This is a strategy to help students support the main topic with details from the text and be able to identify the difference between the two. The teacher will model the strategy, and then allow students time for guided, partner practice. A two-column graphic organizer can be used to record details in one column and the topic in the other column. Also, copies of a text could be printed and students could highlight details and topic sentences in different colors.

 

If I were to teach this strategy, I would do a short, 10 minute mini-lesson over this strategy where I would model it. I would read a text, such as At the Same Moment Around the World (Perrin, 2014), that has lots of details about one topic. After I read, students share with a partner their thoughts, then we fill out the two-column graphic organizer on chart paper as a class. Students share details, such as “It’s 5 am in Japan right now”, and then we determine the topic from the details, such as “Time is different depending on where in the world you are”. Now, students would be given 20-25 minutes to practice this strategy with a partner using a text of their choice. Depending on the class, it may be useful to pre-select texts that contain multiple details with one clear topic and let students pick from those texts. By doing this, students are given quality books to practice this strategy.

 

Often, when students try to retell or summarize a text, they are bogged down with the little details and trying to remember everything from the text. This strategy helps students narrow their thoughts and focus on the important information from the text, which will be useful for summarizing. In addition to summarizing, this strategy aids students in retelling because they are able to identify the topic and key details to remember and share instead of trying to memorize the text verbatim.