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Instructional Strategy

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INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Summarization Note-Taking

Grade:

3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

Type:

Summarize & Synthesize
/ Develop Language (MLL)
20-30

Minutes

When:

Before and after reading

Materials:

Preselected text, Summarization Note-Taking graphic organizer, whiteboard or display, writing utensil
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Description

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TBD
The Summarization Note-Taking strategy teaches students to distill key information while reading, which improves comprehension and retention. Students identify main ideas and important details, creating concise summaries for each section of text. This approach helps learners distinguish between essential and non-essential information, enhancing their ability to process and remember content. As students practice, they develop the skill to summarize independently, preparing them for more advanced academic reading and study tasks. By actively engaging with the text through summarization, students improve their understanding of content structure and main concepts across various subjects.
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Procedure

1
Preselect a text suitable for students’ reading level and desired learning outcomes.
2
Introduce summarization as a note-taking strategy that helps students capture key points while reading, which improves retention and comprehension. Emphasize its usefulness for studying and managing information across subjects.
3
Distribute the Summarization Note-Taking graphic organizer to each student. Guide them to complete the pre-reading section before beginning by
a)
writing the text title and author,
b)
reflecting on and noting what they already know about the topic,
c)
considering and writing down what they expect to learn from the text, and
d)
briefly discussing some of their pre-reading thoughts as a class to activate prior knowledge and set a purpose for reading.
4
Model the summarization process of the first section of the selected text by reading it aloud to students. Pause following the reading to demonstrate how to write a one-sentence summary and bullet points for key details.
5
Repeat step 4 for another section to reinforce the process.
6
Implement section-by-section summarization to continue a gradual release model until all sections are complete.
7
Ask students to complete the overall summary section of the organizer, which includes the central theme or main idea and three to five key details from the entire text. Encourage students to share their responses either with a partner or with the whole class.
8
To conclude, ask students to complete the final reflections section of their organizer, asking them to consider how their understanding of the topic has changed after reading and summarizing the text, identifying any questions they still have about the subject, and reflecting on the effectiveness of the summarization process for their learning.
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Differentiation

Guided Summarization: Provide an anchor chart with sentence starters and select shorter, more accessible texts. Highlight key information within the text to guide students’ focus. This approach reduces cognitive load, offers clear starting points for summary construction, and explicitly identifies essential content, building students’ confidence in their summarization skills.
Multi-Source Critical Summarization: Introduce longer and more complex texts, challenging students to create their own summary frameworks. Encourage critical analysis and synthesis of information from multiple sources. Ask students to present summaries in various formats, including oral and visual presentations. Assign tasks requiring summaries of different lengths for various purposes. This approach supports advanced learners by promoting higher-order thinking skills, creativity, and adaptability in processing and communicating information across different contexts.

Multilingual Learning Support

Beginning Proficiency: Support the summarization process by providing a dual-language Summarization Note-Taking graphic organizer with clear visual cues and icons for each section. Include bilingual sentence frames (e.g., “The main idea is…”, “An important detail is…”). Allow students to initially write summaries in their home language before transitioning to English. Provide picture dictionaries and key vocabulary cards with visual supports in both languages. Create opportunities for students to verbally rehearse their summary with a partner in their home language before writing it down.
Intermediate Proficiency: Design a bridge between informal and academic language by providing word banks that pair everyday terms with their academic equivalents (e.g., this shows/this demonstrates, then/subsequently). Include structured note-taking templates that guide students in identifying and recording key information using both casual and academic language. Create bilingual transition word lists to help students connect ideas in their summaries. Implement peer discussion protocols where students can practice explaining their summaries using increasingly academic language.
Advanced Proficiency: Guide students in crafting sophisticated summaries using grade-appropriate academic language. For younger students, introduce summary-specific terms like central idea, key points, and supporting details. For older students, incorporate more advanced academic vocabulary, such as synthesize, correlate, and substantiate. Provide students with exemplar summaries that model various levels of academic language use.
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Variations

Collaborative Jigsaw Summarization: Implement a collaborative jigsaw summarization approach. Divide the class into groups, and ask each group to summarize a specific text section. Regroup students so that new teams include representatives from each original group. Encourage students to share their summaries to reconstruct the entire text, and then facilitate a discussion on how the summaries interconnect. Conclude by having students write a comprehensive summary based on the shared information.
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