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Instructional Strategy

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INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Six-Word Summary

Grade:

3-5, 6-8, 9-12

Type:

Summarize & Synthesize
/ Develop Language (MLL)
< 20

Minutes

When:

After reading

Materials:

Lined paper, whiteboard or display, writing utensil
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Description

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© beast01— iStock / Getty Images Plus/Getty Images
The Six-Word Summary is a strategy that builds students’ critical thinking and metacognition skills as they are asked to summarize a text in just six words. This strategy requires students to reflect on the most important information, tuning in to what resonates with them as they distill the most important information in the article down to just six words.
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Procedure

1
After reading or listening to an assigned text independently or with a partner, have students discuss the text’s main ideas with their partner.
2
Ask students to independently write or verbally tell a summary of the text.
3
Inform students that they will next condense their summary into a six-word sentence or phrase, which they may choose to write or say aloud. Emphasize that they should choose the most impactful words to clearly convey the main ideas.
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Differentiation

Word Selection: To facilitate students’ ability to condense the main idea of an article into six words, provide them with a word bank suited for summarizing. Ask students to discuss these words with a partner first and then craft a six-word sentence or phrase that they think best encapsulates the text. Tailor the word bank’s size to the students’ ages: younger students, like those in grade 3, may benefit from a smaller selection, while older students, such as those in grade 8, can handle more words, fostering richer discussions.
What It’s All About—Six-Word Summary: Challenge students to create a six-word summary that answers the compelling question of the lesson (social studies) or that explains the phenomena (science). This encourages students to place the article in context and focus on the bigger idea of what they have read.

Multilingual Learning Support

Beginning Proficiency: Help students approach the six-word summary by first letting them identify key words in their home language. Create a bilingual word bank of important terms from the text with translations, pictures, and simple definitions in both languages. Start with a longer summary in the students’ home language, and then work together to identify the most important words. When creating the six-word summary, allow students to use a mix of English and home language words at first, gradually moving toward English. Provide sentence frames in both languages (such as “The main idea is…” / “La idea principal es…”) to help students discuss their thinking. Remember that different languages may use a different number of words than in English to express the same concept.
Intermediate Proficiency: Guide students to develop their summaries by first writing a longer version in their preferred language and then working with a partner to identify the most essential ideas in English. Create word lists that show academic vocabulary in both languages, helping students choose precise words for their summaries. When students share their six-word summaries, encourage them to explain their word choices using frames (e.g., “I chose these words because…” / “Elegí estas palabras porque…” or “This word captures the idea of…” / “Esta palabra captura la idea de…”). Encourage students to use their full linguistic repertoire to discuss how different word choices can change the summary’s meaning.
Advanced Proficiency: Challenge students to create six-word summaries in both languages, discussing how the constraints of each language might lead to different but equally effective summaries. Have them analyze how word choice and syntax differ between languages, using sophisticated comparative language (e.g., “In English, this concept requires…while in Spanish…” / “En inglés, este concepto requiere…mientras que en español…”). When students share their summaries, encourage them to explain how they prioritized information and chose specific words to capture complex ideas concisely. These students can help peers understand how certain concepts might be expressed more efficiently in one language versus another, deepening everyone’s understanding of both the content and language structures.
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Variations

Using the Strategy with a Video or Podcast: Use the strategy to help students distill the main ideas of a video or podcast. Screen the video or podcast once all the way through. Upon playing the video or podcast a second time, strategically stop and invite students to summarize the section they just watched or listened to. After students have taken summary notes on the entire video or podcast, invite them to distill their summary down to six words.
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