Instructional Scaffolding to Support Students’ Summary Writing Ability in a Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL) Context

Abstract

Summary writing requires students to identify main ideas, supporting details, and unnecessary information before organizing ideas into a concise summary. However, Grade 5 students experienced difficulties distinguishing these elements, which affected their summary writing. This best practice aimed to examine how instructional scaffolding strategies, grounded in Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), supported Grade 5 students’ summary writing in a Montessori classroom setting. The implementation was conducted in three meetings involving Grade 5 students at Brainy Bunch International Islamic Montessori School. Based on the synthesis of previous studies, five instructional scaffolding strategies were adapted into summary writing instruction: modeling, questioning, guided practice, continuous feedback, and gradual release of responsibility. Data were collected prior to and throughout the implementation through classroom observations, students’ written work, classroom interactions, and teaching reflections. The implementation demonstrated that instructional scaffolding supported students’ summary writing by helping them identify main ideas, distinguish supporting details from extra information, and organize ideas into concise summaries. Modeling and questioning introduced students with a clear example of the summarizing process, guided practice and continuous feedback supported students in selecting relevant information and refining their summaries, while the gradual release of responsibility encouraged them to complete summary writing tasks with reduced teacher support. Although some students still required repeated guidance throughout the activities, the implementation showed that instructional scaffolding provided structured support that gradually promoted greater independence in summary writing.