Writing the 25-Word Abstract
Overview
Students read a short story and try to summarize it in 25 words. This is great to teach them to focus on the main ideas from readings.
Anthology
Lesson Plan
- Have students individually read a text their small group has chosen and highlight main ideas and difficult vocabulary.
- Have students work in small groups, first to clarify vocabulary, using each other's thinking and other clasroom resources.
- Have group members take turns presenting their highlighted main ideas as well as their reasons for selecting them.
- Ask groups to discuss and reach consensus about which are the key points.
- Have students individually write an abstract of twenty-five words or less that includes the key points selected by their group.
- Have students take turns presenting their abstract to their group members.
- Ask group members to discuss differences among their abstracts and then agree on and write a group abstract of twenty-five words or less on a poster.
- Have groups post their abstracts and rotate around the room reading the abstracts of the other groups. On sticky notes, have groups rate each poster, including their own, on the clarity, conciseness, and cohesiveness of the information in the abstract. After all abstracts have been rated, lead a class discussion in which students surface the qualities that led them to rate an abstract as successful.
Modified Lesson Plan adapted from Schoenbach, Ruth, et al. Reading for Understanding: How Reading Apprenticeship Improves Disciplinnary Learning in Secondary and College Classrooms. Second Edition, WestEd, 2012, p. 223.