Procedure Guide: 4 STEPS IN WRITING A SUMMARY see organizer

Purpose: To provide strategies to construct meaning and recognize important information

when reading nonfiction texts.

Preparation

Prepare transparencies to use when modeling the strategy.

Before

· Explain the purpose of the strategy.

· Model 4 Steps in Writing A Summary

Begin by making four columns on a sheet of paper.

Write a different heading (listed below) in each of the four columns.

What are you summarizing?

What is the beginning?

What is the middle?

How does it end?

During

• As students read (possibly a textbook), have them fill in the four columns with information from their reading, remembering to do the following:

Delete trivial material.

Delete repetitive material. .

Use a term (to label or categorize) any list of items or actions.

After

· When students have filled in their columns, have them write a summary by summarizing the information in each column (for a total of four sentences).

· Have students ask themselves the following questions after they have written their summary.

Is any important information missing?

Is the information in the right order?

Have I chosen to write what the author thinks is most important?

• Finally, ask students check that the style of writing reads smoothly and their summary does not have unnecessary words.

Assessment

Evidence of using before and after reading strategies. Comprehension of main points of text.