Do you child’s class notes look more like a novel than quick notation? Effective summarizing should focus on the facts, not the details. If your child is still writing too much in his class notes, help him with this fun activity. Challenge your child to a word count war, and get in a screening of his favorite movie at the same time!
Grade
Subject
Thank you for your input.
What You Need:
- Your child’s favorite movie
- Computer with word processing
What You Do:
- Sit down together and watch the first 30 minutes of the movie. After 30 minutes, have your child take notes on what he has seen so far using a word document on the computer. Remind him to focus on the basics: Who-What-When-Where-Why. When he has finished, use the word count tool to count how many words he’s written. Record the number.
- Sit down to watch the next 30 minutes. When you’ve finished, it’s your turn to take notes on what happened! Your goal is to be under your child’s initial word count by as many words as possible, but to still retain all the important information necessary to understanding what happened. Record the word count, and subtract it from your child’s initial word count. That number is your score.
- Watch the next 30 minutes of the movie together (now’s the time for a popcorn break). After 30 minutes, pause the movie and challenge your child to take notes on what happened, following the same strategy that you did, and trying to keep unnecessary details out, and important ones in. When he’s finished, have him subtract his word count from his initial number, just as you did. The resulting number is his score.
- Compare your scores. Whoever has the higher number wins! But wait: first make sure that each set of notes contains all the necessary information about what happened, who did what, and why. Whoever did the best job of keeping word count down, while still keeping all the important information, is the word count war champ!
- Watch the rest of the movie, and enjoy!
Related learning resources
Thinking About Characters: Literary Response
Worksheet
Thinking About Characters: Literary Response
When students note observations as they read, they gain a deeper understanding of the characters.
4th grade
Reading & Writing
Worksheet
Writing in Response to Reading
Worksheet
Writing in Response to Reading
When students note observations as they read, they gain a deeper understanding of their texts.
4th grade
Reading & Writing
Worksheet
Find the Central Message: Literary Response
Worksheet
Find the Central Message: Literary Response
When students note key observations as they read, they have a better chance at understanding a text's message.
4th grade
Reading & Writing
Worksheet
All About the Rock Cycle
Worksheet
All About the Rock Cycle
Learn about the rock cycle by reading the paragraph and taking a multiple choice quiz.
4th grade
Reading & Writing
Worksheet
Literature Response Prompts
Worksheet
Literature Response Prompts
Let your students choose their own prompts with this reading response exercise.
4th grade
Reading & Writing
Worksheet
Paragraph Sandwich
Worksheet
Paragraph Sandwich
Learn the secret ingredient to a well-organized paragraph in this fun writing exercise!
4th grade
Reading & Writing
Worksheet
Compare and Contrast Fictional Stories: First Day at the New School
Worksheet
Compare and Contrast Fictional Stories: First Day at the New School
In this exercise, your students will compare and contrast two fictional stories with the same characters.
3rd grade
Reading & Writing
Worksheet
Poetry Guide
Worksheet
Poetry Guide
This comprehensive exercise will introduce your students to twelve elements of poetry and six types of poems.
4th grade
Reading & Writing
Worksheet
Rudyard Kipling: What's the Theme?
Worksheet
Rudyard Kipling: What's the Theme?
In this exercise, students will work through a series of steps to identify the theme of a classic story.
4th grade
Reading & Writing
Worksheet
The Similarities in the Stories
Worksheet
The Similarities in the Stories
Use this exercise with your students as they focus on finding the similarities between two short fiction texts.
3rd grade
Reading & Writing
Worksheet
A Tale of Two Texts
Worksheet
A Tale of Two Texts
This compare and contrast exercise will give your students practice recording information about two similar fiction texts.
3rd grade
Reading & Writing
Worksheet
Chocolatey Facts and Opinions
Worksheet
Chocolatey Facts and Opinions
In this yummy exercise, students will differentiate between statements of fact and opinion as they read all about chocolate!
4th grade
Reading & Writing
Worksheet