Summarizing with Sloths

Say: “When we are trying to read a text to learn new information, we do not try to remember every word. If we did we would be spending days trying to memorize stuff! Instead, they summarize. Summarizing is how we take large sections of text and reduce them to the most important parts: the gist, the key ideas, the main points, and remembering. Good readers use this strategy to remember the most important points from the author.”

Say, “One of the best strategies to use when summarizing is called the About-Point Method. Can everyone say that with me? About-Point Method. With this method, we ask ourselves two questions. The first one is simple, what is this text about? And the second is a little bit harder, what point is the author trying to make? To answer this one, you have to think of an umbrella term to cover all the important points the author is making.”

Say, “Today, we are going to read an article about sloths! Have you ever seen a sloth? [Allow students to answer] What is something that you know already about sloths? [Allow students to answer] This article is going to answer several questions like, how long do sloths sleep? Why do sloths move so slow?

Say, “before we get started with our summarizing, let’s go over a little bit of vocabulary. In this article, you will come across the word, fiercely. Let’s say it together, fiercely. Fiercely is an adverb that describes powerful intensity. We often hear the word fierce as well. “My mom yelled fiercely at me for not cleaning my room.” Does the wind blow fiercely here? Finish the sentence: “I yelled fiercely when…..” [Allow students to answer]

[pass out article to each student] Say, “Now that we know this new word, let’s dive into our text! take a look at this short paragraph from our article: [It's a good thing sloths don't have to go to school. They'd never make it on time. These drowsy tree-dwellers sleep up to 20 hours a day! And even when they are awake, they barely move at all. In fact, they're so incredibly sluggish, algae actually grows on their fur.] 

Say, “What is this paragraph about? Yes, sloths. What is the main point the author is trying to make? That sloths are sluggish, correct. So, what could our topic sentence be for this paragraph? [allow students to answer] Yes, sloths are extremely slow creatures.”

Say, “Now I would like you to read the complete article, writing topic sentences using our about-point method, on your paper as you go. Summaries only focus on the important points, so you do not have to include examples or non-important details. At the end, you will write your topic sentences from every paragraph into one big paragraph to have a concise summary of the article that will help you remember some facts about sloths. We have a quiz after everyone finishes and I know you guys will do great!