Reading-to-Learn:
Four Score and Summary Years Ago…
Rationale:
As students gain proficiency in reading, the next step and goal is to be able to correctly comprehend texts. One of the best ways to test reading comprehension is through summary, which means gathering information from a text, processing it, and re-explaining the main points in the reader’s own words. To do this, the reader can use the about-point method and must ask two things: what is the text about? And what is/are the main point(s) the author is trying to emphasize regarding this topic? The first question is easy to answer, because it is normally fairly explicit within the text, and this becomes the subject of the topic sentence. The second question requires more critical thinking because students must “subordinate” the main points by compiling them and filing them under a larger umbrella term. This question becomes the predicate of the topic sentence, stating its intentions. In this lesson, students will learn how to create their own topic sentences that accurately represent their comprehension of the text.
Materials:
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If the Walls Could Talk: Family Life at the White House by Jane O’Connor (2004)
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Paper and pencils for assessments
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Comprehension Quiz
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Summarization Checklist for teacher
Procedures:
1. Say: “Now that we have become skilled readers who can read quickly and easily, we need to learn how to show what we’ve discovered by reading the text and figure out what the text is saying. This is called comprehension! One way that we can grow our comprehension is through summarizing, which means that we take all of the important points from a text and distill them down and reword them in our own words in a few sentences. In a little bit, we are going to read part of a book called ‘If the Walls Could Talk’, which talks about almost all the different presidents and what it was like to live in the White House. What makes it neat is that it is all focused on the White House and how it stays the same throughout the years while the presidents come and go. Its called “”If the Walls Could Talk” because so many interesting events have happened in this important building!”
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2. "When we summarize, we are going to use the about-point method, which means that we are going to ask ourselves two questions: What is this text about? And what is the main point the author is trying to tell us? Let’s read the opening paragraph of this book and let’s see what we can get out of it:"
'It was George Washington who chose the design of the White House. He also chose the location of the capital, the heart of the new nation and home of the new Congress. He wanted the capital to be near Mount Vernon, his home in Virginia, and so it was. He was embarrassed that t was named ‘Washington’; he preferred ‘Federal City’, although it wasn’t much of a city yet. There were only 3,000 people, 2 unpaved streets, and no trees, and most of the houses were little more than wooden shacks.'
Next, model the about-point method. Say "Now let's try that about-point method! What is this paragraph about and what is the main topic? Well, we just learned that it's talking about George Washington and the creation of the White House and Washington D.C. Next, what are the main points the author wants us to know? With a little bit of thinking about the passage and remembering, we see that George Washington planned both and wanted them to be a central location, but felt like the city didn’t deserve to be named in his honor!"
3. Say: “Before we start reading the rest of this book, I’ll explain a new word you’ll see in the text. This word is ‘tenant’, and a tenant is someone who is living in a house or place. Normally, tenants only stay for a short period of time, and aren’t permanent residents because they rent or borrow it from the person who owns it. Here’s an example from the book:”
‘The first tenants, John Adams and his wife, Abigail, moved into the [White] [H]ouse in 1800. The roof leaked; most windows had no glass; and planks lead to the front door’.
Say: “Because the job of being the president is not a life-long job, John Adams and his wife moved into the White house after George Washington stepped down. Since the White House stays with the job instead of the person, all of the presidents after John Adams were tenants of the White House for the duration of their term. Let’s try another example using the vocabulary word. I’ll give you a few different people and you’ll tell me which one seems more like a tenant. Is a tenant more like a hotel owner or someone who lives in an apartment? [latter] Is a tenant more likely to live in a place for a few months or years, or their whole life? [generally shorter time]
4. NOTE: For lesson timing and assessment purposes, have students read the first 6 pages. More quiz questions can be created and assigned later if necessary. This book is excellent for continued discussion, because every page discusses a different president, and this can spark curiosity to keep reading.
5. Explain that the students will read the book and then answer the comprehension questions. Then say: “I want you to read the first few pages of If the Walls Could Talk, and then use the about-point strategy to help you answer the quiz questions and make your own topic sentences. Make sure you take information from different paragraphs and pick out the most meaningful information. Make sure to restate the main points in your own words, don’t just use the author’s words!”
6. Have students read If the Walls Could Talk, then pass out the comprehension quizzes, and keep the summarization checklist for yourself to check their progress.
Assessment:
After the students have completed their book summaries, collect them and evaluate their summarization ability with this checklist:
__ Contains important information
__ Reduced text from original
__ Ignored trivial information from the paragraphs
__ Contained an idea from each paragraph
__ Organized summary into a paragraph or a few sentences
Quiz:
1. Did George Washington get to see the White House completed and did he live in it? Why or why not?
[ Potential Answer: No, he never saw the finished White House or lived in it because he died in the 8 years it took to build and complete it.]
2.As the new tenants, do you think that John and Abigail Adams were comfortable living in the White House?
[Potential Answer: Probably not, because it was still unfinished when they moved in. Windows were not put in, the roof leaked, and there was only one small outhouse.]
3. What are two reasons Thomas Jefferson was sad during his time at the White House?
[Note: this one needs a little bit more student inference and critical thinking because one part is mentioned in the text and the other can be assumed. Potential Answer: He was sad because the design that he created for the White House was not picked and used (in text)), and because his wife died before he became president, so he was lonely (implied) and had his daughter’s families visit him often (in text).]
4. Why did British troops set fire to the White House during James Madison’s presidency?
[Potential Answer: America was fighting the British in the war of 1812, and the British invaded the capital, Washington DC.]
5. Who was the president who rebuilt the White House? Did they change anything about it?
[ James Monroe rebuilt it, and it took two years to compete. He and his wife restocked/redecorated the rooms with beautiful French furniture.]
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References:
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“The Surprise of the Summarize!” by Emily Rutledge
https://sites.google.com/view/elr0018/reading-to-learn​
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Jane O’Connor (2004). If the Walls Could Talk: Family Life at the White House. New York:Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
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