Mini-Lesson

Paraphrasing

Mini-Lesson: Grades 4-6

Objective: Students will practice paraphrasing what they read.

1. Ask students to raise a hand if they have ever played Donkey Kong or Super Mario Bros. Explain that they will be reading an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, the video game designer who developed both of those games. Tell students that one way of making sure that you focus as you read is to think about how you would explain what you are reading to somebody else. Retelling something in your own words, or paraphrasing, also helps you to remember what you read.

2. Pass out the timeforkids.com story, The Wizard of Wii. Have students read the first question-answer pair independently. Then, demonstrate the steps they would take in order to paraphrase the answer. First, I read the question so I knew what to focus on. Then, I circled the most important phrases or details in the answer. I circled "make my own toys and games" and "recreate these games." Now, I am able to explain this answer in my own words in a shorter, simpler way: "When Shigeru Miyamoto was a kid, he made up his own games based on ones that already existed."

3. Have students number the rest of the question-answer pairs, one through 14. Divide students into pairs. One person in each pair will read and paraphrase the odd-numbered answers; the other person will read and paraphrase the even ones. Encourage students to retell what they read in their own words.

4. Discuss how it went. Ask: Did paraphrasing become easier with practice? Were some answers more challenging to paraphrase than others? Did knowing that you were going to explain what you read help you to focus?