Reading to Learn

Summarizing with Dr. Suess

Rationale: When comprehending and understanding the texts, one of the most powerful strategies is called summarization. There are many different ways that we can use summarization, but one particallarly effective method is called about-point. About-point summarization serves to address two critical questions about the text that you are reading. The first is: “What is this text about?” This question is usually very easy, and the answer will help you identify the topic that is the subject of the topic sentence. The second question addressed is: “What is the main point the writer is making about the topic?” This question is a little harder to answer. Since the author usually makes several points throughout a piece of text, the reader must “superordinate” the points, i.e., find an umbrella term that covers all the main points the author is making. The main point then becomes the predicate of the topic sentence. After students have answered both of these questions, they can make a topic sentence for the text. Students will learn to use about-point summarization to summarize an article on the life of Dr. Suess.

Materials:

Individual copies of the article Who is Dr. Suess? For each student (URL below)
Pencil and paper for each student
Summarization checklist for each student (to be filled out by the teacher)
Comprehension quizzes for each student

Procedures:

Start the lesson by explaining to children why summarization is important to them as readers. Say: Sometimes when we read a text, it is easy to lose track of some of the words and messages that the author is sharing with you. As the amazing readers that I know you are, you don’t need to memorize every little bit of detail in the text. Instead, we are going to use summarization strategies to remember only the key points that the author is trying to make about the topic. By doing this, we can transform a text from hundreds or thousands of words into a compact gist that is easier to remember and understand.
Say: The most effective way that we can learn to summarize is by using a strategy called about-point. When you use about-point summarization, you ask yourself two questions, one that is a easy and one that is a little harder. After you ask yourself these questions, you can use your answers to make a topic sentence that summarizes the text. The first question that you will ask after you read the text is “What is this text about?” All you have to do is find the main topic of the text! The second question is a little bit trickier to answer. This question is “What is the main point that the author is making about the topic?” This question can be harder to answer because sometimes the author makes many different points in the writing, but it is our job as readers to think of an umbrella term for all of the important points that the author is trying to tell you.
Say: In a minute, I am going to show you how I would use the about-point strategy to summarize a paragraph about the famous author Dr. Suess, which is an article that you are going to get to read today. What is a book by Dr. Suess that you have read before? Is Dr. Suess his real name? Was Dr. Suess always a children’s writer? How did Dr. Suess become famous? These are all questions that you will be able to answer after reading the article and summarizing today!
Say: Before we dive into reading this article, let’s go over an important vocabulary word that you will come into contact with in the text: unique. Unique means that something is different from everything else, not the same. For example, “Monica’s dyed pink hair was unique.” Her pink hair was different from everyone else’s, not the same. What is an example of something that is unique about you? Finish this sentence: I am unique because…
(Pass out the article to each student) We are all going to start reading by reading the first paragraph together!

“While many children and adults have enjoyed books by Dr. Seuss, very few actually know anything about Dr. Seuss himself. Dr. Seuss was born in 1904 and was given the name Theodor Seuss Geisel. He grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts and left town as a young man to attend Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. In college, he wrote for the school newspaper. Geisel created the name Dr. Seuss, a penname he would continue to write under for the rest of his life. Seuss first entered college with the idea that he would become a professor, but a classmate who saw him sketching thought he should become an artist. He soon pursued his passion for drawing.”

This paragraph is about Dr. Suess, but what important points is the author making? The author talks about the beginning of Dr. Suess’s life before he was a famous author. He tells us about Dr. Suess’s upbringing, his real name, and that he was not planning on becoming an author when he first went to college. To make my topic sentence, I need to find a way to tie all of these points together. Dr. Suess, who was born Theodor Suess Geisel, started his journey as an author and illustrator in college.

Say: Now I want you to use the about-point strategy for the second paragraph!

Dr. Seuss had a slow and difficult start as an author. His first book almost did not get published. However, after many months of being turned down his persistence paid off. Seuss soon signed with a new publisher. This small success was enough to keep Dr. Seuss writing and illustrating. While writing, he often put on silly hats to help to reduce the stress of finishing a story. Shortly after his first work was published, Dr. Seuss wrote and published The Cat in the Hat, the book that made him famous.

What is this paragraph about? (Wait for student response). Yes- it is about Dr. Suess! What are the main points that the author is making about Dr. Suess? (Wait for student responses). Yes, that Dr. Suess had a hard time in the beginning of his journey as an author! Also, he got his initial success with the book The Cat in the Hat. How could we combine those points beginning with the word Dr. Suess? (Wait for responses). Dr. Suess initially struggled as an author but found success with his book The Cat in the Hat.

Now, I would like you to finish the article and make an about-point topic sentence for each paragraph! Once you have finished, these topic sentences will give you a good summary of the article, which will help you remember the important details and key points that the author is making. It is important to remember not to summarize examples or trivia, as there are there to help you further understand the key points. By making this summary, you are writing a shorter version of this article in your own words, which includes all the important parts to remember. We are going to have a short quiz after everyone finishes to make sure that everyone remembers the key points!

Assessment: Collect each students summary and evaluate the summarization using the following checklist.

___ Collected Important Information

___ Ignored trivia and examples in summary

___ Significantly reduced the text from the original

___ Sentences brought ideas together from each paragraph

___ Sentences organized coherently in essay form

Quiz: