What is Summarizing?
A summary is a short retelling of a text that includes only the most important information. Good summaries use the reader's own words (not copied from the text), include the main idea and key details, and leave out minor details and personal opinions.
On Florida's FAST assessment, students must summarize both literary texts (including plot and theme) and informational texts (including central idea and key details).
Key Vocabulary
Main Idea: What the text is mostly about - the big picture or central point
Key Details: Important information that supports the main idea
Theme: The life lesson or message of a story (for fiction)
Central Idea: The main point the author wants you to understand (for nonfiction)
Objective: Based on facts, not personal opinions or feelings
What Belongs in a Summary?
DO Include:
- Main idea or central message
- Key supporting details
- For stories: character, problem, solution, theme
- Your own words (paraphrase)
DO NOT Include:
- Minor details or examples
- Personal opinions ("I think...")
- Copied sentences from text
- Everything from the text
Activities to Try at Home
📺 TV Show Summary
After watching a TV episode together, practice summarizing:
- "Tell me what happened in 3-4 sentences."
- "Who was the main character? What did they want?"
- "What was the problem? How was it solved?"
- "What lesson did the character learn?"
This is great practice because kids naturally want to share EVERY detail - help them focus on what's most important!
📚 Bedtime Book Summary
After reading a chapter or book together:
- Ask your child to summarize what you read in 2-3 sentences
- Use the SWBST method: Somebody Wanted But So Then
- Ask: "What was the most important thing that happened?"
- For nonfiction: "What did you learn? What was the main point?"
🎬 Movie Pitch
After watching a movie, have your child pretend to "pitch" it to someone who hasn't seen it:
- "Convince me to watch this movie in 30 seconds!"
- They must include: main character, problem, and why it's interesting
- They cannot tell EVERY event - just the highlights
- This practices condensing information to essentials
📰 News Summary
Read a kid-friendly news article together:
- Ask: "What is this article mainly about?"
- "What are the most important facts?"
- "Can you tell me what you learned in 2 sentences?"
- Practice identifying central idea vs. supporting details
✍️ "Too Long" Game
Take turns telling about your day - but make it TOO LONG with too many details:
- "This morning I woke up at 7:03 AM. The sun was shining through my blue curtains. I had Cheerios for breakfast - exactly 47 Cheerios in my bowl..."
- Then challenge each other to summarize it in just 1-2 sentences
- This highlights the difference between retelling (too much) and summarizing (just right)
Questions to Ask While Reading
- "What is this mostly about?" (main idea)
- "If you could only tell someone ONE thing about this, what would it be?"
- "What are the most important details?"
- "Is that detail important, or is it just extra information?"
- "How would you explain this in your own words?"
- For stories: "What did the character learn?" (theme)
Parent Tip: Model Summarizing!
Practice summarizing yourself! After reading something, say: "Let me summarize what I just read..." Show your child how you identify the main idea and leave out minor details. When they include their opinion ("This was so cool!"), gently remind them: "That's what you THINK about it - what did it actually SAY?"
The SWBST Method for Stories
Help your child use this framework to summarize fiction:
- Somebody - Who is the main character?
- Wanted - What did they want or need?
- But - What was the problem or conflict?
- So - What did they do about it?
- Then - How did it end? What was the result?
Add the theme: "This story teaches that..."
Informacion para Padres (Spanish Summary)
Que es resumir? Un resumen es una version corta de un texto que incluye solo la informacion mas importante. Los buenos resumenes usan las propias palabras del lector, incluyen la idea principal y los detalles clave, y no incluyen opiniones personales.
Que incluir:
- Idea principal o mensaje central
- Detalles clave de apoyo
- Para cuentos: personaje, problema, solucion, leccion
Que NO incluir:
- Detalles menores
- Opiniones personales ("Yo pienso...")
- Oraciones copiadas del texto
Actividades en casa:
- Despues de ver TV: "Cuentame lo que paso en 3 oraciones"
- Despues de leer: "Cual fue la idea principal?"
- Practiquen identificar informacion importante vs. detalles menores