SUMMARY SKILLS
Learn/Understand:
This week we are going to be learning a skill that will help with our future magazine submission assignment. We will be learning how to write an effective summary.
If you've ever gone over time on a presentation in class or if you've ever bored your mom to tears giving a word-for-word description of a book you just read then maybe, just maybe, you could use a little practice at getting better at summaries! And that's great because being able to succinctly summarize information is an awesome real-life skill that you will use in your adult life! I've never used long division as an adult (I literally had to re-learn the skill when my kids hit 4th grade math) BUT I use summarizing skills all the time. Sorry to all you math people, don't be sad, I'm sure you can use long division as an adult too.
Summaries show up when you read a headline -- a one sentence main idea of the news article that lets you know if you want to read further. A summary can be a blurb on the back of the book that leaves you wanting more or could be a table of contents in a book or magazine. Summaries can be about a play, book, concert or sporting event or writing up notes from a young women/men meeting or work meeting.
Summaries are also playing a part in writing a resume cover letter, an obituary or when watching a movie trailer! Summaries are all over the place.
I like this concise video about how to write a summary. Take notes as you watch so you can refer to your notes when doing your writing assignment:
Know/Do
Now we are going to practice those skills. Sign up for a fairy tale that we are all familiar with on this google doc -- I'm guessing most of us are familiar with the Disney version so stick with that if possible. Write a summary of this fairy tale for your assignment. I want you to sign up for a fairy tale that you know so well that you can retell it in a summary without looking up the story online because if you look it up online guess what you'll find: a summary! and that would be a little TOO helpful. If you need to rewatch the move, or re-read a storybook as part of your homework and take notes as you go then that is totally fine and even encouraged. Just don't google for the plot.
Finally, I want you to try writing a different kind of summary. The first activity was very factual and information based. This type of summary can be more creative. I want you to write your own obituary -- this shouldn't feel morbid, an obituary is a beautiful summary of a person's life. What would you want included? What things matter to you that you want remembered?
Go to this site to read recent obituaries to notice the format and types of details others use. Notice how while there is a similar format to follow, the information people choose to include can vary greatly, making this a more creative summary.
That's it! Come prepared to read yours aloud in class :D
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