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Reading Comprehension is Turtlely Awesome

Rationale: To read fluently means you have mastered the goal of correctly comprehending texts. One of the most important skills to show full comprehension of a text is summarization. A method that helps us do that is the about-point method. The reader must ask two questions from the text. The first question is: What is the text about? The second question is: What is the main point the author is trying to make about the topic? This question can be difficult because the students must “subordinate” the points. This means they will find an umbrella term that identifies all of the main points the author is conveying. This answer will then become the predicate of the topic sentence. By answering these two questions, readers can form a topic sentence about what they have read. Students will learn how to summarize text by using the about-point method after reading an article.

Materials: Individual copies of an article written about turtles from kids.britannica.com (URL below)

Pencil and paper for each student.

Summarization checklist and comprehension quiz (below).

Procedures:

Say “Today we are going to continue working on our reading skills. When we read a story isn’t it more fun to understand what the story is about rather than just reading the words on the page? That way if it’s a funny story we can read it and laugh or if it’s a thrilling story we can read it and get excited! Understanding the main point and purpose of the story is practicing reading comprehension. Today we are going to work on our reading comprehension skills by learning how to summarize. Does anyone know what summarize means? (wait for student response) That’s right! It is using the main points and subpoints of a story to make a smaller explanation. You summarize everyday without even realizing it! Like for example, when you tell your friends a cool story about something you did or that happened to you at school that day! Summarizing is going to help us improve our reading comprehension skills and our story telling skills!”
Say: “One way we can summarize is by using a strategy called about-point. When we use about-point, you will ask yourself two different questions about your reading. You will answer a more surface level question, “What is the text about?” and a harder question, “What is the main point the writer is making about that topic?” When you answer the tough question, it will help you to identify the “umbrella term” that covers the important parts that the author has written. [ Write the questions on the board for reference] When you have the answers to these questions, it will later help you to formulate your sentences for the summary, especially your topic sentence!”
In a few minutes, I’m going to show you how I’d do about-point with a paragraph on turtles, which is the article you are going to be reading today. Are all turtles the same size? What do turtles eat? What is a turtle's shell made of? These are some of the questions you will be learning to answer today.
Let’s talk about an important vocabulary word you’ll be reading: reptile. A reptile is an air-breathing animal that has scales instead of hair or feathers.
Here is a paragraph from the story:

A turtle is a reptile that has a shell covering its body. Turtles are known for moving very slowly. There are about 250 species, or types, of turtle.

Turtles are found in most parts of the world. Most live in freshwater ponds, lakes, or rivers. Others live in the ocean or on land. Some turtles live in forests or even in the desert. Land turtles are often called tortoises. Some water turtles are known as terrapins.

This paragraph is about turtles, but what important points is the writer making? There are different kinds of turtles: about 250 species.They can be found in many parts of the world. Putting these points together, I can make a topic sentence: There are about 250 species of turtles all over the world.

6. Now I want you to use about-point on a paragraph:

Turtles are all different sizes. The smallest turtles are less than 4 inches (10 centimeters) long. In contrast, the Atlantic leatherback turtles can be more than 7 feet (2 meters) long. It can weigh more than 1,500 pounds (680 kilograms).

Turtles have sturdy legs with short feet and claws on the toes. Sea turtles have flippers instead of front feet. A turtle’s shell is made of bone. It is usually very hard and strong. Most turtles can tuck the head, legs, and tail inside the shell for protection from enemies. Snapping turtles cannot do this, but they have a powerful bite for protection.

What’s this paragraph about? Yes, sizes and features of turtles. What are the main points the author is making about turtles? Correct, they are different sizes. Another point is that they have different features. How could we combine those ideas in one sentence beginning: Turtles...? Turtles are all different sizes and have different features and ways of protecting themselves.

7. Now I’d like you to finish reading the article and use about-point to make a topic sentence for each paragraph. When you are finished, you will have made a good summary of the article, which will help you remember important facts about turtles. Don’t summarize examples or trivia; they are written only to help you understand the main ideas. You are writing a short version of the article in your own words, including only the important ideas to remember. We will have a quiz about the article when you finish summarizing.

Assessment: Collect each student’s summary of the article, and evaluate the summarization using the following checklist:

__ Collected important information

__ Ignored trivia and examples in summary.

__ Significantly reduced the text from the original

__ Sentences brought ideas together from each paragraph

__ Sentences organized coherently into essay form.

Quiz:

1.What is a turtle?

2.How many species of turtles are there?

3.Where are turtles found?

4.Are all turtles the same size?

5.What do Sea turtles have instead of front feet?