Rationale: The goal of reading is to comprehend. By third or fourth grade, students are able to read. The next step in reading is to help them learn comprehension strategies. This lesson focuses on the strategy of summarization. Students must learn how to understand the information that they are reading to comprehend the text. Learning this skill can be difficult at first so summarization allows for students to focus on the important parts of the story. By the end of this lesson, students will be able to create and answer more advanced questions due to individual key points in different paragraphs that will aid in their comprehension of the story as a whole.

 

Materials:

· Pencils for each individual student

· Paper for each individual student

· Summarization Checklist

· Quiz on fish

· Dry erase board

· Expo markers

· Article on Clownfish for each student
 

Procedures:

1. Say: “When something incredible happens, what is the first thing you do? Tell your friends, your parents, the stranger on the street! When you tell these people about this incredible event that has taken place, you are summarizing the event with your memory. Readers who comprehend a story they have read are able to summarize by talking about the key points or events of what they have read. Summarizing is important because you cannot remember everything that happened. This way you are able to make a note of the key points and remember those.”

2. Say: “About-point is a great way that you can summarize something you have read. When you use this strategy, you will ask different questions about what you have read.” [Write questions on the board.] “The first question will be very basic: ‘What is the story about?’ The second question will be more difficult and make you think more about the text: ‘What was a key takeaway the author wants the reader to make?’ The harder question will allow you to identify what the ‘umbrella term’ is. The ‘umbrella term’ is an overarching of the key points the author has focused on. Identifying takeaways will help you to figure out the key points the author has made. Once you have identified this information, you will have to summarize what you have read.”

 

3. Say: “In a little while, I will show you how you can best practice the about-point strategy from a paragraph on a National Geographic article about Clownfish. So that you guys can get some practice summarizing, we are going to read the article about Clownfish. Has anyone ever seen a Clownfish? Has anyone ever seen a movie about a Clownfish? Does anyone know where they live? That’s right, they live in an anemone, which is a type of coral in the ocean. In a few minutes, we are going to learn more about Clownfish so we can become experts on the topic.”

4. Say: “The word anemone may be slightly confusing.” [Write anemone on the board.] “The anemone is where Clownfish live. It is what protects them from bigger fish that want to eat them. Just like you have a home that keeps you safe from bad things that may hurt you, the Clownfish have a place that keeps them safe. The sea anemone, where the Clownfish live, will sting predators trying to hurt the Clownfish. In which sentence am I using predators correctly? ‘The predators live in the sea anemone.’ ‘The sea anemone keeps the predators out.’ Correct, the second sentence. The sea anemone is the protector, not a place to help a predator. See if you can finish the sentence: The Clownfish swims into his home to… [Escape from a predator; get food; remove parasites for the anemone.] [Write answers on the board.]
5. Say: “Okay, since we comprehend the word anemone. Let’s look at this article: ‘Bright orange with three distinctive white bars, clown anemonefish are among the most recognizable of all reef-dwellers. They reach about 4.3 inches in length and are named for the multicolored sea anemone in which they make their homes. Clownfish perform an elaborate dance with an anemone before taking up residence, gently touching its tentacles with different parts of their bodies until they are acclimated to their host. A layer of mucus on the clown fish’s skin makes it immune to the fish-eating anemone's lethal sting. In exchange for safety from predators and food scraps, the Clownfish drives off intruders and preens its host, removing parasites.’ After reading this article about Clownfish, what do you think were the most important points made by the author? [The Clownfish is orange with three white bars, or stripes; the sea anemone is their home; and the anemone provides them safety for the Clownfish removing parasites.] An appropriate topic sentence could look something like this: Brightly colored in orange and white, Clownfish live in homes called sea anemones that protect them from predators.”

6. Say: “Now it’s time for you to give about-point a try! Read the following sentences: ‘There are at least 30 known species of clownfish, most of which live in the shallow waters of the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, and the western Pacific. They are not found in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, or Atlantic Ocean.’”
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7. Say: Now can you tell me what the paragraph we just read was about? Right! Types of Clownfish! As you were reading were you able to pick out the key points the author was making? What were they? Right, there are 30 known species. What else did the author talk about? Right, they live in shallow oceans (Indian, Read Sea, and Western Pacific.) Now, how about we try to make a topic sentence with these key points. There are thirty different known species of Clownfish that are spread out in the shallow ends of the India Ocean, Red Sea, and Western Pacific Ocean.

8. Say: I want each of you to finish the article and compose an appropriate topic sentence for each paragraph using the about-point strategy. Once you have written a topic sentence for each paragraph, you should have a well-written summary of the article. This will help you to recall important information regarding Clownfish. Do not forget that you must have a basic and an extended question to answer for you to complete the about-point strategy and write your topic sentence. You may use the board, me, and your classmates as references if you get stuck. As a reminder, only use crucial information that the author is presenting to you in the article. Also, make sure when you summarize you are using your own words. Once you have completed this assignment, please turn it into your assignment cubby.

9. I will proof and correct the paragraphs written by each student to see if they were able to summarize the article correctly. After that, I will use the checklist created to grade each essay. At the end, I will have them complete a quiz to assess their comprehension of the article.

Quiz:

1. What are the colors of a Clownfish?

2. How big is a Clownfish?

3. What is the Clownfish named for?

4. Where do Clownfish live?

5. Why does a Clownfish need its home?

6. What does a Clownfish do for its home?

7. What allows the Clownfish to live in its home?

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References: National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/group/clownfish/ Holmes, Nicole. Swimming into Summarization: https://vnholmes1322.wixsite.com/mysite/reading-to-learn-design Murray, Bruce. Making Sight Words. Linus Publications, Inc., 2012. Print