Summarizing Nonfiction Lesson 1

Focus of Lesson: Summarizing nonfiction text

Grade Level/Subject: 3rd Grade/ELA
Common Core State Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.2 Determine the
main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main
idea.
Student Learning Objective:

I can summarize a nonfiction text.

Materials Needed

Highlighters

Writing utensils

Chart paper

Scholastic News weekly reader or other nonfiction text

Lesson Outline:

In a small group the teacher will introduce the term summarize to the students.
The teacher will explain, Nonfiction summaries are different from fiction
summaries, but both are concise or short descriptions of the most important parts
of the text. Fiction summaries focus on the characters, story events, and solution,
but nonfiction summaries focus on important details that tell about the main idea
of the text. To summarize a nonfiction text make sure to look closely at the title,
subtitles, and text features presented in the text.

The teacher will write the words summarizing nonfiction text on chart paper in
marker. The teacher will ask the students to brainstorm how to summarize

nonfiction text. The teacher and students will create anchor chart to use as a
reference.

The teacher will say, Today we will learn how to summarize nonfiction text. We
will look at each section of the article titled A Whale of a Trip to record a
summary statement for each section of the article. When creating a summarizing
statement it is important to remember to look for the important versus interesting
facts. Important facts are needed to understand the text and are major facts.
Interesting facts are fun to read about, but are not necessarily important to
understanding the article.

The teacher will pass out copies of the scholastic news weekly reader, writing
utensils, and highlighters.

The teacher will say, When summarizing a nonfiction text first we need to
preview the text. Lets look at how the text is broken down into sections, the
photographs, and map. This is the framework to helping us understand what the
nonfiction article is about. What is the title? What are the subtitles? The teacher
will elicit student responses.

Great! The title is called A Whale of a Trip. There are two subtitles Ocean
Travelers and Super Swimmer. For each of these three sections we will write a
summary statement. Now is the time we will read carefully and slowly. When
reading nonfiction it is important to slow down so we can think about what we are
reading since there will be a lot of information presented. You will then highlight
important facts, not interesting facts.

Read aloud the first section after the title. The students will highlight important
facts. The students will share aloud what he or she highlighted. Together the class
will record a summary statement. (The student should highlight/the summary
statement should explain: Recently a gray whale set the longest known round-trip
migration of any mammal.)

Again, read aloud the second section of the text Ocean Travelers. The students
will practice highlighting important facts. The students will share aloud what he
or she highlighted. Together the class will record a summary statement. (The
student should highlight/the summary statement should state: In the fall gray
whales migrate, or move, from feeding grounds to warmer waters to give birth.)

Read aloud the last section of the text Super Swimmers. The students will
practice highlighting important facts. The students will share aloud what he or she
has highlighted. Together the class will record a summary statement. (The student
should highlight/the summary statement should state: Scientists want to learn
more after discovering one tagged whale named Varvara whom traveled a recordsetting migration distance.)

Extensions/Differentiation

Group A- The teacher can cut apart sections of the text. The students will have to
reconstruct the news article. The students will have to read the paragraphs to
figure out which title or subtitle matches the information presented. This strategy
will help students learn the importance of reading titles and subtitles in order to
summarize the text.

Group O- Students can be paired with a highlighter buddy. The students can
work as a pair to discuss important information in each section of the text.
Together the pair will cross off interesting but unimportant pieces of the text. The
pair will highlight only the most important information.

Group B- Students will be provided with a different Scholastic News story. The
students will then work in pairs to determine summary statements for each section
of the nonfiction text. Students will compare summary statements to determine
whether or not they have included the most important information in his or her
summaries.

Assessment- Formative- To assess student learning during the small-group the

teacher will collect copies of the student Scholastic New article. The teacher will
determine whether or not the student can highlight important information versus
interesting information. This information will show if the student can identify
important information needed to summarize a nonfiction text.

Teacher Notes/ ReflectionThe pacing of this lesson suited my students learning needs. My students were
able to comprehend the information presented in small chunks. As the teacher it was
apparent in this lesson which of my students could identify important versus interesting
facts. Using a highlighter proved to be a wonderful tool in this lesson. Additionally, I
noticed that some students could highlight important information, but had a difficult time
processing the information to create a summary statement. Overall, if I were to deliver
this lesson again in the future I would offer more support in transforming the highlighted
material into a summary statement.