Writing 20-word summaries is simple, but not easy. Condensing ideas into 20 words forces students to do two things:
A. Focus on the key points of a text.
B. Focus on precision with words.
Here are some activities I use to teach students how to write summaries.
1. Refresher activity on writing summaries
2. The purpose of this task is to get students reading 20-word summaries. Many of my students are familiar with certain movies and books. This activity is meant to build on this background knowledge while familiarizing students with what a 20-word summary looks like.
Worksheet:
3. Summarizing life experiences can be a great tool for teaching summary writing. Here is an activity I use.
Worksheet:
4. The purpose of this task is for students to write their own 20-word summaries in response to a short text. I like to pair students up, and give prizes for the best 20–word summaries.
Worksheet:
5. Sometimes, after we read a text or watch a video, I have students write a 20-word summary. Once again, I like to incentivize this activity by giving a prize to the best written 20-word summary.
6 . With so many great sporting events taking place right now, here is an activity to get students summarizing games and matches.
I offer this as extra credit.
It is a great way to get students writing and bringing their passions to the classroom.
Oh, and for baseball—I have students analyze the first 5 innings, then the last four.
Worksheet:
Google Doc of Activities
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w0RGZfmpN5q1HjTj-ACq3VbmImYJ3T9PHnwlHPJQFBc/edit?usp=sharing
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