Summarizing+&+Note+Taking

Summarizing & Note Taking = = =Read and Reflect=

I find summarizing to be important when students are interacting with science and social studies content. When students are summarizing big ideas, I know where they have gaps in understanding and what they really remember about a topic. I gain this knowledge based on what they think is important enough to share when giving a summary. Sometimes science and math misconceptions also come out of those details. I also have students summarize what another student just said. This shows me an additional student understand a topic and that they were listening.

Summarizing helps my students digest information, place it in their memory banks, and then recall that information at a later date. It forces them to remember what they have learned, decide on what is important, and place the big idea into their own words. These are tasks that are not easily accomplished by students.

Currently, I do not do very much to assist students in the process of summarizing. I remember doing a lot of this modeling when I was teaching language arts, but I do not spend as much time on it now that I am teaching math, science, and social studies.


 * Apparently after reading this section, summarizing is not something that is taken lightly. There are definite steps that can be taught to students that will help assist them when they summarize. This goes way beyond what I have done in my classroom in the past. The steps seem to be laid out for a student much older than 4th grade. I would have to find resources that speak to a younger age group.

The questions I have about summarizing in my classroom are where can I find ways to model summarizing in science and social studies? And what are some resources that will assist younger students in summarizing?

4th grade is the first time that students are asked to take a lot of notes. I tell my students that writing the information is another way for them to interact with the new topics. They hear the information and writing the information is another way of putting the big ideas into their brains. They hate to hear it, but that is what I always say when the groans start. Plus I say that their notes is an additional place where their parents can look when it comes to help them with their work.

My personal style for taking notes is to put down just definitions and big ideas. I do not want the students to write more than they have to, but I want them to get the big picture. I often try to have the notes simply contain short phrases rather than complete sentences to help speed up the note-taking process. If I write it, it is important, so you have to write it too. I always think that I should go back through the notes, highlight what is really, really important as we move throughout a unit, but I never seem to return to that step.

To help students take notes, I prepare them for how many sentences they will have to write. It seems to settle them when they know how much to expect. I also place the notes large on the board so that they can easily be read by all students. I also print out to the notes for absent students so that they do not miss this important instruction.

Two questions I have about note taking are What is an appropriate amount of note taking for 4th graders? And how can I make note taking purposeful days after we have written the notes?

=Apply and Reflect=

I found VoiceThread to be pretty easy to use. I am not sure about the best way to utilize it in my classroom. It can sometimes be a hassle to have students all go down to the computer lab to do something like this application, but on the other hand if you ask them to do it at home you have a million excuses why they cannot complete it. Plus, if students know they have a big online audience, the clowns will surely come out.

With that said, there are some really promising aspects to VoiceThread. First, some students are good writers and some are good talkers. VoiceThread allows students to do either. They can choose to participate in any way that they feel comfortable. I can also think of a few academic applications. Students could summarize how a certain picture describes the big idea that we have been learning about. If I was using the application in that way, I would probably moderate the comments and keep them all hidden until everyone has shared. That way I wouldn’t have students copying off of each other. I would also maybe have students create their own slide shows and have their peers summarize or comment on what they are observing. This might also be useful in 5th grade when I teach American History, because students can observe the old paintings of different historical events and discuss what is happening in them. It might also be a good location for students to observe math problems where students made mistakes and then they can describe where the mistake is occurring. When students can spot mistakes, I know that really understand the concept.

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=Deeper Reflection=

This evening has caused me to think more about having my students complete summarizing activities. After speaking with my partner, I have begin to consider that even the simplest of summarizing activities will help build a foundation for future more intense summarizing practices. I usually say, "If I write it, you write it." I think it would be best to address the introduction of formalized summarizing with my teaching partner. We should develop the same strategy and provide a united front when introducing these concepts to the students. The summarizing the smallest of reading selections would help support student learning. I also would like to explore Thinking Maps more in depth in order to see how using them would help support student learning. It would be interesting to observe how implement just a few will impact the classroom.