Summarization Skills and
the use of the Effective
Quote in Student Writing
Chippewa River Writing Project Summer Institute 2015
Contentions
▪ I believe that when students leave my classroom they should be
competent in college level writing strategies including
summarization skills and use of quotations in writing. In addition,
these skill sets should be revisited every year and often.
▪ I believe that writing instruction conducted in language arts
classrooms should give students the tools and knowledge to write
competently in other subject areas and in other arenas.
▪ I believe that academic writing can be some of the most
important writing students do in their high school career.
Experiences as a High School Teacher and
Graduate Assistant
▪ The skill of summarizing has been lost and forgotten in the
minds of students.
▪ The art of using quotations meaningfully in student writing is
not an easy process for students, and they do not come by it
naturally.
▪ As a language arts teacher, I believe it is important that
these skill are introduced, practiced and eventually
mastered.
▪ I was inspired to develop a basic writing unit to be
introduced to the English 9 classroom in the first few weeks
of the school year.
The Basic Writing Skills Unit
▪ Grammar
▪ Mechanics
▪ Summarization, paraphrasing and the use of quotations
▪ Citation and documentation
▪ Creation of a writing skills manual that they will use as a
reference throughout the year and beyond.
– Example on Pinterest
Goal: The skills and information will be used in a variety of units and
retaught, reviewed and revisited.
Note: Students will always be introduced to skills within larger
units. This way they are being taught the skills within context and
not in a vacuum.
Summary Activity
– Non Fiction Friday
▪ Every student will receive a note taking guide.
▪ Read the article.
▪ Each student will answer the questions on a guide.
– Hint: Read the article and turn it over. Write down what you
remember so that your ideas are in your own words. You can look
back, but when you continue to write, flip your article over. That
way you don’t copy.
▪ Next, on a google doc, write your summary. Don’t forget transitions
and a topic sentence.
▪ Share with a partner on google.docs
Definition of a Summary
▪ a brief statement or account of the main
points of something.
▪ dispensing with needless details or
formalities; brief.
5W and 1 H Summarization Strategy
▪ Who? Who are the primary or most important people? Who are
the secondary people? Who participated? Who is affected?
▪ What? What is the topic of the text? What is its significance?
What is the problem? What are the issues? What happened?
▪ Where? Where did the event occur? Where is the setting?
Where is the source of the problem?
▪ When? When did the event occur? When did the problem begin?
When is it most important?
▪ Why? Why did the event, issue, or problem occur? Why did it
develop the way it did? How? How is the lesson, problem, or issue
important?
▪ How can the problem be resolved? How does it affect the
participants or characters identified in the Who question?
Tips on using this Strategy
▪ Do we need to answer all the questions?
▪ Do we need to write in complete sentences?
Peer Editing Questions
▪ Does the summary have a topic
sentence?
▪ Does it have the key ideas of the
article?
▪ Does the write use proper punctuation?
▪ Does it make sense?
The Art of Quotation
▪ Students will receive and excerpt from a piece of literature.
▪ Choose a quote you would like to use and explain
▪ Use the quote sandwich
– See handout
▪ Fill out handout in short phrases
▪ Based on the information in your quote sandwich handout, the
quote sandwich.
– Use the given quote sandwich
– Try one on your own
▪ It’s okay if your explanation of the quote is different from your
classmates.
▪ Share
The Delicious Quotation Sandwich
Basic Template
▪ In chapter X ________________ states,
“_________________________________________.” In other words he
is saying that ___________________________________.
Create your own!
▪ In chapter X ________________ states,
“_________________________________________.” In other words he
is saying that ___________________________________.
What other word could you use for state?
What other phrase could you use to introduced your ideas, or the bottom layer of
your sandwich?
Verbs to use in your quote sandwich
▪
Argue
▪
Admire
▪
Question
▪
Assert
▪
Agree
▪
Refute
▪
Believe
▪
Endorse
▪
Reject
▪
Claim
▪
Extol
▪
Renounce
▪
Emphasize
▪
Praise
▪
Implore
▪
Insists
▪
Complain
▪
Plead
▪
Observe
▪
Complicate
▪
Recommend
▪
Reminds us
▪
Contend
▪
Urge
▪
Reports
▪
Contradict
▪
warn
▪
Suggests
▪
Deny
▪
Acknowledge
▪
Qualify