DAILY LESSON PLAN

Teacher’s Name:Class/Period: 7th Grade English

Unit/ Lesson Plan Topic: Summary WritingDate:10/8/08

Agenda:

  • What is a Summary? Why do we summarize?
  • Summarizing Expository Text

California Content Standards: Writing Applications 2.5 Write summaries of reading materials:

  1. Include the main ideas and most significant details
  2. Use the student’s own words, except for quotations
  3. Reflect underlying meaning, not just the superficial details.

Objectives: When asked to summarize passages from expository texts, students will be able to use a scaffolding technique to correctly identify main ideas and other essential information to include in a concise manner. Students will be able to determine what information should be excluded and the rationale for this. Additionally, with the completion of the lesson (and following day’s lesson), students will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of a majority of summaries in terms of brevity and main ideas presented.

Materials Needed: Handouts, overhead, paper and pen.

Activities:

Time / Teacher Procedures / Student Responsibilities
5 mins.
5 mins.
10 mins.
20 mins.
3 mins.
3 mins. / 1) Begin with a discussion of what a summary is and why we summarize. Students and teacher openly discuss topic together and teacher will encourage student ideas and thoughts.
2) Distribute Handout 1 “Summarizing Expository Text.” Inform them that handout should be kept in binders, as they will use these as a reference/guide when summarizing later passages. Use handout as shared reading exercise. Discuss scaffolding on handout and ask questions regarding scaffolding just discussed to ensure comprehension.
3) Post overhead transparency/pass out Handout 2 and pass out Handout 2.1 “Summary of ___”. Teacher will read aloud Handout 2 to class from overhead, then ask class to come up with main idea and important points. This will be a group effort.
4) Ask students to quickly get into groups of 3-4. Pass out Handout 2.2 “Global Warning Alert!” to each student in group. Read together as class, where both teacher and student read parts of article. Discuss any confusion and clarify any vocabulary or content that may be confusing. Then, have groups fill out next section on their own using Handout 2.2 and Handout 2.1 (the article). When groups are finished, have class discussion of findings. Ensure students are on right track. Have groups repeat process for paragraph 3 and then discuss. Teacher walks around room during this activity.
Review activity and rules for summarizing by questioning class.
Teacher will explain homework, as well as note further review of summary writing the following day. / 1) Students are responsible for taking notes as they see fit, as well as contributing to the discussion to show whether or not they have an understanding of the topic about to be discussed in detail. This will help the teacher determine the extent of scaffolding needed for this topic.
2) Students are responsible for contributing in shared reading exercise and asking questions when information is unclear. Students are also responsible for understanding the scaffolding process explained in the handout, and should take an active role in answering questions regarding its contents.
3) Students are to follow along with passage on overhead, as well as help teacher determine main idea and important points. Once there is overall agreement that meets teacher’s approval, students are to record group findings on Handout 2.2 in “Paragraph 1” (first section only). Teacher is to walk around and ensure students are filling in first section.
4) Have students summarize the next paragraph of the article (paragraph 1 was covered on overhead as sample paragraph) using Handout 2.2, and fill in information gathered. Once completed, students are to discuss with class and teacher their findings. They are then to repeat the process with paragraph 3. There will be a class discussion on this paragraph when completed as well. Groups will finish worksheet with writing the summary collaboratively. Volunteer from each group will read summary aloud. Finish individually for homework if not completed.
Class offers answers about summary review to show knowledge gained via exercises today.
Students are to copy down homework in agendas and ask questions if unclear.

Homework:

1)Cut out or print a relatively brief article from a newspaper or magazine (Internet articles acceptable from valid sources (i.e. Time, Newsweek, New York Times, etc.) which you will read, annotating and highlighting important information from the article.

2)On a separate piece of paper, staple the article to this paper and write a summary of what you have read. Include the main idea and other important/relevant information. (Responses should be a few sentences, ¼ page maximum.)

Evaluation: Assignments:

Handout 2.1 “Summary of ____”Points: 10

Note: Completion of Handout gets full credit. Future summaries will be graded.

Homework- Find article and summarizePoints: 15

Note: Completion of HW gets full credit. Summaries will be rewritten and put into final draft form next day in class.

Lesson Plan Commentary/Reflection:

This lesson is designed in order that students begin to grasp the concept of summarizing expository texts, understand how to find main ideas and include important points into summaries. They will understand the importance of brevity and conciseness in summaries, how to exclude unnecessary details and how to scaffold their learning, understanding that summarizing needs to start as a step-by-step process. The homework is designed so that students not only take their summarizing skills and apply them, but also interact with expository texts about today’s topics and events. This should familiarize students with where to find current event articles and get them to interact with sources. Summarizing is an extremely important skill and will not be overlooked or skimmed through briefly. The class should continually revisit summarizing in every writing, or reading, assignment so the skills are kept fresh in their minds and eventually ingrained in their brains. My hope is that this lesson will be a sufficient introduction but that following lessons will touch on this life long skill.

Summarizing Expository Text

A summary: a short restatement of the main idea and important details in a piece of writing or another work.

Steps in Summarizing:

  1. Read the selection carefully, more than once. Before you begin to write, make sure you understand what the selection says.
  1. Highlight or make a list of the most important information in the first paragraph, including the main idea.
  1. Try to rewrite one or two sentences that include all of the important information in the paragraph.
  • Use your own words.
  • Do not include your own opinion.
  • Do not change the author’s meaning.
  1. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each subsequent paragraph, keeping them in the same order in which the information appears in the reading selection.
  1. Copy your summary sentences into a paragraph, keeping them in the same order in which the information appears in the reading selection.
  1. Read your paragraph. Can someone who has not read the selection understand the main points? Summary should be no more than one-fourth to one-third the length of the original passage.

Summarizing a Single Paragraph

(from “Global Warming Alert!”)

Global warming is caused when carbon dioxide (CO2) gets into the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide acts like the glass walls and ceiling of a greenhouse. It lets sunlight in to warm things up, but it doesn't let the heat escape. Scientists say the same thing is happening to our planet, making it a dangerously warmer place. As many as one million species of land plants and animals are in danger of becoming extinct if global warming continues. According to a recent study, the warming of the Earth could destroy as many as 37 percent of the world’s living species by the year 2050!

WORLD NEWS

Summary of

(Title of Reading Passage)

Paragraph 1

  1. Main Idea (what is this paragraph about?) ______
  2. Other important information:
  • ______
  • ______
  • ______
  1. Combine 1 and 2 into one or two sentences.

______

Paragraph 2

  1. Main Idea (what is this paragraph about?) ______
  2. Other important information:
  • ______
  • ______
  • ______
  1. Combine 4 and 5 into one or two sentences.

______

Paragraph 3

  1. Main Idea (what is this paragraph about?) ______
  2. Other important information:
  • ______
  • ______
  • ______
  1. Combine 7 and 8 into one or two sentences.

______

Copy your summary sentences into a paragraph. Leave them in the same order (paragraph 1 summary, paragraph 2 summary, etc.)

______

Read the above paragraph again. Does this make sense? Does it cover essential information? Did you leave out unnecessary details? Below, write you paragraph into final form.

______

Global Warming Alert!

If global warming continues, 1 million kinds of plants and

animals could be extinct by the year 2050

January 13, 2004

BY JILL EGAN

What is Global Warming? Global warming is caused when carbon dioxide (CO2) gets into the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide acts like the glass walls and ceiling of a greenhouse. It lets sunlight in to warm things up, but it doesn't let the heat escape. Scientists say the same thing is happening to our planet, making it a dangerously warmer place. As many as one million species of land plants and animals are in danger of becoming extinct if global warming continues. According to a recent study, the warming of the Earth could destroy as many as 37 percent of the world’s living species by the year 2050!

Alarming Findings The study was conducted by researchers in England who used computer models to predict what would happen to certain species if global warming continues. The team studied 1,103 species in Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Europe, Mexico and South Africa. These regions represent about 20 percent of the Earth’s land area. The study predicted that Australia would lose over half of its more than 400 butterfly species by 2050.

"We're already seeing biological communities respond very rapidly to climate warming," said Chris Thomas, a biologist at the University of Leeds in England, and the head of the study. The study found that between 15 and 37 percent of the studied species could be extinct or nearly extinct by 2050. There are about 14 million plant and animal species on Earth.

What Should be Done?Researchers say businesses and governments must create new technology that limits the production of greenhouse gases. These gases, such as carbon dioxide, pollute the environment. Researchers also say that limiting carbon dioxide emissions could save 15-20 percent of species from extinction. The U.S. is a big part of the problem. Although the U.S. has about 4 percent of the world’s people, it produces about 25 percent of the pollution that leads to global warming. A special agreement called the United Nations’ Kyoto Protocol would limit, or cut down on, the amount of harmful gases that countries are allowed to produce. But President Bush has refused to sign the treaty, saying it would hurt America’s businesses.

Plants and animals aren’t the only creatures that are in danger. Humans are at risk, too. Many scientists believe the Earth's rising temperatures could eventually melt polar ice caps, cause sea levels to rise and worsen flooding.

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