A-Z Sentence Summaries
1. At the end of a unit of study or book, assign students a letter of the
alphabet (or give them a cardboard or magnetic letter.)
2. Ask students to create a one-sentence summary, beginning their
sentence with the assigned letter. Sentence can write sentences on
strips or index cards.
3. Do a Chalkboard Splash, attaching the sentence and magnetic letter
to the board so the students can review their peers’ sentence
summaries.
4. Before ending the lesson, call out the letters in order as a cue for
students to read their sentences out loud.
Example: After teaching a unit on Civil War weaponry (8th grade):
J = Just in time for the Civil War, weapons were enhanced by great accuracy
and distance
V = Very fast firing of weapons caused many casualties during the Civil War
Y= Young men were drafted into the war and used guns like rifles and the
Gatling gun.
HOT:
Ask students to complete a “relevance” component to their sentences. For
example, students can create a second sentence to their A-Z Sentence
Summary by completing the sentence starter “This is important because…”
or “This affects us today because…”