What is summarizing?

Summarizing is when students share the most important ideas of a text and leave out the irrelevant information. After a student summarizes, you should get the gist of what the story or article was about along with the main points and most relevant details. A summary is shorter than a retelling. In a retelling, the student retells what they have read in their own words, almost like telling a bedtime story.

Summarizing is an extremely effective means for learning new information. As students read to learn, they should stop and periodically summarize to check for understanding and to help them to remember the new information.

You might prefer SWBS(T)...

Somebody Wanted, But, So, (Then)

There are two versions of this strategy. Students may use the one that works for them. Some need the "then" added to the end to help them remember to add the solution, or resolution.

...and there's always the main idea strategy!

Find the main idea for each section of the nonfiction text you are reading. When you put those ideas together- Voila! You have a summary of what you read! (Don't forget to use the heading of each section to help you to find the main idea.