GIST

GIST is a comprehension strategy used both during and after reading. GIST stands for Generating Ideas between Schema and Text. It is one approach to summarizing a test. Students read a SMALL amount of text and create summaries that are 20 words or less. The end product is a 20 word summary that is tight and precise.

Steps: 1. Explain to students what the "gist" of something is. 2. Read the first paragraph/section of assigned reading. 3. Together, write a 20 word summary that describes the main idea of the section. 4. Read the second section, repeat.

A different approach to this strategy is to read a piece of text and have students pick out key WORD (no more than 10) that are central to the idea of the text. Then, you come up with a GIST statement using those words. Watch the [|video] to see the strategy in action.

This strategy can be used for both expository and narrative texts.





2 examples from middle school reading