Strategy Number 6: SUMMARIZING AND NOTE TAKING

Title: Rule Based Strategy1

Basics:
Time Needed:
Room
Arrangements
:
Materials:

Depends on length of material being

summarized. More than 5 minutes.
No special room arrangements needed.

No materials needed. A step-by-step

reminder may be given to students for
the strategy.

Process Directions:

To use the rule based strategy in the classroom, the teacher must first model the process
to the students.
During this strategy, the student will first delete any material that does not hold
significant importance in creating a summary or it is unnecessary.
The student will then delete any reoccurring information.
The student will then create a term that replaces lists within the material.
Finally, the student will select a topic sentence or they may have to create one if there is
not one easily found.

When/Example

A teacher may use this strategy for several content areas including English Language
Arts, Science, and Social Studies.
This strategy is used to help students effectively summarize material they are learning
about.

1 Brown, A. L., Campione, J.C., & Day, J. (1981). Learning to learn: On training
students to learn from texts. Educational Research, 64(3), 363-423.

Summarize using the Rule Based Strategy

1. Delete: get rid of any information that does not serve

significant purpose in the understanding of the material.

2. Delete: get rid of any information that is stated multiple
times, even if it is said in different ways.
3. Substitute: when there are lists within the material,
substitute the list of words for a single term that describes
those words. (i.e., sports for golf, soccer, and hockey)
4. Select/Create: find a topic sentence in the material, but if
you cannot find a topic sentence, create your own.