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Vocabulary Strategy -Magnet Summaries

Amber Kordes
LTM 621
October 4, 2013
Magnet Summaries
In 1993 Doug Buehl developed a strategy to assist students in identifying of the main
concepts and details in text. In this strategy he used the image of a magnet pulling other objects
to it as a way to stimulate background knowledge with students. The Magnet Summaries work
in this same manner as a traditional magnet as students identify the main concepts or Magnet
Words in a text and then identify the details that support this concept with evidence (text to text).
To implement Magnet Summaries in the classroom students are to be given a text to work
with in addition to a determined number of index cards or graphic organizer. Students are
instructed to preview the text to identify the big ideas or vocabulary of the text. Being reminded
that the main terms may be located in headings or in bold depending on the type of text. These
determined vocabulary are the Magnet Words. Magnet Words like a magnet attract the main
details of the text to its meaning. The Magnet Words are then written in the centers of the index
cards, with one per given card. Students then revisit the text with the focus to gain a better
understanding from the text of these Magnet Words. As they uncover evidence to the meaning
of the Magnet Words they write these ideas around the word on the index card. After reading
students are modeled how to create a summary sentence from the details they discovered within
the text. Independently students are then encouraged to work with the details and write a one
sentence, if possible, summary of the Magnet Word. This sentence is then placed on the back of
the card. (Moss,2010)
Magnetic summaries in the classroom can be used for students that learn independently,
linguistically, logically and visual learners. Students are engaged in the task of finding evidence

from within the text to form their own definitions of academic vocabulary and concepts. This
strengthens their ability to sort important details from less important information given in a text.

Use of the Magnet Summaries strategy supports the following 5th Grade Common Core
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.5.4a Use context (e.g., cause/effect relationships and comparisons
in text) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.5.4c Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries,
thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation and determine or clarify the
precise meaning of key words and phrases.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2d Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to
inform about or explain the topic.
Sources:
Author Unknown. Magnet Summary Directions (many variations) Retrieved October 1, 2013.
http://education.fcps.org/ths/sites/default/files/magnetsummarydirections1.pdf
Buehl, D. (2009). Classroom strategies for interactive learning (3rd ed.). Newark, Del.: International
Reading Association.
Moss, B., & Lapp, D. (2010). Writing Summaries of Expository Text Using Magnet Summary Strategy .
Teaching new literacies in grades 4-6: resources for 21st-century classrooms (pp. 321 - 328). New York:
Guilford Press.

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