Eighth graders investigate the concept of main idea and supporting details, and how they are used in the genre of fiction. In this literacy lesson, 8th graders listen to a fictional passage and take notes on the characters, setting,...

It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. Fifth graders prove this with help from three lessons that examine how ancient cultures used their needs to drive innovations. In lesson one, pupils identify main ideas and supporting...

Examine the process of summarizing a piece of text using the book So You Want to Be a President? Kids review the definitions for main idea, topic sentences, superordinate terms, and supporting details. Next, they work in small...

Start off analysis of a text with a learning exercise that asks pupils to complete several tasks. Class members note down a couple of characters or people and their distinguishing traits, describe the most important event, summarize the...

Drafting a strong first sentence for a summary is an important step. Writers can use the formula presented on this handout to get started. The resource lists three steps to put together a strong topic sentence, as well as tips and hints...

Ask your class to write a quick summary of a historical or current event. The worksheet offers a place to note down important details about the event, such as time, place, people, how it started, and how it ended. Pupils then take this...

Lesson 10 in a series of human rights lessons focuses on the skills of finding evidence and summarizing. Your young readers work to compare the two texts they have read in this unit: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights...

The first verse of A.A. Milne’s poem, Beetle, is the basis for a model of how to summarize a text. The two-page worksheet also includes a short story for guided practice, as well as summarizing questions, a story sharing activity, and an...

Students identify main idea and supporting details from a short reading selection using a two-column note taking process. In this literacy lesson, students work in groups of three to four, then compare their papers with the other groups'...

Discuss the reading comprehension strategy of summarization with your elementary schoolers! They read a chapter from their social studies textbook, Regions Near and Far, and create a map, or word web, for the chapter. They identify...

The value in this PowerPoint about the five-paragraph expository essay comes from the clear explanations and specific examples provided to illustrate each aspect; however, a complete, model essay is not included. Beware the typos!

Read an article about the migration of our ancestors and write a paragraph. Pupils paraphrase and summarize to restate the information found in a nonfiction text. They write a shortened version of the reading to demonstrate the...

What is the big idea? Scholars use Middle Ages Excerpt 2 to complete a summary graphic organizer. They then use the information from the organizer to write a summary of the text on lined paper. Learners share summaries with the class.

How do you read when you know you're going to be summarizing a text? Summarize a nonfiction text with your upper elementary schoolers. Your pupils independently read a nonfiction article and write a summary paragraph using the six-step...

Use comic strips to teach sequencing in narrative poetry. As homework, each class member selects a comic strip with 4-8 frames, cuts the frames apart, places the pieces in an envelope, and brings the envelope to class. Class members swap...

Help your class tackle chunks of text with a simple graphic organizer. Pupils read three paragraphs and, as they read, draw pictures in the provided boxes that demonstrate what each paragraph says. There are three boxes on the page and...

Cement comprehension skills using the strategies in this activity. After reading the story, Juan Verdades by Joe Hays, learners use context clues to answer questions, identify main ideas and details, and sequence events.

To gain a better understanding of Hispanic heritage and culture, as well as to build informational comprehension skill, learners explore facets of Hispanic American History. They engage in a class discussion, research three facts, and...

Students observe and demonstrate a variety of summarization strategies. They silently read an article from National Geographic Kids, and as a class write a summary that includes the main idea and details and the five W's. Students then...

Learners summarize a piece of text. After reviewing the correct way to read and summarize, students work in groups to summarize a piece of text assigned by the instructor. They write a summary paragraph using the process outlined during...

Discuss the importance of comprehension and the use of summarization with your class. Through guided practice, they follow three steps in finding and highlighting important information, deleting information that is not needed and...

Help your high schoolers identify the main idea of a passage with this instructional activity on paraphrasing. First rewriting a paragraph in their own words, they then underline the most important words in their paraphrase and use them...

Few children's books convey the message of conservation as well as Dr. Seuss' The Lorax. Read the story aloud, emphasizing the interconnectedness of plants and animals in an ecosystem and discussing different ways people can help...

Teamwork makes the dream work! Learners work in groups to analyze pages 2-9 of The Boy Who Invented TV, The Story of Philo Farnsworth. They complete a first read to determine the gist and a second read to identify main idea and...