The purpose of this activity is that children recognize the importance of words within a context. It is about presenting a paragraph so every child can cut out what he thinks is unnecessary, without changing the meaning of the text.
Participants
The activity is directed to children in the last years of primary school or the first years of secondary school. The number of children should not be too high, because every participants will have to write and read his own text.
Objectives
- To reach a good understanding of written language
- To value the esthetic quality of the text
- To give importance to the way of expressing an idea
Method
Once the story is read or told, every child will be assigned a different paragraph. Each one should then assume the role of a writer who has been asked to summarize his text. A time limit of 15 to 20 minutes is set. Afterwards, the participants should read the original paragraph and their own version. The others should give their opinion about which work they prefer and why.
Time
It can range from 50 minutes to one and a half hours; it all depends on the size of the group and the diversity of opinions produced by reading the text.