I formally assess students several times every quarter in this category. Students read a story independently or the class reads it together, and then students individually summarize it.
Can the student accurately remember and retell what he/she read?
Are the retold events in order?
Did the student only include important events?
Does the student identify the main character(s)?
Can the student figure out the main problem(s) in the story? Can the student identify how those problems were solved?
Does the student accurately identify the setting?
Practice these skills with the stories below, or with high-quality picture books, short stories, or chapter books. Have your child read the story out loud and/or silently. Then ask your child these questions:
What happened in the story?
Who was the main character?
What problem did the main character have to solve?
How did the main character solve the problem?
What is the setting of the story? ("Setting" means the story's place and time.)
If your child has difficulty answering any of these questions, encourage him or her to go back and reread part of the story.
(Printable .pdf versions of the stories are down below.)
More practice with making meaning from text: