ISE-10

**Summarizing & Paraphrasing Lesson:**
Summarizing and paraphrasing are two of the most important skills you need to write effectively. Not only should you be able to condense your explanation of a given work into a paragraph or so, but you should be able to rewrite it in your own words. This is especially important when you are working on research papers.

**Step 1:** As a class, discuss the difference between summarizing and paraphrasing. Next, look over the information on the following website:

http://educatoral.com/paraphrase-vs-summarize.html

Make sure that you understand the difference between paraphrasing and summarizing, and what each entails.

**Step 2:** Copy and paste the following paragraphs into a Word document. Be sure to SAVE your Word document.

DOZENS of new students crowded into a lobby of the University of Delaware’s student center at the start of the school year. Many were stylishly attired in distressed jeans and bright-colored sneakers; half tapped away silently on smartphones while the rest engaged in boisterous conversations. Eavesdropping on those conversations, however, would have been difficult for an observer not fluent in Mandarin. That’s because, with the exception of one lost-looking soul from Colombia, all the students were from China.

Among them was Yisu Fan, whose flight from Shanghai had arrived six hours earlier. Too excited to sleep, he had stayed up all night waiting for orientation at the English Language Institute to begin. Like nearly all the Chinese students at Delaware, Mr. Fan was conditionally admitted — that is, he can begin taking university classes once he successfully completes an English program. He plans to major in finance and, after graduation, to return home and work for his father’s construction company. He was wearing hip, dark-framed glasses and a dog tag around his neck with a Chinese dragon on it. He chose to attend college more than 7,000 miles from home, Mr. Fan said, because “the Americans, their education is very good.”

**Step 3:** As a class, paraphrase and then summarize Passage #1. Then, work with a partner to paraphrase and then summarize Passage #2.

**Step 4:** Choose 1 of the following 2 passages and copy it to your Word document.

**Western Civ:** Because the Quran strictly banned the worship of idols, Muslim religious leaders forbade artists to portray God or human figures in religious art. The walls and ceilings of mosques were decorated with elaborate abstract and geometric patterns. The arabesque, an intricate design composed of curved lines that suggest floral shapes, appeared in rugs, textiles, and glassware. Muslim artists also perfected skills in calligraphy. They worked the flowing Arabic script, especially verses from the Quran, into decorations on buildings and objects of art.

**American History:** In May of 1865, with Congress in recess, Johnson announced his own plan, Presidential Reconstruction. He declared that each remaining Confederate state - Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas - could be readmitted to the Union if it would meet several conditions. Each state would have to withdraw its secession, swear allegiance to the Union, annul Confederate war debts, and ratify the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery.

**Step 5:** Create a paraphrase and then a summary on your own or with a partner. After you have finished, compare your paraphrase and summary of this passage with the original text. HIGHLIGHT each word or phrase (not the "little" words--like "the," "and," etc.--only the biggies) that appears in both your work and the original.

**Step 6:** When you are done with Step #5, copy and paste your paraphrase and summary into a post under "Summary & Paraphrase" discussion board. Make sure you include the original passage.

**Step 7:** Look at all of the posts and choose one of them. Reread the original passage, along with this person’s paraphrase and summary. Think about the following questions and respond to them in a wiki post:


 * o How clear was the paraphrase?
 * o How effective was the summary?
 * o Did the student paraphrase and summarize without plagiarizing?
 * o What could they do to be more specific and effective in their paraphrase and summary?

Make sure you identify who you are writing to.

Identifying Main Ideas
Finding the main idea is one of the most important skills that good readers develop. In fiction, this is pretty simple. You can simply use a "Somebody Wants But So" statement. (Cinderella wanted to go to the ball, but her stepmother and stepsisters made her stay home to clean, so a fairy godmother came to her and helped her to finish all of her chores, go to the ball, meet the prince, and live happily ever after).

For non-fiction, this is a little bit trickier. In newspapers, the main idea can usually be found in the headline, and textbooks usually give you a pretty good idea of the main idea (or at least the topic they discuss) in their headings. To get a good picture of the main idea for a nonfiction text, answer the following questions:

WHO/WHAT IS IT ABOUT? WHAT IS THAT PERSON OR THING DOING? WHEN DOES IT TAKE PLACE? WHERE DOES IT TAKE PLACE? WHY IS SOMETHING HAPPENING? HOW IS SOMETHING HAPPENING? WHAT WOULD BE A GOOD HEADLINE (8 words or less) FOR THIS TEXT?

For example, let's try to answer those questions for this text:

//To many parents, the infant's crying may be mainly an irritation, especially if it continues for long periods. But crying serves important functions for the child as well as for the parents. For the child, crying helps improve lung capacity and the respiratory system. Perhaps more important, the cry serves as a signal of distress. When babies cry, they indicate that they are hungry or in pain, and this is important information for parents.//

1. Select and read one of the following articles from upfront magazine:
 * Your Task: **

// Africa's Quiet Resurgence // (September 19, 2011) //Wrong Man on the Gallows?// (May 9, 2011) //China's Labor Pains// (September 6, 2010) //The Price of Young Love// (October 3, 2011) //Lyin' Eyes// (October 24, 2011)

2. Answer the 7 questions above about the article you read. 3. Post your response to each question on the "Identifying Main Idea" discussion board (located under the "discussion" tab for ISE-10). Make sure you identify which article you read, and restate each question in your post.

**Reading Charts & Graphs:**
First, we are going to work together to go over some charts and graphs. Use [|this website]. Then, you will complete a worksheet on charts and graphs. Finally, you will find a real-life example of a chart or graph online and share it with the class through a wiki post (located under the Discussion Tab). Some good places to look include: - [|The New York Times] - [|ESPN] (choose a sport and look under Stats)