Teaching summarizing and paraphrasing?

Hello colleagues, What is the role of summarizing and paraphrasing in supporting students to achieve the standards? We see "paraphrasing" explicitly mentioned in Writing Standard 8 Levels C and D, with an emphasis on avoiding plagiarism, which is important, but I see these skills as critical in other writing standards as well. For instance, if we are to write effective arguments, we usually need to summarize and paraphrase, as well as analyze and synthesize, various points of view. 

Here is a short video excerpt of a professional development session from New York's Teaching to the Core in which teachers discuss teaching summarizing and paraphrasing. I like the graphic organizer they use in the video (see below). On the left side of the graphic organizer, students choose a quote from a text to add to the graphic organizer. Students then add a paraphrase of the quote on the right side. Teacher would, of course, first want to model how to do this by thinking aloud. Also, I would say there are benefits of having students working together on their paraphrasing, just as the teachers in the video do.

Paraphrasing a Text
Copy a quote from the text here  Paraphrase the text here          
   
   

 What are your thoughts about the importance of teaching summarizing and paraphrasing? What are some effective ideas for teaching these skills?

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, College and Career Standards CoP

 

Comments

Hello everyone, Learning to paraphrase can be difficult for many learners, and HSE teachers can find teaching this skill challenging. We know that being able to paraphrase well is needed, not only to pass an HSE, but also when enrolled in postsecondary academic courses. Teachers may want to check out the resources developed by the Minnesota Gear Up Writing project, specifically focused on teaching paraphrasing. You can find a review and a link to the webinar as well as instructional handouts in the LINCS Resource Collection.

I'm teaching paraphrasing in my class now, so I'm considering adapting these materials. Let us know how you might use these materials with the students you are working with.

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, College and Career Standards CoP

Many of the students I work with recognize the difference between these two, but many fight the urge to quote an author at great length when paraphrasing. I work to facilitate their conception of their writing as a critical and conversational act. "Assume that your audience is intelligent, but uninformed." Where do you come into the conversation? Are you an active participant in the conversation? If not, are you letting the author's work stand as yours?