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the maximum number of words in the Gist statement is fourteen.

       I Do, and You Watch

      Mr. O. displays the first part of the short text he has chosen to use in this lesson and asks the students to read it to themselves. (For example, see The 100 Greatest Track and Field Battles of the Twentieth Century; Hollobaugh, 2012.)

      “Bob Beamon was an American track-and-field athlete. His event was the men’s long jump. He was one of two athletes who represented the United States in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. He was the overall favorite to win the gold medal.”

      When they have finished reading it, he says, “I am going to write a Gist statement for this part of the text, so you can see how it works.”

      Mr. O. hides the text and displays fourteen blanks on a projector. (Mr. O. could also use a whiteboard, a chalkboard, or any other means to display the blanks big enough for students to see.) He thinks out loud: “It seems pretty important to give his name.”

      He writes Bob Beamon in the first two blanks.

      He continues, “I think I should also include that he was in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.”

      He writes those words in the next eight blanks and counts how many blanks he has left—four. (See figure 4.1.)

      Figure 4.1: Sample Gist statement.

      “There are lots of events in the Olympics,” he says. “I think it’s important to say that he was in the long jump. It sounds better to me to put that in before I tell about the Olympics.”

      He removes the four blanks at the end, puts a caret (^) between was and in the 1968 Olympics, inserts four blanks above the caret, and writes in the long jump in those blanks. (See figure 4.2.)

      Figure 4.2: Sample Gist statement with revisions.

      He says, “Uh oh, I don’t have any blanks left, but I haven’t told that he represented the United States. I think that’s very important, don’t you? What can I do about that? You know, I think it’s more significant that he was on our Olympic team than where the Olympics took place that year.”

      He removes the three blanks with the words in Mexico City in them. Then, he places a caret between was and in the long jump, inserts three blanks above the caret, and writes for the United States in those blanks. He looks at what he has written. (See figure 4.3.)

      Figure 4.3: Sample Gist statement with revisions.

      “I don’t like was anymore. I’m going to put a word there that tells what he actually did for the United States. He competed for the United States in the Olympics,” he says.

      He removes the word was from the blank and writes in competed instead. Mr. O. leaves his summary sentence displayed and also displays the first part of the text again, saying, “Look at my Gist statement. Do you see how I summarized the most important ideas in the beginning of the passage?” (See figure 4.4.)

      Figure 4.4: Sample completed Gist statement.

      Mr. O. asks if anyone has a suggestion to make his Gist statement better. One student asks if the Olympics has a women’s long jump event. When Mr. O. says it does, the student says he thinks the summary sentence should say “in the men’s long jump.” He asks if anyone can figure out how to remove a word somewhere so he can add men’s, but no one can. Finally, a student says that since Bob is a man’s name, they don’t need to add men’s. Mr. O. and most students nod in agreement.

       TIP

      Gist always works better when students work on their Gist statements from memory. Students will read the text more carefully if they know they will be working from memory, and they are more likely to use words like competed in their Gist statements that aren’t in the text. If students begin arguing over what the text says, show them the text so far and let them read it again, but hide it once more while they work on their summary sentence.

       I Do, and You Help

      Mr. O. says, “Now, I am going to write a Gist statement for the first two parts of the text. But this time, I want you to help me decide what to write and when I need to make changes.”

      Mr. O. displays the first two parts of the text and asks the students to read it to themselves. He reminds them to read it carefully, since he will hide the text while they work on the Gist statement.

      “Bob Beamon was an American athlete in track and field. His event was the men’s long jump. He was one of two athletes who represented the United States in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. He was the overall favorite to win the gold medal. He barely made it to the finals because he scratched twice before making a jump that was good enough. The other finalists were men who had won the two previous Olympic gold medals and a third man who had won the bronze medal twice. In the finals on October 18, Beamon made a great jump to win the gold medal.”

      Mr. O. hides the text and displays fourteen blanks. He asks, “Who can start our Gist statement?”

      After a pause, a student suggests, “Let’s start with his name again.”

      Mr. O. writes Bob Beamon in the first two blanks. He says, “Let’s talk about what you think are the most important things to make sure we include in our summary sentence.”

      After a discussion, the students agree that they still should tell that he was in the 1968 Olympics and his event was the long jump. He adds those words to the statement. (See figure 4.5.)

      Figure 4.5: Sample Gist statement.

      “We have to tell that he won!” exclaims a student.

      So, Mr. O. erases was in, writes won, and adds a blank at the end. Another student says it wasn’t just that he won, but that he won a gold medal. Finally, Mr. O. asks if he should include what country Beamon represented. Students agree he should. When they can’t figure out how to say that in the two blanks they have left, he suggests adding American Bob Beamon at the beginning and rearranging the clauses at the end. The students relax, clearly impressed with the Gist statement they have helped compose. (See figure 4.6.)

      Figure 4.6: Sample Gist statement with revisions.

      Mr. O. says, “Very good. You did it and with a blank left over! Now, let’s write one more Gist statement. This time, we’ll summarize the whole text.”

      “Bob Beamon was an American athlete in track and field. His event was the men’s long jump. He was one of two athletes

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