As we near the end of the school year, students have been working on summarizing stories. This is when students have to retell a story in their own words and include the important characters, events and details. They also have to include transition words such as, in the beginning, next, then, after that, and in the end or finally. This is an important skill that they will use throughout school. Many students are able to retell a story orally, but they also need to be able to write a summary and keep it to one page. You will find a link at the end to the form that we use in class. Please have them practice summarizing their books that they read at home.
The summary is very important as students’ reading levels increase. The written summary is a required part of the DRA (the assessment we use to determine reading level) on levels 28 and above. Being unable to complete a summary can keep a student from progressing to higher reading levels.
I have also included an example of a completed summary of Tops and Bottoms, a book that we read in class. This was done “live” in class, so it is not the best quality, but will help the students and you understand what a summary looks like.
