Frayer model

Four boxes around concept: essential characteristics, nonessential characteristics, examples, nonexamples. See Wormeli, Summarization in Any Subject

This worked well for summarizing primal religions.

Could be useful for abstract concepts, like absolutism or constitutionalism.

Have students write it on the board so they can compare.

P-M-I

See Wormeli. Good for getting discussion on ethical isses, e.g., evaluation Peter the Great's westernization program

3-2-1

Three questions, the first calling for three answers, the next for two, the last for one.

For example:

What were three scientific discoveries in the Scientific Revolution?
What were two ways in which those discoveries affected people's lives?
What is one aspect of life not affected by those discoveries?

Create a test

Have students write test questions.

Crossword puzzles

Students usually think these are fun

Point of View

Ask students to describe material studied (a narrative, a way of life, a set of beliefs), from a particular point of view. e.g., describe modern American society from a Hopi point of view, describe Lincoln's emancipation policy from various political viewpoints

Partners A and B

Divide students into pairs. Partner A talks for one minute about everything he/she remembers or that occured to him/her on the topic. Then Partner B talks, but cannot repeat anything that Partner A said.

Good for processing/summarizing after lectures and discussions, when it's less about specific facts and more about general ideas. Also good for on-the-fly, in the middle of a lecture, say.

Concrete spelling

Ask students to write a term in a pictoral way, which reflects the meaning of the word (See Wormeli, Summarization in Any Subject, for examples)

Share one-get one

Students get or draw a nine-by-nine grid. In the top three squares, they put three facts or ideas from the lecture, reading, or other material. They then walk around and compare notes with other students. They fill in the blank squares, copying from other students--no student may contribute more than one idea to a given student, and no student may repeat any ideas in his/her squares.