Margin Notes

Students are often asked to summarize an article or chapter, and for good reason, because this work encourages deep thinking and helps consolidate learning. At the same time, summarizing well is a skill that students build over time with practice and guidance. Making Deep Sense of Informational Texts: A Framework for Strengthening Comprehension in Grades 6–12 by Gwen J. Pauloski offers a clear four-step strategy to help students summarize thoughtfully. Each step slows the process down and makes the thinking behind a good summary visible. A handy template for guiding students through the steps is available here.

Making Deep Sense of Informational Texts: A Framework for Strengthening Comprehension in Grades 6–12 by Gwen J. Pauloski offers a clear four-step strategy to help students summarize thoughtfully. Each step slows the process down and makes the thinking behind a good summary visible. A template that students can use as they walk through the steps is available here.

Step 1. Compose a Central Idea Statement

Students begin by reviewing the text’s features, annotations, and structure. Then they step back to identify the central idea or core message. The author provides “Suggested Central Idea Stems” (open post in Microsoft Edge to access link) to help students match the stem to the text’s structure, and recommends the following questions to consider:

• • What is the central idea of the whole text?
  • Which central idea stem fits with the top-level text structure?

Then draft a statement using this frame from the text: In [type of text], [title], [the author] [central idea stem] [central idea].

Step 2. Paraphrase Key Supporting Ideas

After establishing the central idea, students identify the important ideas that support it. They may be directly stated in the text or inferred. Students are encouraged to look away from the text and restate each supporting idea in their own words. Recommended questions for this step are:

• • What does the author spend the most time talking about?
  • Which are the most important ideas?
  • Which ideas work together to support the central idea?

Step 3. Note Key Details and Terms

Next, students reread the text using the reporter questions (Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?) to locate key details and terms that support their understanding. They then use purposeful selection to decide on which to include, with the following questions:

• • How detailed does the summary need to be?
  • Which details and terms are most important for me to add?
  • Are there examples or explanations that are really important to mention?

Step 4. Draft and Revise the Summary

At this stage, students combine their first three by introducing the summary with the central idea statement. adding paraphrased supporting ideas and weaving in key detail, and including examples when helpful. The recommended questions to consider for this step are:

• • Does my draft make sense? Do I accurately represent the text?
  • Should I make connections between ideas clearer? Should I combine sentences? Should I add a transition?
  • Have I left anything out that I need to add? Have I included details that aren’t important?
  • Can I improve my word choice to make my summary clearer and more scholarly?

You can check out a completed summarization example here, based directly on the four-step Summarize Text Strategy. It’s designed to be used with a “think aloud”, so students can see not just the final summary, but how each step is applied.