by Kay Fielding

Created on: October 03, 2009   Last Updated: October 05, 2009

Keyword outlining is going back over an outline and writing down only the key words. This type of outline is very useful for giving speeches. It can also be very useful in writing a paper that needs to be short and concise. Teaching keyword outlining is important for speech classes. It is valuable for teaching essay writing too. However, teaching the concept of keyword is sometimes difficult.

Before you can teach a keyword outline, students must understand the difference between a main idea and supporting details. Once they understand the difference and can show clearly that they understand what each is, it will be easier to teach students about keyword outlining.

Give students a story or article on a handout. Before you choose a story or article, read it for ease of finding keywords. Some stories or articles lend themselves to locating keywords, while others are a bit harder to distinguish. I generally find that articles arguing a cause or convincing people to act (especially those written by government agencies or educators) are easier to use for keywords because they show clearly key concepts and supporting details. Select your article carefully because it will make an easy keyword find or a more complicated one. An article or short story that has definite bolded headings, numbered points, and that is short is the best choice for the first time teaching keywords.

Tell the students that they will be creating a keyword outline. Ask them to tell you what they think that is. Discuss with the class what a keyword outline is. Tell them that they want to use ideas rather than speaking words, just as they do when they use main ideas and supporting details. An idea is something that gives a listener a larger picture rather than just a connecting word. Explain that the first section, the roman numerals, is for main ideas. The second section, numbers, is for the main supporting details while the letters are for minor details that support the supporting details. If you wish to give them an example of how to do an outline, you can use the outline here which explains what goes in each blank area http://www.hawaii.edu/gened/oc/outline_format.htm.

Next, give students an example of a keyword outline either by using an overhead or by giving them a handout so that they can review it as they do it. You can search the web, or you might want to look at http://www.lessonplanet.com/search?grade=All&keywords=create+keyword+outline&media=lesson&page=2&rating=3&search_type=narrow

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