Once kids know how to read and write, the next step is learning how to summarize works of fiction. To write a book summary, they must not only understand the story, but also be able to deconstruct its elements and identify essential information. Here are some strategies to help your child become a book summary pro.
First and foremost, your child must be able to identify the story’s subject. To point them in the right direction, you can suggest that they do the following:
As they read, your child should be able to identify crucial contextual information, like where and when the story takes place. You can suggest that they underline all the words in the book that signal a time or place, like the following:
Whether they’re detestable villains or endearing heroes, a story’s main characters must have interesting traits to keep the reader’s attention. Plus, their behaviours and actions generally say a lot about the story itself. Each time your child identifies a character, you can encourage them to answer the following questions:
Like the narrative structure, the actantial model is used to analyze and dissect narrative or dramatic texts. While the narrative structure is based on actions, the actantial model focuses on characters and their relationships to one another. It can be broken down into six components:
The narrative structure is a bit like the skeleton of a text. Once your child identifies the story’s basic elements, they’ll have an easier time writing a summary. As they read, here’s what your child should look for, in order:
To summarize a story, your child needs to be able to quickly find relevant information and clearly communicate it to others. In other words, any details your child includes in their book summary should have the following qualities:
A book summary should never reveal a story’s ending! It’s up to the reader to discover it on their own.
Rewriting: The Alloprof Parents’ team