Focus question: How do we summarize informational nonfiction text?
Activate students’ prior knowledge from previous lessons. Compare literary nonfiction text organization and informational nonfiction text structure. Ask, “How are the two types of nonfiction texts different?” Have students turn to a partner and recall the different types of informational nonfiction text structures (cause/effect, problem/solution, describe and inform, question and answer). Remind students that literary nonfiction follows a story format and is organized by plot structure.
Part 1
Ask, “What strategies do you use before, during, and after reading to make sure you understand what you read?” Allow time to discuss. When someone mentions “summarize,” indicate that this lesson will focus on summarizing informational nonfiction. Say, “Summarizing allows us to think about what we read and decide if it makes sense. When we summarize informational nonfiction, we choose only the most important information that helps us remember what we have read. To do that, we need to determine how the text is organized.”
Ask, “What does the word repeat mean?” (to say or do something again) Explain that one strategy to help summarize informational nonfiction is to find words that are repeated in the text. Say, “The author usually repeats words that are important to the topic of the text. We might call these ‘meaty’ or meaningful words. These meaty words lead us to essential information. Essential information is important information. Nonessential information is not important.”
Provide students with a copy of a short informational nonfiction text. Have students read the passage and then go back and read sentence by sentence, looking for repeated meaty words. Tell students to write the repeated words below the passage. Discuss the lists. Emphasize that words such as a, an, the, or to may be repeated many times, but that these are not meaty words. Have students analyze the repeated words and determine the topic of the text. Ask students to write the topic at the top of the page and circle it. Ask, “What is the main idea of the text?” Discuss how the repeated words helped guide the reader to the main idea.
Part 2
Display a copy of informational nonfiction text on the board/interactive whiteboard. Read the text to students. Guide them through the text line by line, looking for repeated words. Circle the repeated words in the text. Ask, “Is this information essential to what the passage is about, or is it just something interesting to know?” After all the repeated words are circled, ask students to identify the topic. Next, ask students to write sentences using the repeated words. The sentences should contain an important piece of information from the text. Together, use the repeated words and essential facts to write a summary of the passage on the board/interactive whiteboard. (Use student-generated sentences if they are accurate.) Have students summarize to get the main idea.
Display the Repeated Words Organizer (L-4-3-3_Repeated Words Organizer.docx). Say, “Because you can’t write in your books, you will use a graphic organizer to record your information. We will complete a sample of the graphic organizer together.” Using the text you just worked with, model how that information fits into the graphic organizer.
- Write the topic in the top box.
- Write the most important repeated words in the column on the left side of the graphic organizer.
- Write key ideas and details in the center of the graphic organizer. Analyze the repeated words and key ideas/details to create a written summary.
- Write the summary in the column on the right side of the graphic organizer.
Ask students to recall how repeated words were used to summarize nonfiction text. Say, “You will be using the repeated words organizer to help you create a summary of a nonfiction text.”
Part 3
Distribute copies of the Repeated Words Organizer and Weather to each student or pairs of students. Other informational nonfiction texts can be used here as well.
Say, “Read the passage and as you are reading, write the repeated words on the left side of your organizer. Determine the topic of the text and write it in the box at the top of the organizer. Find key ideas and details as signaled by the repeated words. Write the key ideas and details in the center column of the graphic organizer. Then review the information on your organizer and write a summary in the column on the right.”
Move around the room as students complete the organizer. Ask, “How does finding repeated words and summarizing the text help you increase your understanding of what you read?” Determine if reteaching is needed. Collect students’ organizers for assessment.
Extension:
- If additional practice is needed, have small groups summarize an experience they had recently.
- For students who are ready to move beyond the standard, give them a Repeated Words Organizer and a topic. Have them fill in the organizer based on the topic. Then tell them to write a short nonfiction piece that reflects the repeated words and important ideas stated in the organizer. Students may find it necessary to research their topic first. You might use well-written passages as samples for the rest of the class.
