Card
Gist
Students summarize the main idea, or the “gist,” of content in a clear and concise manner. As students engage with content, they consider the who, what, when, where, why, and how of class content. They write a gist statement summarizing the content in 28 words or fewer.
Gist
Summary
After students complete a lesson, read a text, or watch a video, they compose a summary to identify the essential components: who, what, when, where, why, and how, as well as any other noteworthy details. The ability to summarize involves higher-order thinking, including the analysis of information and the identification of crucial concepts. This strategy can also be used to synthesize ideas from multiple sources.
Procedure
Provide students with content. This can be a lesson, a unit, a reading, or a video.
As students engage with the content, have them think about the who, what, when, where, why, and how of that content.
Students write a summary using 28 words or fewer. (e.g., A 1920s New York tale featuring parties, love, and the American Dream. This tragic tale follows Nick Caraway and his chronicle of the millionaire Gatsby's fascination with Daisy.)
(Optional) If needed, provide students with a copy of the attached Gist template.
The GIST strategy - American University. (n.d.). https://www.american.edu/provost/academic-access/upload/gist-strategy.pdf
Publisher
Downloads
Placement In Lesson
- Evaluate/Assessment
- Explain/Closing
Intention/Purpose
- Analyze
- Critical Thinking
- Evaluate
- Identify
- Interpret
- Organize
- Recognize
- Review
- Summarize
- Writing
Related Resources
Inquiry: Data-Based Decision Making for Student Success
Professional Learning
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 License.
Report copyright infringement »