Meatballs, Go Away!
Reading To Learn
Rationale: A major goal of
reading is comprehension. In order to comprehend meanings of
written text, there are certain techniques that students can use in
order to have a better understanding of what they are reading.
One of the best techniques a student can use is summarization, because
it is important for children to be able to locate the most important
information from the text.
Materials: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
by Judi Barrett (enough copies for each student)
1. REMEMBER WHEN WE DISCUSSED SILENC READING? ask what it
is/take answers SILENT READING IS READING TO YOURSELF SO YOU CAN
HEAR THE WORDS IN YOUR HEAD. WHEN WE READ SILENTLY, OUR VOICES
SHOULD NOT BE HEARD BYOUR NEIGHBOR BECAUSE THEY ARE SO SOFT. TURN
TO THE FIRST PAGE OF YOUR BOOK AND LET'S PRACTICE READING IT SILENTLY.
2. TODAY WE ARE GOING TO READ Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
I WANT YOU TO PRETEND I HAVE NEVER READ THIS STORY. HOW CAN YOU
TELL ME WHAT THIS STORY IS ABOUT WITHOUT RETELLING THE WHOLE
STORY? RIGHT! GIVE ME A SUMMARY! JUST A REMINDER A
SUMMARY IS WHEN YOU GIVE THE MAJOR PARTS OF A STORY WITHOUT RETELLING
EVERY SINGLE DETAIL. (Give the students a chance to give the
definition of a summary first.) ON THE BOARD I HAVE WRITTEN THE
STEPS YOU SHOULD USE WHEN SUMMARIZING: a. Find all of the main
points b. Take out small details that are not
important c. Put together any ideas that are the same so
you do not repeat yourself.
3. AT YOUR DESK, READ THE BOOK SILENTLY. BE THINKING ABOUT
THE MOST IMPORTANT DETAILS OF THE STORY. Give students about
15-20 minutes to read silently.
4. When they finish reading, they should begin answering the
questions Who, What, Where, When , Why, and How. LET'S TALK ABOUT
THESE FIVE QUESTIONS. WHAT DOES 'WHO' ANSWER? take
responses RIGHT, IT IS WHO THE CHARACTERS ARE. WHAT ABOUT
'WHAT'? GOOD! IT TELLS WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE
STORY. STOP AT THAT QUESTION. THIS IS WHERE WE WANT TO GIVE
OUR SUMMARY. MAKE SURE YOU TELL THE AUDIENCE THE MOST IMPORTANT
THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING AND YOU DON'T WANT TO TELL TOO MUCH.
5. While students are writing, go around the room to make sure
they are on the right track. (Give them about 15 mins. to
write) When you finish your summary, draw a picture of your
Assessment: Sutdents should share theyr summaries with a
partner. They should compare summaries deleting useless
information or adding important details. They should also make sure
that their partner has answered the questions, Who, What, When , Where,
and Why. I will go over the papers when they finish.
Edberg, Kellie. "It's
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