Procedures:

1. Say: When you are reading a story sometimes you get so excited that you focus on every detail that happened. We have to remember that those details of the story or article take too long to read. We, as readers, learn a process called summarization. We all want to be great readers, which means that we must know how to summarize our readings. When we summarize, we remember the important details that the author wants us to know. Sometimes a text is filled with many words and make it hard for the readers to point out the main point of the story or article. But I know that with practice, you can do it!

2. Say: Did you know that there is one way to summarize? We need to ask ourselves two questions, “what is the text about?” and “what is the main point that the writer is telling us?” This is called about-point summarization. It is easiest to start with an umbrella point consisting of the different ideas the author is writing about.

3. Say: I am going to show you how to create an about-point summarization with a few chunks of our article on the Great Pacific Garbage article. First, I want you to raise your hand if you have swam in the ocean before? (let children raise their hands} Did you ever feel the current of the waves? (let children answer). Do you know where our trash goes when it leaves our house?  An important vocabulary word you will be learning is Convergence Zone. This is where warm water from the South Pacific meets the cooler water from the Arctic. This is where the majority of debris is found.

4. Say: I am going to show you a paragraph from the article we will be reading from. (Displays article on board) We learn that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is bounded by the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. It compares the garbage patch to a vortex of plastic waste and debris. Could you imagine swimming in garbage? (pause) No! How gross would that be? The readers also learn the different currents that form the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. These are 2 key points to make note of.

5. Say: Now I want you to try the about-point method on a paragraph. The gyre can be calm and stable. But the circular motion could bring a plastic water bottle to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. So, I want you to tell me what this paragraph is about! (Let the student answer) That’s right! This paragraph talks about the path of the trash once it enters the ocean. Let’s look at the next paragraph. We read the word, biodegradable. This means that a piece of trash is not able to decompose. I want you to tell me what an example of a biodegradable object is. (wait for response) Great job! Plastic does not decompose in the ocean.

6. Say: I want you to finish reading the article using the about-point method. You need to write a topic sentence for each paragraph. When you have finished, you will have made your first summary of an article! This will help you remember facts you read about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. There will be a quiz when everyone is done writing their summaries.