matrix - teacher
generated categories
(butcher paper)
Ask students:


What would you like to know
about our topic?
Where does it go on the
matrix?

Ability to identify similarities /
differences
Village Life
Habitat
Food
Step Three – Procedures
Hand out matrix generated previous day
 Review categories and questions
 Create note card folder


Label pockets
Village Life
Habitat
Food
How
Where
What
they spent
their day/night
What the land looks
like
Size of village
Sharing the land
they
sleep
Where they
live
What homes
are made of
they eat
How much they eat
Kinds of plants
eaten
Cooking
Sharing food
Step Four – Model Note Taking
Discuss Note Taking Rules
 Features of text





Fiction vs. Non-Fiction
Table of Contents
Key Word Note
Index
Taking
Headings
o READ

Model note taking

Sample cards
Note: Initially the teacher

finds the resources

Goal – student application
o
o
o
o
o
o
THINK
main idea or fact
in your own words
no small words, use dashes
NO SENTENCES -- Tarzan talk
ONE idea per card
Step Five – Student Taking Notes



Students work in pairs
Choose tribe – lottery
Review steps

What categories and questions do you have to answer?


How will you find the answers?



Features of text
Skim
How will you take notes?


Matrix
Note taking rules
Begin note taking
Step Six –
Organize Notes into Paragraphs
Homes

p.29
made of bark
MB
Homes
p.29
long poles = frame
MB
Homes

p.29
shape
MB
Oral Practice: Always have
students rehearse their
paragraphs with a partner,
prior to writing. Providing oral
practice, provides support for
language development.
What’s Next?
Generating topic sentence for each
category
 Lesson on compound sentences / sentence
combining
 Concluding sentence
 Bibliography


Available on school library website
Identify Type of Research
People
 Historical Events
 Cultures
 Places / things
 Animals

Lunch
Planning/Resource Search

Options 1


Option 2


Use remaining time to plan your RTL instruction
(remaining 3 weeks); and/or plan 2nd trimester genres
(fictional narrative & summary writing)
Collaborate with colleagues: peruse resources, share
ideas/instructional practices
Option 3

Use lab to gather or create needed resources


Work with Margaret to upload resources to curriculum
locker
Option 4

Private questions/coaching with me
QUESTIONS????

Complete the presentation check form and
turn in.

Thank you!