The Paraphrasing Strategy

Author(s): Jean B. Schumaker, Pegi H. Denton, and Donald D. Deshler

Publication Info: University of Kansas, 1984

The Paraphrasing Strategy is designed to help students focus on the most important information in a passage and to improve students' recall of main ideas and specific facts. Students read short passages of materials, identify the main idea and details, and rephrase the content in their own words.

In research studies, students showed average gains of 35 percentage points in reading comprehension of grade-level materials after mastering the strategy.

Please note that professional development, coaching, and infrastructure support are essential components to effective implementation of SIM instructional tools and interventions. It is highly recommended that you work with a SIM professional developer. Please email simpd@ku.edu to learn more.

Resources

• Teaching the Paraphrasing Strategy to Younger Students
• Strategram Vol. 8, No. 4, April, 1996: Using Persuasion to Present the Paraphrasing Strategy - and A Sentence to help remember the Paraphrasing Mnemonic - Emmett Murray
• Strategram Vol. 8, No. 5, July, 1996: Strategy Sticker Reminder for the Generalization Stage of Paraphrasing and Sentence Writing
• Study shows benefits of Paraphrasing Strategy in general ed middle school classrooms
• Strategram Vol. 12, No. 5, May, 2000: Tips for teaching paraphrasing - Gwen Berry
• Strategram Vol. 13, No.1: An Activity to introduce Main Idea and Details - Margaret Carmean
• Strategram Vol. 14, No. 3, March, 2002: Recommended reading: Passages for Paraphrasing and Word ID
• Strategram Vol. 17, No. 5, August, 2005: Active Reading to support Paraphrasing Strategy instruction
• Research on the Paraphrasing Strategy (pdf)