1) The document discusses strategies for teaching students how to write summaries, including defining what a summary is, identifying the key attributes of a good summary, and outlining the writing process. 2) It provides examples of writing frames and graphic organizers to help students organize their ideas and outlines the prewriting, writing, revising, editing, and publishing steps of the writing process. 3) The goal is to teach students the critical skills needed to accurately summarize longer written works by condensing them while still conveying the main ideas and key points.

1. Summing it up:
Writing Summaries
Interventions for Struggling
Writers
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2. CTL Research to Practice Conference
Anita L. Archer, Ph.D.
Educational Consultant and Author
archerteach@aol.com
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3. What is a summary?
 Condensed version of all or part of a longer written
product.
 Conveys the main ideas of the author.
 Provides the reader a broad view of the written
product.
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4. What are the attributes of good
summary? (Element 2: Summarization
Element 11: Writing for Content Learning)
 Attributes - A Summary
 Is concise.
 Is a straightforward presentation of information.
 Focuses on the author’s ideas, opinions, information, or story.
 Highlights the major points.
 Accurately represents the author’s ideas.
 Is written in your own words.
 Why is summary writing important?
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5. BIG IDEAS
Teaching Any Written Product
 WHAT
 Critical attributes
 Rubric
 HOW
 Writing Process
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6. What (Element 10 - Study of Models)
 Ask yourself, what are the CRITICAL ATTRIBUTES
of a well-written product.
 Represent in a simple, easy to understand RUBRIC.
 Provide an EXAMPLE to illustrate the critical attributes.
 Guide students in analyzing examples and non-examples of
the written product.
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7. Rubric - Summary of Article
(See Examples 1 and 2.) (Element 4: Specific Goals)
Content of Summary Student Rating Teacher
Rating
1. Topic - Is the topic of the original article stated? Yes No Yes No
2. Main Idea/Opinion - Is the main idea of the article (or Yes No Yes No
author’s position) clearly stated?
3. Major Points/Reasons - Does the summary focus on the Yes No Yes No
major points, reasons, and/ or information from the article?
4. Accurate - Are the major points, reasons, and/or information Yes No Yes No
accurate?
5. Own Words - Is the summary written in your own words? Yes No Yes No
6. Concise - Is the summary shorter than the original article? Yes No Yes No
7. Combined Ideas - Are some of the ideas combined into Yes No Yes No
longer, more sophisticated sentences?
8. Understanding - Is the summary easy to understand? Yes No Yes No
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8. Rubric - Summary of Article
Conventions Student Teacher
Rating Rating
1. Handwriting - Is the handwriting legible? Yes No Yes No
2. Spelling - Are the words spelled correctly, particularly the Yes No Yes No
words found in the article?
3. Capitalization - Is correct capitalization used including Yes No Yes No
capitalization of the first word in the sentence and proper names of
people, places, and things?
4. Punctuation - Is correct punctuation used including a period at Yes No Yes No
the end of each telling sentence?
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9. Example - Summary
(Illustrates all of the attributes.)
Summary - Just Say No to Uniforms
In this article, Theresa Jenkins expresses her contention
that schools should not require students to wear uniforms. She
believes that requiring uniforms could have many negative
outcomes including robbing children of their individuality,
requiring them to wear clothing that is not matched to their body
type, and increasing the wardrobe budget for families to cover
the cost of regular clothing and uniforms.
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10. Non- Example - Summary
(Includes opinions other than those of the article’s author.)
Summary - Just Say No to Uniforms
The author of this article believes that schools
should not require school uniforms for a number of
reasons. First, wearing school uniforms takes away
a child’s chance to express their personality through
their choice of clothing. I think this is particularly
important when you are in middle school and you
are trying to make a statement about yourself
through the t-shirts, jeans, and jackets that you
select. Second, students won’t have a chance to
practice picking out their own outfits, something that
they would have to do everyday before they go to
work.
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11. Non- Example - Summary
(Is not written in the student’s own words.)
Summary - Just Say No to Uniforms
 Requiring school uniforms takes away the
opportunity for students to learn how to select their
own outfits. Uniforms blur an individual’s sense of
self, make students self-conscious when the
uniforms don’t fit correctly, and cost the same if not
more than normal clothes. Schools should just say
no to uniforms.
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12. HOW (Element 9: Process Writing)
 Writing process
 Prewriting
 Writing
 Revising
 Editing
 Publishing
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13. HOW
 Writing process
P= Prepare
O= Organize
W= Write
E= Examine
R= Repair
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14. HOW (Effective Element 7- Prewriting)
P = Prepare
T = Topic
A = Audience
P = Purpose
P = Prepare
Read the article a number of times.
Ask yourself, what is the topic?
What is the main idea?
What important things did the author say about
the main idea?
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15. HOW
 O = Organize
 Scaffolding the organization
 Writing frames
 Strategies
 Think Sheets - Graphic Organizers
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16. Writing Frames - Narrative Summary
(See Examples 3, 4, and 5.)
The main character in this story is ____.
The problem in the story is __________.
This is a problem because __________.
The problem is solved when ________.
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17. Writing Frames - Narrative Summary
____________________________ took place in
______________________. The main character
was
_________________________________________
_, a______________________________. In this
story, _____________________________’s
problem was ________________. He/she first tried
to resolve this problem
by_____________________. Then, he/she
_________________________________________
_.In the end, the problem was solved when
_________________________________________
_. 17

18. Writing Frames - Expository Summary
(See Examples 6 and 7)
Canoes, long narrow boats that are propelled through the water with
oars, have changed over time. Native Americans made canoes from
_____________ and _____________. To make canoes from birch
bark, they had to _______________
__________________________________________________.
To make canoes from logs, they had to __________________
_________________________________________________.
Today canoes are made by ___________________________ and are
used for mostly for ___________________________.
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19. Summary Writing Strategy Strategies)1: Writing
(Element
(See Example 8)
Write down the topic of the summary.
List - Make a list of important ideas.
Cross-out - Cross out any unnecessary or weak ideas.
Connect - Connect ideas that could go in one
sentence.
Number - Number the ideas in the order that they
will appear in the paragraph.
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20. List - Make a list of important ideas.
Penquin’s birth!
 Male takes care of egg!
 Female lays egg!
 Female leaves !
 Female spends winter at sea!
 The water is very cold!
 Male puts egg on his feet under belly!
 Male stays on egg for two months!
 Male doesn’t eat!
 Egg hatches!
 Male must care for baby!
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21. Cross-out - Cross out any unnecessary or weak
ideas.
Connect - Connect ideas that could go in one
sentence. (Element 6- Sentence Combining)
"Penquin’s birth!
" "Male takes care of egg!
" "Female lays egg!
" "Female leaves !
" "Female spends winter at sea!
" "The water is very cold!
" "Male puts egg on his feet under belly!
" "Male stays on egg for two months!
" "Male doesn’t eat!
" "Egg hatches "!
" "Male must care for baby!
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22. Number - Number the ideas in the order
that they will appear in the paragraph.
"Penquin’s birth!
" 3 "Male takes care of egg!
" 1 "Female lays egg!
2 " "Female leaves !
" "Female spends winter at sea!
" "The water is very cold!
" "Male puts egg on his feet under belly!
4 " "Male stays on egg for two months!
" 5 Male doesn’t eat!
" "Egg hatches "!
6 " "Male must care for baby!
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23. Write a summary.
The birth process of penguins is fascinating and
quite different from that of other animals. The
female penguin lays an egg. However, the female
penguin leaves soon after laying the egg and
spends the winter in the sea. Meanwhile the male
must take care of the egg. For two months, he
places the egg on his feet under his belly. During
this time, the male penguin doesn’t eat. Even after
the baby penguin hatches, the male penguin
continues to take care of the infant penguin.
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24. Think Sheets
Narrative Think Sheets
(See Example 9)
Expository Thing Sheets/Graphic
Organizers
(See Example 10)
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25. Summing it up!
Writing summaries promotes growth both in written expression
and in reading comprehension. Because of the complexity of the task,
robust, systematic explicit instruction must be provided. First,
introduce students to the critical attributes of a written summary using
a simple, easy to understand rubric, illustrated with examples and non-
examples. Next, apply the writing process to summary writing. Have
students prepare by reading the article/story a number of times while
thinking about the topic, main idea, and other important ideas.
Highlighting and note-taking can be used to scaffold this reflective
activity. Next, assist students in organizing their ideas using writing
frames, writing strategies, or think sheets. Finally, model the
transcription process in which the ideas in the plan are translated into
a coherent paragraph or series of paragraphs.
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