Summarizing/Paraphrasing by the end of this lesson you will be able to summarize and paraphrase

Summarizing  A summary is a short piece of writing about a longer piece. A summary includes only the most important details or main ideas. summary

How to summarize:  1. Pick out the main idea. Ask yourself, “What is this mostly about? What is the most important piece of information?” Ask yourself, “What is this mostly about? What is the most important piece of information?”  2. Ignore supporting details. These are anything that helps to describe the main idea or give additional information. These are anything that helps to describe the main idea or give additional information.  3. Rewrite ONLY the main idea in your own words. idea in your own words.

Just focus on the 5 Ws and the H!   Who?   What?   Where?   When?   Why?   How?   To Summarize, answer these questions!

 Mallory took a road trip around the state of Texas this summer with her family. They visited Houston, Austin, and Dallas. Her family wanted to see as many historical landmarks as possible. Near Houston, they toured the Old Spanish Cemetery, Fort Houston, and Sabine Pass. In the Austin area, they visited Austin College and the Mary Street Stone House. In the Dallas area, they went to the Flippen Homestead, the Alexander Mansion, and the Matthews-Atwood House.  I ask myself, “What is this paragraph mostly about? What is the main idea?

  Who? Mallory   What? Road trip   Where? Texas   When? Summer   Why? Historical Landmarks  N/A  How? N/A  Now, I can write my brief summary. Mallory took a road trip to Texas this summer and visited many historical landmarks. Mallory took a road trip to Texas this summer and visited many historical landmarks.

“The Fox and the Crow” by Aesop (this is a fable) A coal-black crow once stole a piece of meat. She flew to a tree and held the meat in her beak. A fox, who saw her, wanted the meat for himself, so he looked up into the tree and said, “How beautiful you are, my friend! Your feathers are fairer than the dove’s. Is your voice as sweet as your form is beautiful? If so, you must be the queen of birds.” The crow was so happy in his praise that she opened her mouth to show how she could sing. Down fell the piece of meat. The fox seized upon it and ran away.

Group Work   With your group, read the story together.   You will then identify the 5 W’s and the H of the story.   Then you will write a 20-word summary of the article. Maximum of ONLY 20 WORDS!!   Be prepared to present your summary.

Moral of the story   Vanity is largely a matter of self-control, or lack thereof. Others may try to feed our ego, but it is up to us to constrain it.

Paraphrasing  What is paraphrasing? paraphrasing  Paraphrasing is taking a section of a text and restating it in your OWN words.  The paraphrase includes all of the details.

How could we paraphrase this?  Paraphrase the old saying, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”  Don’t just write: “Wait until the chickens have hatched before counting them.”  Instead, examine the idea behind the phrase and restate it in more direct terms.  “Never assume you’ll get something you want until you have it.

So this is how you do it… o Read the passage carefully o Decide the main ideas of the passage o Highlight important words or phrases o Put the main points in your own words

Paraphrase Practice  Write down the following excerpt: Ancient Egyptians believed that Osiris, a good and wise king, was the first pharaoh. He spread knowledge to other parts of the world, while his wife, Isis, ruled Egypt in his place. Ancient Egyptians believed that Osiris, a good and wise king, was the first pharaoh. He spread knowledge to other parts of the world, while his wife, Isis, ruled Egypt in his place. o Now, read the passage carefully o Decide the main ideas of the passage o Highlight important words or phrases o Put the main points in your own words

What did you highlight? Highlighted Passage  Ancient Egyptians believed that Osiris, a good and wise king, was the first pharaoh. He spread knowledge to other parts of the world, while his wife, Isis, ruled Egypt in his place. Original Passage  Ancient Egyptians believed that Osiris, a good and wise king, was the first pharaoh. He spread knowledge to other parts of the world, while his wife, Isis, ruled Egypt in his place.

Good Example of Paraphrasing Original Passage  Ancient Egyptians believed that Osiris, a good and wise king, was the first pharaoh. He spread knowledge to other parts of the world, while his wife, Isis, ruled Egypt in his place. Paraphrased Passage  King Osiris was the first pharaoh and spread knowledge. Queen Isis ruled Egypt when he was gone.

Individual Practice o Now, read the Listening is an Act of Love story carefully o Decide the main ideas of the passage o Highlight important words or phrases o Put the main points in your own words o Be prepared to present your paraphrase.

Quick Review  What is summarizing?  What is paraphrasing?