What is Your Child Learning?
Seventh graders are developing two essential skills: summarizing (condensing an entire text into its main ideas) and paraphrasing (restating a specific passage in completely different words). Both skills are tested on Florida's FAST assessment AND are crucial for research writing without plagiarizing.
These skills help students show they truly understand what they read - not just that they can repeat it.
Key Vocabulary
Summarizing: Condensing an entire text to just its main ideas - much shorter than the original
Paraphrasing: Restating a specific passage using completely different words AND sentence structure
Objective: Based on facts only - no opinions or personal reactions
Essential Information: Main ideas that must be included for understanding
Plagiarism: Using someone else's words as your own - even changing just a few words counts!
Activities to Try at Home
📺 "30-Second Summary" Challenge
After watching a TV show, movie, or YouTube video together:
- Challenge your child to summarize it in 30 seconds or less
- Listen for: Did they get the MAIN idea? Did they skip minor details?
- If they include too much detail, say "Too long - what's the MAIN point?"
- Practice with different lengths: What would you say if you only had 10 seconds?
Why it helps: This builds the skill of identifying what's essential vs. what's interesting but not necessary.
📰 Article Summary Practice
When your child reads articles for school or interest:
- Ask: "If you had to tell Grandma about this in 2 sentences, what would you say?"
- Check: Is it objective (no "I think" or "It was interesting")?
- Ask: "What's the ONE main thing the author wants readers to understand?"
🔄 Paraphrase Challenge Game
Practice putting ideas in new words:
- Read a sentence from anything (book, article, instructions)
- Challenge: "Say that in completely different words"
- Check: Did they change the STRUCTURE as well as the words?
- Make it a game: Can you say the same thing 3 different ways?
Example: "The dog ran quickly across the yard" could become "A fast canine sprinted through the grass" or "Across the lawn, the pup dashed at full speed"
🚫 Plagiarism Detective
Help your child understand what plagiarism really is:
- Show them: Changing just a few words is STILL plagiarism
- Test: "Would a teacher recognize this came from the original?"
- Trick: Cover the original, then write. Compare after - if too similar, try again!
Questions to Ask About Reading
- For summaries: "What's the ONE main idea?" "Can you say it shorter?"
- For objectivity: "Did you include any opinions, or just what the text says?"
- For paraphrases: "Can you say that in completely different words?"
- For plagiarism check: "Would a teacher know this came from the original?"
- For essential vs. non-essential: "Could someone understand the main point without that detail?"
Parent Tip: The Key Difference
Students often confuse summarizing and paraphrasing. Here's the simplest way to explain it:
SUMMARIZING = Main ideas of the WHOLE text (like a movie trailer - just the highlights)
- Much shorter than original
- Leaves out most details
PARAPHRASING = ALL the information from ONE part, in new words (like translating to a different language)
- About the same length as original
- Keeps all the details, changes all the words AND sentence structure
Understanding Objective Summaries
Objective (Good)
- "The article explains..."
- "The author argues that..."
- "The study found..."
- "The text describes..."
Subjective (Avoid)
- "I thought it was interesting..."
- "This was a good article..."
- "I learned that..."
- "Everyone should read this..."
Informacion para Padres (Spanish Summary)
Que esta aprendiendo su hijo? Los estudiantes de septimo grado aprenden dos habilidades:
- Resumir: Condensar un texto completo a sus ideas principales (mucho mas corto)
- Parafrasear: Reescribir un pasaje especifico con palabras completamente diferentes
Actividades en casa:
- Despues de ver una pelicula: "Resumelo en 30 segundos"
- Practiquen decir la misma oracion de 3 formas diferentes
- Verifiquen: Cambio las palabras Y la estructura de la oracion?
Punto clave: Cambiar solo unas palabras ES plagio. El verdadero parafraseo requiere cambiar AMBOS - las palabras Y como esta escrita la oracion.
Para resumenes objetivos: No debe incluir opiniones como "Fue interesante" - solo lo que dice el texto.