Teaching Resource
Read Across a Story Template
A template for students to practice their summarizing skills.
Summarizing and maintaining logical order is a skill that does not always come naturally to students. Often, it is helpful for students to have a template to plan their summary.
This resource has students following the summarizing strategy Somebody Wanted But So Then:
- Somebody: Who is the main character?
- Wanted: What did the main character want?
- But: What was the problem?
- So: How was the problem solved?
- Then: How did the story end?
After filling out this template, students can take their summary and put it into writing.
To use this resource, provide each student with both pages. Students cut along the dotted lines of the first page, and glue the left edges of the two pages together. This will create a flip book for students to use for summarising.
Use the drop-down menu to choose between the PDF or Google Slides version.
Common Core Curriculum alignment
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.2
Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.2
Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.2
Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

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