Summarizing and Explaining Group Discussions

When your class talks about a topic, lots of people share their thoughts. Your job is not just to listen. You also need to pick out the most important points and explain your own ideas in a way that makes sense. This lesson will show you how to summarize a group discussion and explain your thinking with good reasons.

To summarize means to take a lot of talking and shrink it down into just the main points. You do not repeat every single word your classmates said. Instead, you think about what most people agreed on or what the biggest ideas were.

For example, imagine your class talks about how to make less trash at school. Some kids talk about recycling bins, some talk about reusable water bottles, and some talk about packing lunch in boxes instead of bags. You could summarize all of that by saying, "Most of us think we should recycle more and stop using throwaway items."

Picking main points takes practice. Here are steps that help:

1. Listen for ideas that many classmates repeat or agree with. 2. Ask yourself, "What was this part of the discussion mostly about?" 3. Choose only two or three big ideas to remember, not every small detail. 4. Say those big ideas in your own short sentence.

This skill builds on what you learned when Explaining Ideas After Discussion, where you practiced putting someone's idea into your own words.

After you summarize what the group said, it is your turn to share your own idea. A strong explanation always has two parts: your idea, and a reason that backs it up.

For example, you might say, "I think we should use reusable water bottles. I think this because single use bottles end up in the trash can every day, and my family switched to one bottle each and we throw away much less now." Notice the idea comes first, then the reason, then a small detail from real life that supports it.

A good reason can come from something you saw, something you read, or something that happened to you. The important part is that the reason actually matches your idea and helps explain why you think that way.

When you combine both skills, your full response has two parts. First comes the summary of what the group talked about. Second comes your own idea with a reason.

Look at this example from a discussion about recess time:

Summary: "Most people in our group said recess should be longer because we need more time to play and rest."

Explanation: "I agree that recess should be longer. I think fifteen minutes is not enough time to finish a whole kickball game, and last week we had to stop our game right in the middle."

The diagram below shows the order these steps usually follow.

Summarize: To summarize means to take a long discussion and share just the main points in a few sentences.

Main Point: A main point is one of the biggest or most important ideas from a discussion.

Explain: To explain means to share your own idea in a way that helps someone else understand it.

Reason: A reason is the "why" behind your idea. It tells people why you think what you think.

Detail: A detail is a small piece of information, like an example or a fact, that supports your reason.

Evidence: Evidence is something real, like a fact or something you saw, that proves your idea makes sense.

Try this with a partner: have a short discussion about your favorite recess game, then take turns summarizing what the other person said in just one sentence. Next, practice explaining your own opinion about a class topic, such as what book the class should read next, and give one clear reason for your choice. You can also practice at home by summarizing a family conversation at dinner and then explaining your own idea about the topic in a few sentences.

Related lessons

• Explaining Ideas After Discussion