Summarizing Teaching Resources
Teach students to summarize fiction and non-fiction texts with printable worksheets, graphic organizers, anchor charts, digital activities and more teaching resources created for your elementary classroom.
Designed by teachers, for teachers, the resources in this collection are aligned with the Common Core curriculum and have undergone a careful review by a member of our expert teaching team to ensure they help students build foundational literacy skills.
You'll find editable versions to easily differentiate your instruction for individual students, plus a variety of options to make lesson planning easier this school year so your students will be able to identify the main idea of a text, draw inferences, remember key details and more.
New to teaching this portion of the English curriculum or just looking for fresh and engaging ways to teach students how to summarize? Read on for a primer from our teacher team!
What Is Summarizing?
Summarizing is the reading comprehension strategy that helps kids become more effective readers and more effective writers. It involves condensing a large amount of information into a shorter, more concise version.
Learning to identify the main idea and key details in a text helps young readers better understand what they have read and retain the information more effectively.
From there, summarizing helps students develop their writing skills, requiring them to synthesize the information they've learned and present it clearly and concisely in summary form.
How to Summarize
Before students learn to summarise, they typically learn to retell a story — recalling and describing the key events and details of a story in the order they occur. Summarizing is related to retelling, but it's a more nuanced and advanced skill that kids develop later in elementary school.
To summarize, students need to learn to choose details carefully rather than describing the story or paragraph in full. They need to condense just the most important information from the story into a brief overview or synopsis called a summary.
They also have to select and prioritize information so they can present it concisely in a way that makes sense to the reader.
When summarizing, students may complete one or more of the following:
- Recount the text in their own words
- Identify the main idea, topic or purpose
- List key words or phrases
- Identify structural elements of the genre
What Is SWBST?
Using the SWBST process can help students create their summaries and serves as a great mnemonic when teaching reading comprehension. The steps in the SWBST process are:
- Somebody
- Wanted
- But
- So
- Then
Using these words, students can break down a paragraph or story into its key elements, working through the main character (somebody), the what (what they wanted), the conflict (but), what happened as a result of the conflict (the so) and wrapping up with the conclusion (then).
- Free Plan
Five Finger Summary - Graphic Organizer
A graphic organizer for students to use to summarize a fiction text.
- Free Plan
S.W.B.S.T. Summarizing Graphic Organizer
Use this printable SWBST strategy graphic organizer with students to write a summary for a fictional piece of text.
- Free Plan
Design Your Own Book Cover Worksheet
Design a new book cover and summarise a book using this one-page, printable template.
- Free Plan
Nonfiction Summary Checklist
Give your students a checklist when summarizing nonfiction texts to make sure they include everything required.
- Free Plan
Novel Study – Chapter Summary Worksheet
Reflect on a chapter in a class novel using this one-page worksheet.
- Plus Plan
120 Comprehension Strategy Question Cards
A set of 120 open-ended question cards to help students apply comprehension strategies when reading.
- Plus Plan
Book Review Worksheet
A book review and summary card for comprehension learning.
- Plus Plan
Summarizing Nonfiction Bookmarks
Learn about how to summarise nonfiction texts with these printable bookmarks.
- Plus Plan
Summarizing Nonfiction Graphic Organizer Pack
Help students summarize nonfiction texts with this set of graphic organizers.
- Plus Plan
Summarizing Nonfiction Teaching Slides
Build summarizing skills with nonfiction texts using these teaching slides.
- Plus Plan
Main Idea and Details Anchor Chart
Print a main idea anchor chart for primary grades to build skills in identifying main idea and details in nonfiction texts.
- Plus Plan
Applying Reading Comprehension Strategies Worksheets
A collection of worksheets which enable students to practice applying reading comprehension strategies.
- Plus Plan
Super Six Reading Comprehension Strategies - Question Mats
A set of question mats to use when working with the Super Six reading comprehension strategies.
- Plus Plan
Summarizing Nonfiction Interactive Activity
Help your students easily summarize nonfiction text with this interactive activity.
- Plus Plan
Reading Response Template – Summarizing
Practice summarizing a piece of text with this reading response template.
- Plus Plan
Summarizing Poster Set
Learn about how to effectively summarize a piece of text with this classroom poster set.
- Plus Plan
Inherited and Acquired Plant Traits - Reading Passage
Read and learn about inherited and acquired traits in plants with a printable reading comprehension passage and worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Read Across America Banner - Book Review Template
Read and review your favorite books during Read Across America week with a printable Read Across America book review template.
- Plus Plan
Sloth-Themed Book Review Template
Use this sloth-themed book review template to write about your favorite book.
- Plus Plan
Monster Book Report Template
A cute monster-themed book report template.
- Plus Plan
Halloween Bulletin Board Set – Wrapped Up in a Good Book
Download a printable Halloween bulletin board set for your classroom library or school library. Showcase your students’ insightful book reviews with our Halloween-themed classroom display.
- Plus Plan
Curious Creature Book Review Template
Create a curious creature-themed book review during Halloween or any time!
- Plus Plan
Reading Response Templates - Complete Journal
A reading response journal for students to use to engage with text in meaningful and purposeful ways.
- Plus Plan
Read Across a Story Template
Practice summarizing a fictional text with this flipbook template.
- Plus Plan
Astronaut Book Report Template
Use this printable book report template for students as a guide when reviewing their favorite book.
- Plus Plan
Fox Book Report Template
A fun fox book report template for your students to use when giving their opinion of a book.
- Plus Plan
Pirate Book Report Template
Arrr!... really great pirate book report template!
- Plus Plan
Knight Book Report Template
A book report template fit for a... knight!
- Plus Plan
Super Six Reading Comprehension Strategies - Tolsby Frame Poster Pack
Use these Super Six comprehension question posters in the Ikea Tolsby Frames.
- Plus Plan
#SUMitUP Summary Activity
Summarize fictional text through this whole-class station activity.
- Plus Plan
Super Six Reading Comprehension Strategies Poster Pack
A pack of 7 posters which explain the Super Six reading comprehension strategies.
- Plus Plan
Reading Strategies Poster Pack
A pack of 10 posters explaining some of the most commonly used reading comprehension strategies.