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Too often we try to teach children by forcing them to use a standard concept like flashcards or workbooks without listening to their learning style, level of understanding, or interests. Often it’s like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole, and then wondering why they can’t and rebelling. When we listen to their uniqueness, we become great teachers and help children fulfill their purpose in life rather than our own. Furthermore, teaching becomes more fun and more rewarding when the uniqueness of the child is considered.
I know…”But I don’t have time”. It actually saves time.
There are several elements of reading comprehension that public schools require of today’s students. In previous articles we explained the main idea, the author’s purpose, and supporting details. Today’s article explains how to teach children to summarize. I have more fun with this one in particular, as I’ll explain.
1. Begin by explaining to the student what it means to summarize (adjusting to the child’s level of understanding, of course): A summary is the skeleton of an article or event. It doesn’t say everything about the passage or event, but it does cover all the main points in an abbreviated version. Remind them that a good summary doesn’t inject their own ideas, but is much like a news report.
A good summary would include all the details needed to get from the problem to the solution. In a story I would include where, the main characters, the important series of events, the main problem if it arises (and how it is solved). It would include the strongest part of the story.
2. Now give them something to summarize. The most fun thing is to do a pleasant activity first. Examples would be a field trip, a trip to Sea World or Disney, a movie…anything that interests the student. I even had an older student follow me around and watch as I taught younger children. It is important that they take notes as they observe the event. But you could try taking notes once and not taking notes to allow the child to compare the difference.
3. After the activity is complete, have the student write a summary of the event or activity using their notes. Once they have completed their article, ask them to share it with others who may have experienced the same event. Then encourage discussion. Include younger children in this discussion because children learn tones from each other. It works like a magnet.
4. Please check your article to make sure you have followed the guidelines stated in #1 above. Help them make any necessary corrections, but more importantly, point out their successes. Note: For younger children, I do not check spelling or punctuation in this activity because it can be overwhelming and defeat my purpose.
5. Once they have gotten the idea, ask them to do the same with the stories. Encourage them to underline or highlight important information (or take notes if you prefer) before writing their summary.
6. Then discuss with the child the questions that would help other students choose important points that would help them learn to summarize an article. Examples: Who is the story about? What did they want to do? What did they achieve?
7. Whenever possible, ask them to help you teach other children to summarize. We all learn more by teaching.
Note: Workbooks are helpful and can be used perfectly at this point. But his scope of teaching is limited. Be sure to involve children, their interests, and learning styles in your lesson plans. The rewards for you and your students become much greater.
8. A good book to learn about different learning styles and personalities is “Please Understand Me II” by David Keirsey.