Summarize In Steps

Do your readers have a difficult time summarizing a story? Here is a great way to help your readers summarize successfully.

Have your reader explain what happened in the story using just a few questions. Parents can ask questions such as these. Who is the character in the story? What did _____do in the story? Why did _____do that in the story? Show me in the story where _____did that.

These questions help readers focus on just the information in the text. These questions also help parents redirect readers back to the text and focus only on the information provided in the text. Asking readers to point to or underline supporting evidence from the story teaches readers when they are correctly summarizing.