GIST: Establishing Comprehension |
The word "gist" is defined as "the main or essential part of a matter,"according to Webster's Dictionary.
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- This activity forces students to squeeze meaning into a tight, precise summary.
- The goal of GIST is to have students convey the "gist" of what they have read by summarizing the text in 20 words. Extraneous details must be discarded as a clearly defined focus is found. It is best to require a sentence format.
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Directions:
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1. Read 3-5 paragraphs of text.
2. Capture a summary in a sentence of exactly 20 words.
3. Repeat with the next 3-5 paragraphs. The second gist statement becomes a combination of the material in the first gist statement and the new material. However, the second statement is still limited to exactly 20 words.
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- Best suited for both expository and narrative text. For a novel, for example, have students write a gist statement for each chapter and revise the gist after every new chapter. Finally, they will have a gist statement of the whole book. For a textbook, have students write a gist statement for each section, then revise statements for a gist statement of the chapter.
- Good strategy for any level reader.
- Students develop skills in identifying main ides and key concepts in expository text and theme, plot and characters in narrative text.
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Other Resources
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GIST Example
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