Be a Super Summarizer Educational Resources K12 Learning, Verbal Communication, Writing, English / Language Arts Lesson Plans, Activities, Experiments, Homeschool Help

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Have you ever had a closet that was so chock-full of stuff that you couldn't find what you were looking for?

closet

Unless we sort things out and put them in different boxes, bins, or shelves, it's hard to know what we have and don't have!

Just like our closets, our brains can easily get overwhelmed with information unless we have a way of sorting it all out.

Classroom discussions are great ways to learn from both teachers and classmates. Studies have found that people understand topics much better when they're able to discuss ideas together and learn from each other.

But how can you remember what everyone said and sort out all that new information?

Two skills that will help you are summarizing and understanding perspectives.

Review, Recap, or Summarize

A review, recap, or summary of a discussion is a very short retelling of the whole discussion.

Here's how to summarize:

Pick out the main ideas.

What were the most important points the speakers shared?

Identify the key details.

What were the more important facts?

Note that you don't need to recall every detail, just the more important ones!

Let's try summarizing a student's speech.

Yana Savitsky has some ideas on studying better. She learned a new study method and wants to share it with others.

Watch this video and take some notes on her method. Try to write down the main idea and three or four key details.

How a student changed her study habits by setting goals and managing time | Yana Savitsky | TEDxLFHS, from TEDx Talks:

Think about these questions and formulate your answers before clicking to see the suggested answer!

Understand Different Perspectives

What if you completely disagree with someone in a discussion?
How can you accept and process that information?

That's where understanding perspective comes in.

Even if you agree with someone on ideas, understanding their perspective can deepen your own understanding. That's because each person has different experiences and unique ways of thinking.

As you watch the next video, take notes on the factors that influence a person's perspective and pay close attention to the beginning of the video -- note each person's reaction to the dog!

Perspective Taking from RISE:

Now, list seven factors that influence a person's perspective.

By knowing how to summarize, pick out key ideas, and understand different perspectives, you'll be prepared to sort out the knowledge you gain from class discussions!

Move on to the Got It? section now to review and practice these skills.