How to Teach Summarising to Kids
Summarising is the comprehension skill that reveals whether a child actually understood the passage. Here's how to teach it step by step.
Summarising is the final boss of comprehension. A child can decode every word of a passage, answer literal 'what happened' questions, and still completely miss the point. The test of real comprehension is: can they tell you what the passage was about in one sentence? If yes, they understood it. If no, they were reading on autopilot.
Teach it in three steps. First, ask them to retell the passage in detail (this is easier than summarising, and it's the warm-up). Second, ask them to pick the most important thing that happened. Third, ask them to describe the passage in one sentence. Each step strips away detail, which is what summarising actually is — compression.
Older kids can be taught the 'somebody, wanted, but, so, then' formula (somebody did what? wanted what? but what got in the way? so what did they do? then what happened?). It forces a whole-story shape and works on fiction at any age.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to summarise?+
To describe the key points of a passage or story in a shorter form. Usually the summary is a few sentences at most, focusing on main ideas rather than details.
What age should kids summarise?+
Year 2 or 3 (age 6 to 8) is the standard start. Full summarising skill is usually expected by Year 5.
What's the somebody-wanted-but-so-then formula?+
A five-point structure for summarising stories. Somebody (character), wanted (goal), but (obstacle), so (action), then (result). It forces a clean narrative shape.
How do I know if a summary is good?+
If it captures the main idea and you can replace the original passage with it for the purposes of explaining what happened. If key events are missing or if irrelevant details are included, it needs revision.