My favorite instructional strategy - Middle School

One of my favorite instructional strategies to use in the classroom is summarizing. Summarizing enables to student to reflect on the most important aspects of the lesson or concept. When summarizing, students are forced to look back over the information and make judgments about what is essential to their understanding.

Here are a few ways I implement summarization in the classroom:

• Exit Tickets-Each student is given a note card. Depending on the lesson, there are several things they can do with the notecard.

                    a.     Write 3 important ideas from the lesson
                    b.     Answer a question
                    c.      Write their own question they might have from the lesson

• Write a News Headline about the lesson
• Write a letter to a friend who was absent describing what they missed in class today.
• Write 2 “Ahas!” and 1 “Huh?”
• Sequence or Timeline the concept
• Write a summary of the lesson in a Text or Tweet #LOL
• Definition Summary

                    a.     What is being defined?
                    b.     What category does it belong in?
                    c.      What makes this different from other things in the category?
                    d.     What are some different types or classes of the item being defined?

• 3-2-1…3 main points, 2 details, and 1 question
• $2 Summaries…Give each vocabulary word a 10¢ value, the more expensive the sentence the better. Sometimes I use that as an extra credit opportunity. For, example…$1 sentence =10 points on a daily assignment.
• Alphabet game…Divide the alphabet among the class. Each student must think of one word that would describe the lesson, topic, or concept, using that letter.

If you say the word “Summary,” student will moan and groan…especially in a science classroom. Varying the activity still gives me the upperhand on the strategy and the learning!!

Kim Smith

This is Kim’s 16^th year teaching Middle School science and her 2^nd year in Sunnyvale. She received her undergrad degree from Stephen F. Austin State University in 2000, and her Master’s Degree from The University of Texas A&M–Commerce in 2007.