McDonalds Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.

Teacher: Jenny Leary

Date: February 9th- February 13th

Title of Lesson: Summarizing Nonfiction

Cooperating Teacher: Mrs. Dierstein

Core Components
Subject, Content Area, or Topic
Language Arts/ Science
Student Population
23 students
Pink and Orange Groups
Book Title: Seeing is Not Believing
Green and Blue Groups
Book Title: Science Answers Light: From Sun to Bulbs
Learning Objectives
Small groups:
Student will be able to skim material from print to develop a general overview or to locate
specific information.
Students will be able to determine the main idea of a text and summarize supporting key
details.
Virginia Essential Knowledge and Skills
5.6 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction texts
c) Skim materials to develop a general overview of content and to locate specific
information.
d) Identify the main idea of nonfiction texts.
e) Summarize supporting details in nonfiction texts.
Materials/Resources
Small Group:
Seeing is Not Believing (Pink and Orange Reading Groups)
Science Answers Light: From Sun to Bulbs (Blue and Green Reading Groups)
Main Idea Graphic Organizer
Pencils
Reading Journals
Big sheets of butcher paper
Tape
Markers
Safety (if applicable)

Time
(min.)
5 min

Process Components
*Anticipatory Set
Monday: Green and Blue reading groups
Tuesday: Pink and Orange reading groups
Exclusion Brainstorming
The teacher will tell students that we will be reading nonfiction literature about light

McDonalds Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.

to go along with our science unit. The teacher will tell students that they are going
to take a minute or two to preview the text. The students will look at the front and
back covers, as well as scan through the pages.
When students are finished there will a series of words on the whiteboard
including:
o Some words that clearly fit the topic
o Others that clearly do not fit the topic
o And others that are ambiguous
Students will have to identify which words they think fit the topic by drawing a line
though those that are not related and drawing a circle around those they think are
related.
Students then will explain or discuss why they chose the way they did based on
what they viewed in the text.
*State the Objectives (grade-level terms)
I will be able to identify the main ideas and summarize the supporting details when
reading nonfiction text.
3 to 5
min

10
min

*Instructional Input or Procedure

The teacher will tell students that we will be working on identifying the main ideas
and summarizing the supporting details when reading nonfiction text. Tell students
that we will be reading parts of their assigned text together.
o Pink and Orange Groups: Seeing is Not Believing pg. 4-7
o Blue and Green Groups: Science Answers Light pg. 4-5
The teacher will pass out the Summarizing Graphic Organizer to all students. Tell
students that we will be using this worksheet to help us organize our thoughts and
to record the main idea and supporting details of nonfiction text.
Before beginning reading, the teacher will ask students why they think it is
important to find the main idea?
o It is important to summarizing.
o We know what the text is mostly about.
o Lets us know we understand the story, etc.
*Modeling
Monday- Green and Blue Groups
Tuesday- Pink and Orange
The teacher will show students a strategy that will help them identify the main idea and
summarize nonfiction text. The teacher will take students through each one of these
steps:
Before I read:
o I will look at the title
o Identify text features
o Ask myself what will this be about?
During the read:
o I will look for key words. These include repeated words, ideas, and
information.
After I read:
o What is the most important idea or thoughts about the topic? What does
the author want me to know about the topic?
The teacher will tell students that there is a difference between
important and interesting details. Important ideas are needed for the
topic and vital to the text. Interesting ideas are fun facts or

McDonalds Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.

10
min

something you find cool or interesting.

What is all the supporting details pointing to?

*Check for Understanding

Graffiti Tables:
The teacher will be checking students main idea sentence before they write it
down on the butcher paper.
The teacher will also check to make sure students have summarized important
details rather than just copying the text when they are group sharing.
*Guided Practice
Monday- Blue and Green Groups
Tuesday- Pink and Orange
Green and Blue Groups
The teacher will have students practice the summarizing strategy the teacher
modeled for them. Student will read pages 6 and 7 in Science Answers Light:
From Sun to Bulbs. Before students begin, ask them what they think this part of
the text will be about? How do you know?
Have students take notes as they read. Students should write down key words
(bolded words, repeated words and information).
Once students finish reading those pages on their own, the group will have a
discussion on what key information students wrote down. As a group we will
identify the main ideas and summarize the supporting details based off the notes
student took during reading.
With information the group found, the teacher will guide students in how they are
to fill out the Summarizing Graphic Organizer.
Pink and Orange Groups
Same as Green and Blue groups except students will be reading from their
assigned text, Seeing is Not Believing. Students will be reading pg. 8 and 9 for
guided practice.

McDonalds Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.

*Independent Practice
Graffiti Tables:
(Teacher Preparation: The teacher will need to find different color butcher paper to cover
the table with for each group. The teacher will cover the table with the paper and tape it
down. The teacher will also need to have markers available for the students to use.)
Each student will be assigned pages in their text to read. The teacher will have
students say out loud what they think their passage will be about. The teacher will
have students write down on the paper their topic.
Once each student has written down the topic, the teacher will tell students that
they can write down important details (not interesting facts!) on the butcher paper
after they have read through their assigned section once. Remind students to look
for key words and repeated information.
After students have finished writing down important details, have each student tell
the teacher what they think their main idea sentence is. The teacher will help
students make any modifications to their main idea sentence if need be. The
students will then write down their main idea sentence on the butcher paper.
If students finish before others, have them start writing interesting facts and
drawing pictures to go along with the facts and their summary.
Once all students have finished their reading, have each student share their main
idea and supporting/important details with the group.
Assessment
Informal assessment: The teacher will be looking at the groups Graffiti posters to
see if students are identifying the main idea and summarizing the important
details. The teacher can use that information to see if any of the groups need to
revisit this objective.
*Closure
Once all groups have completed the graffiti tables, the teacher will meet with the
groups one more time in order summarize the whole book as a group. The teacher
will tell students that each of their main idea sentences will help in creating an
overall summary of the text.
Differentiation Strategies (enrichment, accommodations, remediation, or by learning style).
Learning style:
o This lesson address a variety of learning styles, The graphic organizer will help
students who are more logical and students who are visual as well. The Graffiti
activity is also a great tool for visual and linguistic learners.
Classroom Management Issues (optional)
Make sure students are being responsible with the markers. Students should not be
drawing random images on the butcher paper for the Graffiti activity, but only things that
relate to the text they are reading.

McDonalds Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.