Lemonade, sleep, Triceratops, peanut butter-I like it/them.
Sammy-I have a friend named Sam but I call her Sammy.
Dad/Mom-Because they are important to me.
Toto, Annie-I like the name.
Jeweled goblets-I would like to have goblets.
Stars-I like looking at them.
The Indians believed the stars were children of the sun.-I liked the legend.
They were awake and glittering like shards of ice.-I liked the picture it made in my head.

Students categorized words as "interesting" (accusingly, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Oklahoma, potion, zamboni, sprawling, automatically, district, smoke detector) but did not disclose why they found them to be interesting. Finally, words deemed as "important" were associated more with the structure of the text by relating to characters and main events: Cheddar cup-an important or main part of the book; Benny-an important character; Fuzz-an important person, the main person in the book; He hugged him-a good part of the story when his family hugged him. One student selected two names from the book and identified them as important because one was his name and the other his sister's name.

Summarizing appears to be a skill that takes more time to develop. Students listed their Key Points in word form or sentence form. Some students used their key words to make personal statements or queries about their reading:

Key Points: Pteranodon; mutant; mouth; dinosaurs
Summary: The Pteranodon must have a small brain. I wonder why Jack said maybe he is a mutant. I think that the dinosaur has a big mouth.

Key Points: puppy; bite; doorman; taxi
Summary: Puppy because they are cute and small. Bite because he bites his mom. Doorman because they always stand at the door. Taxi because my dad is a taxi driver.

Other students made little or no connection between the key points and the summary: