Summarizing and Paraphrasing

Summarizing A summary is always shorter than the

original material, and it is mostly on main ideas rather than details.

How to Summarize1. Read the material, including the title2. Begin your summary with main idea.

This sentence is your topic sentence. 3. Include only really important details.

Summary Formulas Somebody…Wanted…But…So

Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How

Somebody…Wanted…But…SoA summary of Finding Nemo:

In Finding Nemo, Marlin wanted to keep his son safe, but Nemo wanted his independence. Then Nemo was caught by a scuba diver, so Marlin decided to leave the reef and rescue his son.

Who, What, When, Where, Why, HowA summary of “Nightlights That Fly!”

Fireflies live only in certain parts of the country during the summer months. These insects are special because they glow. They glow to attract a mate, to talk to each other, and to keep predators away.

Why?

Where?When?What?

Who?

How?

Why is summarizing important?Just about anything in school can be

summarized: a class lecture, an essay, a news article, a movie, a historic event, a scientific process, a short story, or even a varsity basketball game.

Being able to get to the point is important in life:Business people want to know the bottom line.Doctors must summarize a condition or illness.Lawyers can win cases with good summaries.Newscasters summarize the day’s events.

Summarizing is important!We appreciate the friend who gives us a good

summary of the movie we are thinking of seeing, but we might not ask his opinion again if all he gives us is a lot of details that are out of sequence!

Home Alone Trailer

Why?

Where?When?What?

Who?

How?

Summary ExampleEight year-old Kevin McAllister is

accidentally left behind when his family takes off for a vacation in France over the holiday season. Once he realizes they've left him home alone, Kevin learns to fend for himself. He eventually has to protect his house against bumbling burglars Harry and Marv, who are planning to rob every house in Kevin's suburban Chicago neighborhood.

Your Turn!Think about a favorite

movie. Draw the hand graphic

organizer. Label each part with “Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.”

Then fill in the graphic organizer

Be ready to share with your neighbor.

Why?

Where?When?What?

Who?

How?

The Rainbow Fish While watching the story, think about how

you might summarize it for a little kid. Somebody…Wanted…But…Sohttp://www.storylineonline.net/

The Rainbow Fish Activity What is the best summary of the story?

A. The Rainbow Fish swims around the ocean until he makes friends.

B. You should always share because it brings happiness.

C. The Rainbow Fish shares his special scales, which brings him friends and happiness.

D. The Rainbow Fish does the right thing, which makes everyone happy.

Think about ItWhen might you need to be able to

summarize in life?List at least 3 examples!

Independent Summary PracticeComplete the back side of your notes.When you are finished, turn it in. Be sure

your name is on it!Then work on book club. Book club packets

are due in 45 minutes. Please review the feedback in your first packet before turning in your second one. If you are done with book club, then complete the word puzzlers.

ParaphrasingParaphrasing puts the information in your

own words.

It is about the same length as the original reading selection.

The meaning stays the same, but some words or the sentence structure may change.

How to Paraphrase 1. Read the material, including the title.2. Replace words with synonyms.3. Rearrange the words in the sentence.4. Read your paraphrase to be sure that it has

the same meaning as the original text.

Why is paraphrasing important?Good paraphrasing skills are necessary to

create good summaries, prepare for tests, answer essay test questions, and avoid plagiarism when researching reports.

Paraphrasing can make long, difficult reading easier.

Why?

Paraphrase ExampleMy dog ate his food quickly.My dog speedily gulped his food.

Do these sentences have the same meaning?Yes.

Do these sentences use the same words?No.

Some words were changed, but the meaning remains the same.

Paraphrase ExampleGroundhogs belong to the squirrel family.

They are also called woodchucks. Groundhogs are also known as woodchucks,

and they fit into the squirrel family.

Do these sentences have the same meaning?Yes.

Do these sentences use the same words?No.

Some words were changed, but the meaning remains the same.

Your Turn!A groundhog has grayish brown fur. It has a

bushy tail. Its claws are sharp to make digging easier.

Your Turn!To warn others of danger, a groundhog makes

a loud, whistling sound.

The Rainbow Fish Activity What is the best paraphrase of the following

sentence?

His scales were every shade of blue and green and purple, with sparkling silver scales among them.

A. His scales were beautiful colors.B. His dazzling scales were blue, green, purple, and

silver. C. Everyone admired his scales because they sparkled.D. He had some sparkling silver scales.

What makes them different? Summarizing Paraphrasing

AgendaCopy this into your agenda:

Test on Thurs. 3-14Context CluesMain Idea and DetailsSummaryParaphrase

Leave your agenda on your desk; I need to sign it.

Then take out your paraphrase notes from last week. They look like this:

Independent Work TimeComplete the paraphrasing and

summarizing practice. The test will look a lot like this practice.