Our state test places a large emphasis on the difference between the structure of a summary for fiction and nonfiction texts. As a result, I developed this lesson to help my fifth grade students with this challenging concept. I used this anchor chart to introduce the basic differences between the two types of summaries. Students glued a smaller copy of the anchor chart into their reader's notebooks for future reference. We discussed that all summaries include the main idea of the text, the…

Summarizing is one of the hardest strategies to teach and for students to learn. Many students will retell the text ... almost word for word when asked to give a summary. In order for students to learn the difference between a retelling and a summary, teachers must model, model, model summarizing often. According to Dr. Jan Richardson, when we ask our students to summarize they ... write too much or not enough do not capture the most important ideas copy word for word from the text do not…

Somebody/ Wanted/ But/ So/ Then #summary #retell #mainevent #solution #yourversion #middleschoolteacher #specialeducationteacher #anchorchart #visualprompt #visuallearning

Seems simple, RIGHT? Read a chapter, write a summary… Our students see this a lot, whether it be on our reading assessments, in our own classroom work, or on our state assessments. Bottom line, we want our kids to be proficient (and feel confident) in taking out the important elements from a piece of text, […]

Year after year my students struggled with summaries, and then I started using this method for teaching summary writing. Eureka! I will never again teach this skill without this summary anchor chart.

Finding the main idea in a non-fiction text can be tricky, but I've developed a few tried-and-true ways to make this important skill engaging, FUN and successful! Check out this anchor chart and a few other quick and easy lessons and activities to help students easily identify the main idea in a non-fiction text. #mainidea #languagearts #teachingwithamountainview

Guided Writing for Summaries (Fiction) Anchor Chart

Sparkling Summary Anchor Chart