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LESSON # 1
Title of Lesson: Intro to Summarizing
Topic: Summarizing
Subject Area: Language Arts/ Reading Comprehension
Grade Level: 4
th
Grade
Description or Outcome Statement: The students will be able to identify characteristics of well
written summaries. They will understand what summaries are, why we use them, and how they
can be written.
Specific Lesson Outcome Statement: The students will be able to distinguish between
characteristics and non-characteristics of what summaries are composed of and how they are
formed.
Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.
Essential Question: What are summaries?
Materials:
Journeys textbook, Anchor chart, Anchor chart paper, Markers, Summary poster, 23
Tickets out the door
Procedures:
1. Hook:
Ask the students the following question: What did you do this summer?
Ask students the following: Is that all you did? Did you tell every single detail of
you summer? What did you tell us? (A summary)
2. Display and read the EQ, objective, and standard print out on the anchor chart.
3. Ask students the following: What is a summary? Write their answers on the paper.
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4. If a good definition is not formed, write the following at the top of the paper and underline
it in a different color marker: a short description of the most important ideas/events from
a piece of text.
5. Now that the students understand what a summary is, discuss both characteristics of
summaries and non-characteristics.
6. Ask the students the following: What do you think makes a good summary? What
aspects contribute to a good summary? Write their responses on the anchor chart.
7. Flip to a blank anchor chart page.
8. Since the students have now discussed what summaries are and what makes a good
summary, discuss aspects of stories that should be included in a summary. Ask students
the following: After reading a story, what information should we be sure to include in a
summary? It is not necessary to scribe these ideas on the anchor chart paper.
9. Display the summary poster for the students to see. Together, read the five main
aspects.
10. Model the strategy:
Ask the students the following: Who remembers what we have been reading
during our literacy time? (Because of Winn Dixie)
Since the students have already read the book, go through passage taken from
Because of Winn Dixie by doing a picture walk.
On the second page, page 25, stop and say, If I remember correctly, this
passage was all about a girl named Opal and a lady, Miss Franny. Write Opal
and Miss Franny on a sticky note and stick it on the poster next to somebody.
Continue flipping through the pictures.
Stop at page 27 and say, This picture reminds me of the problem that Opal
faced. She was the new girl in town and did not have any friends. I think she
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wanted friends though. Write that on a sticky note and put it next to the wanted
category.
Continue thinking aloud and say, Miss Franny seemed like a good friend, but
Winn Dixie scared her, didnt he? Write that on a sticky note and put it next to
the but category.
Continue flipping to page 29. Stop and say, I remember that Opal helped Miss
Franny and showed her that there was nothing to be afraid of. Write that on a
sticky note and place it next to so.
Stop flipping at page 31 and tell the students, Here I see Miss Franny.
Remember how Miss Franny decided to open up and share her story with Opal?
I think that is a huge part of this story; Opal made her first friend in her new
town. Write the above on a sticky note and put it next to then.
Explain to the students that the main ideas/events from the passage from
Because of Winn Dixie are displayed on the poster.
Ask the students: Is this my summary?
Inform the students that after identifying the five aspects, they then must
compose the ideas into one short summary.
Display the anchor chart paper with the summary for the students to see.
Read the summary aloud to the students. Stop after each aspect mentioned in
the summary to prove each aspect is included.
11. Tell the students that characteristics will be read aloud. If they think that it is a
characteristic of a summary then they should give a thumbs up. If it is not a
characteristic of a summary, they should give a thumbs down.
12. Using a checklist, assess the students understanding. Read each of the following
statements and keep track of students responses:
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Summaries tell us the main ideas/events from a story (thumbs up), Summaries
are longer than the story (thumbs down), Summaries usually tell us who the main
character is (thumbs up), Summaries tell us every detail from the story (thumbs
down)
13. Closure:
Ask the students the following: What did we discuss today? Who can share one
thing they learned?
Assessment: The students will be informally assessed through the use of signals. The students
will demonstrate their understanding of characteristics of summaries by having either showing a
thumbs up or a thumbs down. A checklist will be used to assess the students.












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LESSON # 2
Title of Lesson: Lets Summarize Together
Topic: Summarizing
Subject Area: Language Arts/ Reading Comprehension
Grade Level: 4
th
Grade
Description or Outcome Statement: The students will be able to distinguish what events or
ideas from are story are important to form a summary. The students will understand how to form
a summary given the events and ideas from a given story.
Specific Lesson Outcome Statement: The students will be able to identify the main ideas and
details from a given story that are important to include in a written summary.
Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.
Essential Question: What should we include in a summary?
Materials:
Anchor Chart, Anchor Paper, Markers, Summary Poster, Sticky Notes, Weslandia, by
Paul Fleischman, Pencils
Procedures:
1. Hook:
Ask students the following: Who remembers what we talked about in yesterdays
lesson? What are summaries? Yesterday, how to write a summary was modeled
for you. What story was summarized? Who can name the important details we
should include of a good summary?
Display the summary poster used in the previous lesson and read the five details
aloud to activate prior knowledge.
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2. Inform the students that since they have seen how to identify the important details from a
given story to use in a summary, and they have also seen how to compose the summary
they are now going to get to help.
3. Hold up the book Weslandia. Ask the students the following: Has anyone read this
book? Who can make a prediction about what it is about?
4. Tell the students they will be doing a picture walk just to get a good idea of what the
book may be about.
Stop on page 4 and ask students: What do you think is happening in this
picture?
Stop on page 8 and ask students: What prediction could you form for this page?
5. Next, give each student 5 sticky notes.
6. Begin reading the book to the students and guide them through the process of
determining important information.
Stop on page one and say: It seems as though we already have come across
our first main character. Give the students time to write the name on their sticky
note. Gather the notes and put them next to the somebody.
Stop on page four and mention: Do you think this may be something he wants?
Stop on page five and give students time to fill out a sticky note. Remind them
they have heard information that may be important because they now know what
the character may want. Collect the sticky notes and put them next to wanted.
Provide students with feedback regarding what they wrote.
Stop on page six and give students time to fill out the sticky note for the but
section. Collect and display.
Stop on page ten and ask students the following question to spark the idea of
filling in information for the so category: What does Wesley do to help solve his
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problem? Display the sticky notes. Provide students with feedback regarding
what they wrote.
Stop on page twenty and ask: Do you think the name of his civilization is
important? Where could we put this information? Write Weslandia on an extra
sticky note and place next to the others in the so category.
Stop at the end of the book and let students write on their last sticky note.
Display this information under the then column.
7. Give the students feedback on their ability to distinguish the important events from the
story.
8. Inform students they must now work together to compose the summary.
9. With the help of the students, dictate a summary on anchor paper.
10. Ask students one at a time to provide a sentence or two per category.
11. Read over the final summary together as a group.
12. Closure:
Ask students the following: What did we discuss today? Why are summaries
important?
Have the students write either a one, two, or three on a sticky note to serve as
the ticket out the door. Explain that the one means they need extra help, the two
means they are on the right track, and three means they got it.
Accommodations/Modifications:
Struggling Reader: This student will be provided with the E-Book of the story to follow along on
the IPad as it is read aloud.
Dyslexia: This student will be allowed to orally share their thinking instead of writing it on the
sticky note.
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Assessment: The students will be informally assessed throughout the entire lesson. The
students will be observed on their ability to identify the important aspects form the story through
their writing on the sticky notes. Anecdotal notes will be taken to keep track of struggling
students. At the end of the lesson, students will fill out a ticket out the door. This assessment will
provide information about how each student feels about the material/skill. This assessment will
be used to determine which students need extra help.















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LESSON # 3
Title of Lesson: Time to Write a Summary
Topic: Summarizing
Subject Area: Language Arts/ Reading Comprehension
Grade Level: 4
th
Grade
Description or Outcome Statement: The students will be able to identify aspects of a text that
should be including in a summary. Using that information, the students will be able to compose
a summary of the given text.
Specific Lesson Outcome Statement: The students will be able to compose a summary of a
given text including the somebody, wanted, but, so, and then of the story.
Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.
Essential Question: How do I write a summary?
Materials:
Summarizing poster, pencils, summary graphic organizer, computer with internet
access, Youtube, projector, Smart Board
Procedures:
1. Hook:
a. Show the students the cover of the book, The Little Scarecrow Boy.
b. Ask students the following questions: Who has seen a scarecrow before? What
are they used for? What predictions can you make about this book?
2. Tell students that before they listen to the book, they need to recall the aspects of a
summary.
3. Display an anchor chart paper that is similar to the summary poster, but is blank.
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4. Call on students, one at a time, to come to the chart to fill in the missing parts
(somebody, wanted, so, but, then).
5. Read over the poster to remind students once again what they will be looking for while
listening to The Little Scarecrow Boy.
6. Pass out summary graphic organizer to each student and have them take out their
pencil.
7. Inform students that they will be filling out the top part while listening closely to the story.
After the story is done, they will work on the summary.
8. Play the YouTube version of the story for the students to hear and see displayed on the
SmartBoard.
9. After the story is finished, poll the class to see who gathered all the information needed.
10. If needed, play the story again to allow students another chance to listen and fill out the
graphic organizer.
11. After the story is finished again, poll the class to see who thinks they could write a
summary on the story. Encourage all students to raise their hands.
12. Before allowing students to write their summary, ask students the following question:
What do we need to add to the sentences written in the top boxes? (Transitions)
13. Call on students to share transition words and dictate their ideas on the bottom of the
anchor chart.
14. Have students complete their summary.
15. Closure:
a. Ask the students: What was the purpose of this learning segment? Why do we
write summaries?
Accommodations/Modifications:
Struggling Reader: This student may be given extra time to complete the assessment. They will
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be allowed to utilize their headphones and their personal IPad to re-listen to the story a third
time if necessary.
Dyslexia: This student will be allowed to record the summary instead of writing it. This will be
done through the use of the app, Educreations.
Assessment: The summarizing graphic organizer, which directly models the poster used in
previous lessons, will be used as the assessment. This will be graded out of 10 possible points.
One point for each category on the top (somebody, wanted, so, but, and then) and five possible
points for the summary. For each component missing from the summary, one point will be
deducted from the total points from the actual summary part.