🌿 Level 2 · Intermediate
📘 Chapter 3 of 6
⏱️ 14 minutes
Short & Smart: Summarising
Turn pages of notes into a few clear lines. Learn to summarise in different sizes, find key points and check every summary.
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🔁 Remember: a power prompt has
🎭 Role 🎯 Task 📌 Details 📐 Format
Today’s task verb: Summarise
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Reminder: Summarise your own notes or a short passage from your textbook, with a parent or teacher beside you. Never paste personal details.
Your adventure map
Chapter 3 at a glance
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3.1 Summaries come in sizes
🎯 Goal: ask for the right size of summary- A summary keeps the big ideas and drops the small details.
- You choose the size: one sentence, three bullets or a short paragraph.
- Smaller summaries help you recall fast. Bigger ones help you understand.
- Always summarise your own notes or a short textbook passage, then compare with the original.
🔍 The summary zoom lens
🌍 Real-life examples
📚 Exam revisionTurn 2 pages of Light notes into 3 bullet points you can read in one minute.
📖 Homework help“Summarise this paragraph in one sentence” to check you understood the main idea.
🚀 Try it yourself
Summarise my notes below in 3 sizes: 1 sentence, 3 bullet points and a 5-line paragraph. Notes: [paste your own notes]
❌ Weak prompt“Summarise this.”
No size, so you may get something too long or too short.
No size, so you may get something too long or too short.
✅ Good prompt“Summarise my notes in 3 bullet points for Class 7 revision.”
Size, level and purpose are clear.
Size, level and purpose are clear.
🎉 Fun fact: TL;DR means “too long; didn’t read”. People write it before a very short summary!
📝 Quick quiz
1. What does a summary keep?
✅ The big ideas, while dropping small details.
2. Which size is best for quick recall?A) Full notes B) One sentence C) 5 pages
✅ B. A one-sentence summary is quick to recall.
3. Add a size to “Summarise my notes on Light.”
✅ Example: “Summarise my notes on Light in 3 bullet points.”
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3.2 Find the key points
🎯 Goal: spot the main idea, key terms, examples and numbers- Every passage has a main idea, the one thing it wants you to know.
- Also look for key terms, examples and numbers or dates.
- Use 4 highlighter colours so your notes are quick to scan.
- Ask Claude to pull these out, then check them against your notes.
🖍️ The highlighter system
🟨 Main ideathe big message
🩷 Key termswords to learn
🟩 Examplesreal-life proof
🟦 Numbers & datesfacts to remember
The Sun heats water, so it evaporates. This is the first step of the water cycle. For example, puddles dry up on a hot day. About 71% of Earth’s surface is covered by water.
🌍 Real-life examples
🌍 Social science notesAsk for the main idea, 5 key terms and the important dates from your chapter notes.
🔬 Science chapterAsk for key terms with one-line meanings, plus one real-life example for each.
🚀 Try it yourself
From my notes below, give me: the main idea in 1 line, 5 key terms with one-line meanings, 1 example, and any dates or numbers. Notes: [paste your own notes]
❌ Weak prompt“What are the important parts?”
“Important” is unclear, so the answer is a guess.
“Important” is unclear, so the answer is a guess.
✅ Good prompt“List the main idea, 5 key terms, 1 example and any dates.”
You named exactly what to pull out.
You named exactly what to pull out.
🏆 Mini challenge: Take one page of your notes and highlight it with the 4 colours before asking Claude. Does Claude find the same key points?
📝 Quick quiz
1. What is the main idea?
✅ The one big message the passage wants you to know.
2. Which highlighter colour marks numbers and dates in this chapter?A) Yellow B) Green C) Blue
✅ C. Blue marks numbers and dates.
3. Name two things besides the main idea to look for.
✅ Any two of: key terms, examples, numbers or dates.
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3.3 Summarise for a purpose
🎯 Goal: shape a summary for who will use it- The best summary depends on who it is for and why.
- Tell Claude the purpose: revision, telling a friend, a class talk or a younger child.
- Add a limit like “5 points” or “2 sentences”.
- The same notes can become four different summaries.
🎭 One set of notes, four purposes
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Revision sheet
5 short points with key terms in bold.
for exams🗣️
Tell a friend
2 sentences in simple, everyday words.
to check you understood🎤
Class talk
A 3-slide outline: start, middle, end.
for presenting👶
Younger child
Class 5 words and one fun example.
to test your understanding🌍 Real-life examples
🔬 Science project“Turn my notes into a 3-slide outline for a 2-minute class talk.”
🏠 At home“Summarise this in 2 simple sentences that I can tell my younger cousin.”
🚀 Try it yourself
Summarise my notes below 3 ways: (1) a 5-point revision cheat sheet, (2) 2 sentences I can say to a friend, (3) a 3-slide outline for my class talk. Notes: [paste your own notes]
❌ Weak prompt“Make it shorter.”
Shorter for whom? For what?
Shorter for whom? For what?
✅ Good prompt“Summarise this in 2 simple sentences that a Class 5 student can understand.”
Audience and limit are clear.
Audience and limit are clear.
🎉 Fun fact: Explaining an idea to a younger child is a famous test of understanding. If you can make it simple, you really know it!
📝 Quick quiz
1. Why tell Claude the purpose of a summary?
✅ The best summary depends on who it is for and why you need it.
2. Which purpose needs a 3-slide outline?A) Class talk B) Tell a friend C) Younger child
✅ A. A talk is easy to plan as start, middle and end.
3. Rewrite “Make it shorter” with a purpose and limit.
✅ Example: “Summarise in 2 sentences for a Class 5 student.”
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3.4 Check your summary
🎯 Goal: make sure a summary is accurate and truly yours- A summary can leave out something important or add something that was never in your notes.
- Write your own summary first. Then ask Claude for one and compare.
- Ask: “What did you leave out?” and “Did you add anything not in my notes?”
- Use your own words in the final version. A summary you copy is not a summary you learned.
🔄 The Summary Checker
✍️1. Write yours firstin your own words
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🤖2. Ask Claude’ssame size and purpose
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⚖️3. Comparewhat is missing or extra?
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✨4. Improve yoursthen check your notes
✅ 4 checks for any summary
🟨 Main idea kept?Is the big message there?
🚫 Nothing added?Everything is in the notes
🔍 Nothing vital missing?Key terms and dates
🗣️ In my own words?I could say it aloud
🌍 Real-life examples
📚 Exam revisionClaude’s summary skips a key date. You spot it by comparing with your notes, and add it.
🔬 Science notesThe summary mentions a fact that is not in your textbook. You check the book and remove it.
🚀 Try it yourself
Here are my notes: [paste your notes]. Here is my summary: [paste your summary]. Did my summary leave out anything important? Did it add anything that is not in my notes? Answer as two short lists.
❌ Weak habitCopy Claude’s summary into your notebook without reading the original.
Errors and gaps go unnoticed.
Errors and gaps go unnoticed.
✅ Good habitWrite yours, compare with Claude’s, and check both against your notes.
You learn and you stay accurate.
You learn and you stay accurate.
🏆 Mini challenge: Summarise a page in 25 words yourself, then ask Claude to check it with the prompt above. How close were you?
📝 Quick quiz
1. Why write your own summary first?
✅ You learn more, and you can compare it with Claude’s to spot gaps.
2. Which question checks for invented facts?A) “Did you add anything not in my notes?” B) “Is it pretty?” C) “Is it long?”
✅ A. It reveals anything that was not in your notes.
3. Where do you do the final check?
✅ Against your own notes or textbook, and with your teacher if unsure.
🗜️ Summary Squeezer
Read the passage, then squeeze it into 30 words or fewer in your own words. Keep the key ideas!
0 wordsLimit: 30
💡 Tip: The model summary unlocks after you write at least 8 words. Try first! The key-idea chips only check for common words, so a clever summary may use different words. Your teacher is the best judge.
Chapter 3 summary
Pick a size • Find the key points • Summarise for a purpose • Check every summary.