Teaching Children to Write Summaries

It may seem simple to just tell students to write a summary of a particular chapter in a text book for homework but unless they are first shown how to select relevant material, they do not really know how to do it. Many students become confused as to what is relevant and tend to write far more than is necessary in a summary. Acquiring skills such as selecting a heading and a topic, or theme are invaluable especially if the student has thoughts of attending college or university. Below are some strategies that can prove useful in teaching summary writing.

 Make use of pre-existing headings. If the text has already provided each section with bold type headings then it is preferable to use those because they best describe the theme of the related text. Have students read the paragraph and jot down the main idea. Then have them re-read each sentence and jot down the main idea from each again. From this point they can reconstruct a general theme of the written text in much fewer words.

 Make use of visual displays. Have students break up their notes in much the same way as any overhead transparencies (OHT) that are displayed in the lesson. Under each heading, if the teacher has already summarized the lesson, the students should write the complete summary as well as any extra points that the teacher inserts by way of explanation during the lesson. Later when the student is studying and re-reading the notes they should remember what the teacher said in the course of the lesson.

 Summarize a chapter in a novel. Students often approach reading as a chore. Learning to break down novel chapters into their key points helps students understand the text and hopefully will foster their love of reading. As students read through their novels, they will find that it is usually divided into paragraphs. One method of summary is to write a sentence that captures the theme of each paragraph. Another method is to write a chapter summary by recalling the events of the whole chapter.

 Make use of commercially available summaries such as Cliff’s Notes. Students should not however, replace reading the novel with pre-written summaries. Once the novel is read, consulting works such as Cliff’s can show students by example exactly how to lay out a summary. Students will see which points the professionals have selected and compare and hone their own skills in the same way. There are many uses of good summary skills and successfully teaching these can give students a lifelong ability analysis and understanding.