Providing examples of well-written summaries works well for my advanced students. However, my reluctant readers and writers often remain confused, even after seeing these models.
For these students, I’ve found that writing 20-word summaries on topics connected to their prior knowledge is most effective.
Here’s why:
Students summarize things in their everyday lives. If I ask how their day or year has been, they naturally give a brief summary. Likewise, when asked about a movie they’ve seen, they can usually provide a solid summary without hesitation.
But when it comes to traditional instructions like “summarize the main points of the text,” reluctant readers and writers tend to struggle. In my experience, these directions confuse them.
That’s where 20-word summaries come in. The instructions are clear and manageable: “Just write 20 words.”
And when you pair 20-word summaries with students’ prior knowledge – magic happens.
With enough practice students start to grasp summary writing. And I can leverage this knowledge for more advanced texts we read in class later in the year.
Here are the activities I use.
What is a Summary?
Worksheet:
Guess Which Movie or Book?
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
Summarizing life experiences can be a great tool for teaching summary writing. Here is an activity I use.
Worksheet
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.
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.
My explanation:
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
Thank you so much for visiting Tolentino Teaching. My goal is to provide ready-made lessons that are creative, clear, and concise. If you like what you see, feel free to support me by making a donation below. Thank you!