Subject: ELA (English Language Arts)

Lesson Length: 30 - 50 mins

Topic: Summarizing Text

Grade Level: 5, 6

Standards / Framework:

Brief Description: Students will create a comic summarizing a text they have read in class.

Know Before You Start: This lesson works best after reading a short story, chapter, or novel. 

Hook:

  • After completing a short story, chapter, or novel, discuss the main events. List these events in order on the board. 

  • Review and discuss how to summarize a text.

    • Which details would you include in a summary?

    • Which details would you leave out?

  • Read the sample comic in preparation for the student activity.

Activity:

  • Have students create a comic summarizing a story, book, or chapter they have read in class or at home.
  • The comic should show at least four of the most important events. 

Closure:

  • Display student comics on a bulletin board or have students share their comics with the class. 

Differentiation:

  • Allow students to use the speech-to-text feature.
  • Allow students to use the voiceover feature to read their comics aloud.
  • Provide visuals when sequencing events. 

  • Allow students to use a thinking map to organize their ideas. 

  • Provide sentence stems as needed.

Resources:

Suggested Story Starters: