Let's Summarize with Butterflies!
Reading to Learn
Rationale: Being able to read fluently means that you are able to fully and correctly comprehend the text that you have read. Summarization is one of the most important skills to help show full comprehension of the text. The “about-point” method is one way that we can ask ourselves two questions to summarize the text. Question one is “what is the text about”. This question is very surface level and requires basic knowledge of the text. The second question is “what is the main point that the author is trying to make about the topic?”. This question requires the student to recognize the smaller details of the text. These two questions help the students come up with a topic sentence summarizing the text where the answer to question one is the subject and the answer to question two is the predicate.
Materials
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Lined paper (one per student- for summary paragraph)
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Pencils (one per student)
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Highlighters (one per student)
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Summarization checklist (one per student for the teacher)
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Comprehension checklist (one per student)
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Copies of the Ducksters Butterfly text (one per student)
Procedures:
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Say “When we read a text, it is important that we are able to summarize! Summarizing is when we recall the important details that an author makes, throughout their piece, after we read a text. Sometimes this is hard, so we use different summarization strategies to make this easier! Today, we are going to read a text and then practice a summarization strategy to help us remember what the text was about”
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Say “An example of a summarization strategy is called the about-point strategy. When we us this strategy, we ask ourselves two questions. The first question is- ‘what is the text about?’. Once we answer that question, we will answer the question ‘what is the main point that the author is trying to make?’. The second question should be a broad ‘umbrella topic’ that combines all of the important points that the author makes within the text. Once we have answered these two questions, we can combine these two answers to come up with a topic sentence of the text.
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Say "Before we read this text, I am going to introduce a vocabulary word from the text so you can understand the article better. Raise your hand if you know what an insect is. Great! An insect is a small animal with an exoskeleton. Most insects have wings and antennas. Does anyone have any examples? (write their examples on the board) Good job guys! Butterflies, Ladybugs, Ants and Grasshoppers are all insects!”
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Say “We are going to practice this strategy on an article about butterflies. Raise your hand if you have ever seen a butterfly! What are some things that you know about butterflies? This text will teach us about different parts of a butterfly’s life” *pass out articles*
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Say “Let’s read the first part of the article together! ‘Butterflies are considered by many to be the most beautiful and interesting of insects. Many people watch and collect butterflies as a hobby. One of the most distinguishing features of butterflies is their bright and colorful wings of many different patterns There are around 18,000 species of butterflies. They are found throughout the world and live in all sorts of habitats including grasslands, forests, and the Arctic tundra.’ So, after reading, we know that this paragraph is about butterflies! What are some of the important points that the author is trying to make? There are different kinds of butterflies. Butterflies come with different colored wings and patterns. Butterflies can be found all around the world. When we combine all of these ideas, I can make a topic sentence ‘Butterflies have all different colors and patterns and can be found all around the world!’”
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“Now I want you to use this ‘about point strategy on the text paragraph titled ‘What is metamorphosis?’ ‘One of the most amazing things about this insect is how they change from caterpillars to butterflies. This is called metamorphosis. First the caterpillar makes a cocoon and then seals itself in the cocoon. Then special chemicals are released that change the cells of the caterpillar into that of a butterfly. It is one of the more amazing occurrences in nature! We'll describe all the different stages in the life of a butterfly below.’ What is this text about? Yes! Metamorphosis. Do you know what metamorphosis means? Yes! It is when the hatched animal physically develops. What are the main points that the author is trying to make about metamorphosis? Yes, that it is how caterpillars change to butterflies. What else? Yes, caterpillars seal themselves in cocoons! How can we combine these main points to make a topic sentence? Yes, I think that is great! Caterpillars change to butterflies while sealing themselves in a cocoon.”
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Say “Now I want you to finish reading the article using this about-point strategy to make your own topic sentence. One for each paragraph. Once you finish doing this for each paragraph, you can combine your topic sentences into a paragraph, and you will have a good understanding and summary of the article. Make sure you are writing in your own words and we will have a quiz afterwards.”
Assessment: collect the student’s summary paragraphs and evaluate them based on the following
___ Summary is organized into a short paragraph (4-5 sentences)
___ Information was collected from each of the paragraphs
___ Summary was in complete sentences
___ trivial details were excluded from the summary
___ Information included in the summary was important
Comprehension Quiz:
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Why are the stages in a butterfly’s life important?
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Why can’t you touch a butterfly’s wings?
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How fast can some butterflies fly?
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How can butterflies see colors?
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How does metamorphosis happen?
References:
Article: Butterflies. Ducksters. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2021, from https://www.ducksters.com/animals/butterfly.php.
Hannah Shaw, Let’s Summarize with Felines! https://sites.google.com/view/ctrd-hannahshaw/reading-to-learn?authuser=0
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Butterflies and moths: Fact or fiction. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved November 8, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/quiz/butterflies-and-moths-fact-or-fiction.