Writing a summary

Ages 9 to 12 Read alone or together · about 25 minutes

Read together

A summary tells the main points of a text in fewer words. It leaves out small details.

Ask: who, what, where, when, why? Then write your own sentences.

Do it

1. Read a page twice. Underline the main idea of each paragraph.
2. Cover the page. Write three or four sentences in your own words.
3. Check against the page: did you get the main points? Did you add opinions?
4. Shorten it again to one sentence.

Talk about it

• What is the main idea?
• What did you leave out, and why?

For the grown-up

Summarising shows real understanding. If your child copies phrases, ask them to cover the page and explain aloud first.

Mark as done

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Where this comes from

• National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers, Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (2010), standard RI.4.2 (determine the main idea and summarize)
• Duke, N. K., and Pearson, P. D., “Effective Practices for Developing Reading Comprehension”, in What Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction (International Reading Association, 2002)

Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.