how to write a book report summary 4th grade

How to Write a Book Report

Use the links below to jump directly to any section of this guide:

Book Report Fundamentals

Preparing to write, an overview of the book report format, how to write the main body of a book report, how to write a conclusion to a book report, reading comprehension and book reports, book report resources for teachers .

Book reports remain a key educational assessment tool from elementary school through college. Sitting down to close read and critique texts for their content and form is a lifelong skill, one that benefits all of us well beyond our school years. With the help of this guide, you’ll develop your reading comprehension and note-taking skills. You’ll also find resources to guide you through the process of writing a book report, step-by-step, from choosing a book and reading actively to revising your work. Resources for teachers are also included, from creative assignment ideas to sample rubrics.

Book reports follow general rules for composition, yet are distinct from other types of writing assignments. Central to book reports are plot summaries, analyses of characters and themes, and concluding opinions. This format differs from an argumentative essay or critical research paper, in which impartiality and objectivity is encouraged. Differences also exist between book reports and book reviews, who do not share the same intent and audience. Here, you’ll learn the basics of what a book report is and is not.

What Is a Book Report?

"Book Report" ( ThoughtCo )

This article, written by a professor emeritus of rhetoric and English, describes the defining characteristics of book reports and offers observations on how they are composed.

"Writing a Book Report" (Purdue OWL)

Purdue’s Online Writing Lab outlines the steps in writing a book report, from keeping track of major characters as you read to providing adequate summary material.

"How to Write a Book Report" ( Your Dictionary )

This article provides another helpful guide to writing a book report, offering suggestions on taking notes and writing an outline before drafting. 

"How to Write a Successful Book Report" ( ThoughtCo )

Another post from ThoughtCo., this article highlights the ten steps for book report success. It was written by an academic advisor and college enrollment counselor.

What’s the Difference Between a Book Report and an Essay?

"Differences Between a Book Report & Essay Writing" ( Classroom)

In this article from the education resource Classroom,  you'll learn the differences and similarities between book reports and essay writing.

"Differences Between a Book Report and Essay Writing" (SeattlePi.com)

In this post from a Seattle newspaper's website, memoirist Christopher Cascio highlights how book report and essay writing differ.

"The Difference Between Essays and Reports" (Solent Online Learning)

This PDF from Southampton Solent University includes a chart demonstrating the differences between essays and reports. Though it is geared toward university students, it will help students of all levels understand the differing purposes of reports and analytical essays.

What’s the Difference Between a Book Report and a Book Review?

"How to Write a Book Review and a Book Report" (Concordia Univ.)

The library at Concordia University offers this helpful guide to writing book report and book reviews. It defines differences between the two, then presents components that both forms share.

"Book Reviews" (Univ. of North Carolina)

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s writing guide shows the step-by-step process of writing book reviews, offering a contrast to the composition of book reports.

Active reading and thoughtful preparation before you begin your book report are necessary components of crafting a successful piece of writing. Here, you’ll find tips and resources to help you learn how to select the right book, decide which format is best for your report, and outline your main points.

Selecting and Finding a Book

"30 Best Books for Elementary Readers" (Education.com)

This article from Education.com lists 30 engaging books for students from kindergarten through fifth grade. It was written by Esme Raji Codell, a teacher, author, and children's literature specialist.

"How to Choose a Good Book for a Report (Middle School)" (WikiHow)

This WikiHow article offers suggestions for middle schoolers on how to choose the right book for a report, from getting started early on the search process to making sure you understand the assignment's requirements.

"Best Book-Report Books for Middle Schoolers" (Common Sense Media)

Common Sense Media has compiled this list of 25 of the best books for middle school book reports. For younger students, the article suggests you check out the site's "50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12."

"50 Books to Read in High School" (Lexington Public Library)

The Lexington, Kentucky Public Library has prepared this list to inspire high school students to choose the right book. It includes both classics and more modern favorites.

The Online Computer Library Center's catalogue helps you locate books in libraries near you, having itemized the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries.

Formats of Book Reports

"Format for Writing a Book Report" ( Your Dictionary )

Here, Your Dictionary supplies guidelines for the basic book report format. It describes what you'll want to include in the heading, and what information to include in the introductory paragraph. Be sure to check these guidelines against your teacher's requirements.

"The Good Old Book Report" (Scholastic)

Nancy Barile’s blog post for Scholastic lists the questions students from middle through high school should address in their book reports.

How to Write an Outline

"Writer’s Web: Creating Outlines" (Univ. of Richmond)

The University of Richmond’s Writing Center shows how you can make use of micro and macro outlines to organize your argument.

"Why and How to Create a Useful Outline" (Purdue OWL)

Purdue’s Online Writing Lab demonstrates how outlines can help you organize your report, then teaches you how to create outlines.

"Creating an Outline" (EasyBib)

EasyBib, a website that generates bibliographies, offers sample outlines and tips for creating your own. The article encourages you to think about transitions and grouping your notes.

"How to Write an Outline: 4 Ways to Organize Your Thoughts" (Grammarly)

This blog post from a professional writer explains the advantages of using an outline, and presents different ways to gather your thoughts before writing.

In this section, you’ll find resources that offer an overview of how to write a book report, including first steps in preparing the introduction. A good book report's introduction hooks the reader with strong opening sentences and provides a preview of where the report is going.

"Step-by-Step Outline for a Book Report" ( Classroom )

This article from Classroom furnishes students with a guide to the stages of writing a book report, from writing the rough draft to revising.

"Your Roadmap to a Better Book Report" ( Time4Writing )

Time4Writing offers tips for outlining your book report, and describes all of the information that the introduction, body, and conclusion should include.

"How to Start a Book Report" ( ThoughtCo)

This ThoughtCo. post, another by academic advisor and college enrollment counselor Grace Fleming, demonstrates how to write a pithy introduction to your book report.

"How to Write an Introduction for a Book Report" ( Classroom )

This brief but helpful post from Classroom  details what makes a good book report introduction, down to the level of individual sentences.

The body paragraphs of your book report accomplish several goals: they describe the plot, delve more deeply into the characters and themes that make the book unique, and include quotations and examples from the book. Below are some resources to help you succeed in summarizing and analyzing your chosen text.

Plot Summary and Description

"How Do You Write a Plot Summary?" ( Reference )

This short article presents the goals of writing a plot summary, and suggests a word limit. It emphasizes that you should stick to the main points and avoid including too many specific details, such as what a particular character wears.

"How to Write a Plot for a Book Report" ( The Pen & The Pad )

In this article from a resource website for writers, Patricia Harrelson outlines what information to include in a plot summary for a book report. 

"How to Write a Book Summary" (WikiHow)

Using Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone as an example, this WikiHow article demonstrates how to write a plot summary one step at a time.

Analyzing Characters and Themes

"How to Write a Character Analysis Book Report" ( The Pen & The Pad )

Kristine Tucker shows how to write a book report focusing on character. You can take her suggestions as they are, or consider  incorporating them into the more traditional book report format.

"How to Write a Character Analysis" (YouTube)

The SixMinuteScholar Channel utilizes analysis of the film  Finding Nemo to show you how to delve deeply into character, prioritizing inference over judgment.

"How to Define Theme" ( The Editor's Blog )

Fiction editor Beth Hill contributes an extended definition of theme. She also provides examples of common themes, such as "life is fragile."

"How to Find the Theme of a Book or Short Story" ( ThoughtCo )

This blog post from ThoughtCo. clarifies the definition of theme in relation to symbolism, plot, and moral. It also offers examples of themes in literature, such as love, death, and good vs. evil.

Selecting and Integrating Quotations

"How to Choose and Use Quotations" (Santa Barbara City College)

This guide from a college writing center will help you choose which quotations to use in your book report, and how to blend quotations with your own words.

"Guidelines for Incorporating Quotes" (Ashford Univ.)

This PDF from Ashford University's Writing Center introduces the ICE method for incorporating quotations: introduce, cite, explain.

"Quote Integration" (YouTube)

This video from The Write Way YouTube channel illustrates how to integrate quotations into writing, and also explains how to cite those quotations.

"Using Literary Quotations" (Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison)

This guide from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Writing Center helps you emphasize your analysis of a quotation, and explains how to incorporate quotations into your text.

Conclusions to any type of paper are notoriously tricky to write. Here, you’ll learn some creative ways to tie up loose ends in your report and express your own opinion of the book you read. This open space for sharing opinions that are not grounded in critical research is an element that often distinguishes book reports from other types of writing.

"How to Write a Conclusion for a Book Report" ( Classroom )

This brief article from the education resource  Classroom illustrates the essential points you should make in a book report conclusion.

"Conclusions" (Univ. of North Carolina)

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Writing Center lays out strategies for writing effective conclusions. Though the article is geared toward analytical essay conclusions, the tips offered here will also help you write a strong book report.

"Ending the Essay: Conclusions" (Harvard College Writing Center)

Pat Bellanca’s article for Harvard University’s Writing Center presents ways to conclude essays, along with tips. Again, these are suggestions for concluding analytical essays that can also be used to tie up a book report's loose ends.

Reading closely and in an engaged manner is the strong foundation upon which all good book reports are built. The resources below will give you a picture of what active reading looks like, and offer strategies to assess and improve your reading comprehension. Further, you’ll learn how to take notes—or “annotate” your text—making it easier to find important information as you write.

How to Be an Active Reader

"Active Reading Strategies: Remember and Analyze What You Read" (Princeton Univ.)

Princeton University’s McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning recommends ten strategies for active reading, and includes sample diagrams.

"Active Reading" (Open Univ.)

The Open University offers these techniques for reading actively alongside video examples. The author emphasizes that you should read for comprehension—not simply to finish the book as quickly as possible.

"7 Active Reading Strategies for Students" ( ThoughtCo )

In this post, Grace Fleming outlines seven methods for active reading. Her suggestions include identifying unfamiliar words and finding the main idea. 

"5 Active Reading Strategies for Textbook Assignments" (YouTube)

Thomas Frank’s seven-minute video demonstrates how you can retain the most important information from long and dense reading material.

Assessing Your Reading Comprehension

"Macmillan Readers Level Test" (MacMillan)

Take this online, interactive test from a publishing company to find out your reading level. You'll be asked a number of questions related to grammar and vocabulary.

"Reading Comprehension Practice Test" (ACCUPLACER)

ACCUPLACER is a placement test from The College Board. This 20-question practice test will help you see what information you retain after reading short passages.

"Reading Comprehension" ( English Maven )

The English Maven site has aggregated exercises and tests at various reading levels so you can quiz your reading comprehension skills.

How to Improve Your Reading Comprehension

"5 Tips for Improving Reading Comprehension" ( ThoughtCo )

ThoughtCo. recommends five tips to increase your reading comprehension ability, including reading with tools such as highlighters, and developing new vocabulary.

"How to Improve Reading Comprehension: 8 Expert Tips" (PrepScholar)

This blog post from PrepScholar provides ideas for improving your reading comprehension, from expanding your vocabulary to discussing texts with friends.

CrashCourse video: "Reading Assignments" (YouTube)

This CrashCourse video equips you with tools to read more effectively. It will help you determine how much material you need to read, and what strategies you can use to absorb what you read.

"Improving Reading Comprehension" ( Education Corner )

From a pre-reading survey through post-reading review, Education Corner  walks you through steps to improve reading comprehension.

Methods of In-text Annotation

"The Writing Process: Annotating a Text" (Hunter College)

This article from Hunter College’s Rockowitz Writing Center outlines how to take notes on a text and provides samples of annotation.

"How To Annotate Text While Reading" (YouTube)

This video from the SchoolHabits YouTube channel presents eleven annotation techniques you can use for better reading comprehension.

"5 Ways To Annotate Your Books" ( Book Riot )

This article from the Book Riot  blog highlights five efficient annotation methods that will save you time and protect your books from becoming cluttered with unnecessary markings.

"How Do You Annotate Your Books?" ( Epic Reads )

This post from Epic Reads highlights how different annotation methods work for different people, and showcases classic methods from sticky notes to keeping a reading notebook.

Students at every grade level can benefit from writing book reports, which sharpen critical reading skills. Here, we've aggregated sources to help you plan book report assignments and develop rubrics for written and oral book reports. You’ll also find alternative book report assessment ideas that move beyond the traditional formats.

Teaching Elementary School Students How to Write Book Reports

"Book Reports" ( Unique Teaching Resources )

These reading templates courtesy of Unique Teaching Resources make great visual aids for elementary school students writing their first book reports.

"Elementary Level Book Report Template" ( Teach Beside Me )

This   printable book report template from a teacher-turned-homeschooler is simple, classic, and effective. It asks basic questions, such as "who are the main characters?" and "how did you feel about the main characters?"

"Book Reports" ( ABC Teach )

ABC Teach ’s resource directory includes printables for book reports on various subjects at different grade levels, such as a middle school biography book report form and a "retelling a story" elementary book report template.

"Reading Worksheets" ( Busy Teacher's Cafe )

This page from Busy Teachers’ Cafe contains book report templates alongside reading comprehension and other language arts worksheets.

Teaching Middle School and High School Students How to Write Book Reports

"How to Write a Book Report: Middle and High School Level" ( Fact Monster)

Fact Monster ’s Homework Center discusses each section of a book report, and explains how to evaluate and analyze books based on genre for students in middle and high school.

"Middle School Outline Template for Book Report" (Trinity Catholic School)

This PDF outline template breaks the book report down into manageable sections for seventh and eighth graders by asking for specific information in each paragraph.

"Forms for Writing a Book Report for High School" ( Classroom )

In this article for Classroom,  Elizabeth Thomas describes what content high schoolers should focus on when writing their book reports.

"Forms for Writing a Book Report for High School" ( The Pen & The Pad )

Kori Morgan outlines techniques for adapting the book report assignment to the high school level in this post for The Pen & The Pad .

"High School Book Lists and Report Guidelines" (Highland Hall Waldorf School)

These sample report formats, grading paradigms, and tips are collected by Highland Hall Waldorf School. Attached are book lists by high school grade level.

Sample Rubrics

"Book Review Rubric Editable" (Teachers Pay Teachers)

This free resource from Teachers Pay Teachers allows you to edit your book report rubric to the specifications of your assignment and the grade level you teach.

"Book Review Rubric" (Winton Woods)

This PDF rubric from a city school district includes directions to take the assignment long-term, with follow-up exercises through school quarters.

"Multimedia Book Report Rubric" ( Midlink Magazine )

Perfect for oral book reports, this PDF rubric from North Carolina State University's Midlink Magazine  will help you evaluate your students’ spoken presentations.

Creative Book Report Assignments

"25 Book Report Alternatives" (Scholastic)

This article from the Scholastic website lists creative alternatives to the standard book report for pre-kindergarteners through high schoolers.

"Fresh Ideas for Creative Book Reports" ( Education World )

Education World offers nearly 50 alternative book report ideas in this article, from a book report sandwich to a character trait diagram.

"A Dozen Ways to Make Amazingly Creative Book Reports" ( We Are Teachers )

This post from We Are Teachers puts the spotlight on integrating visual arts into literary study through multimedia book report ideas.

"More Ideas Than You’ll Ever Use for Book Reports" (Teachnet.com)

This list from Teachnet.com includes over 300 ideas for book report assignments, from "interviewing" a character to preparing a travel brochure to the location in which the book is set.

"Fifty Alternatives to the Book Report" (National Council of Teachers of English)

In this PDF resource from the NCTE's  English Journal,  Diana Mitchell offers assignment ideas ranging from character astrology signs to a character alphabet.

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How to Write a Book Report (+ a FREE Step-by-Step Printable for Your Kids)

Just so you know, this post contains affiliate links. That means if you use them to make a purchase, I may earn a commission. You can read my full affiliate disclosure  HERE .

We read a lot of books (homeschool moms, can you relate?). Right now, we are reading the Harry Potter series together as a family, and as my kids have grown, it’s been fun to see them become more interested in reading for fun. As part of our homeschooling this year, we have been learning how to write a book report, which has been a great way for me to evaluate how well my kids are understanding what they read.

My son is in 3rd grade this year and recently had a book report as one of his assignments in English. While there were a couple of steps given to him, he struggled with the process and actually putting the book report together. So I decided to create a step-by-step book report printable to help him learn how to write a book report.

I hope these printables will be a big help to your kids, too! They will walk your kids through the steps of organizing their book report, writing a draft, revising and proofreading, and writing a final copy. Plus, I’ve included a rubric for you that you can use to give helpful feedback if you’d like.

Not only will this template help your kids learn how to write a book report, but they will be fun to add to your homeschool portfolio and look back on in the future.

Why Should You Use Book Reports in Your Homeschool?

Writing a book report or using an organizer to respond to what they have read is a great way to help your kids with their reading comprehension . It’s also fun to see their unique writing styles come to light and learn what they think about the books they have read.

Plus, I have found that incorporating book reports into our homeschool is a fun way for my kids to practice their writing skills because they get to write about a book they have loved. My son doesn’t necessarily love to write, so making the writing topic interesting is really important in our current season.

They also will obviously get to practice their handwriting, and you can include an oral presentation component if you’d like to as well!

Teach Your Kids How to Write a Book Report

A book report is just what it sounds like – a detailed report your kids will write after reading a book. In the report, they will give a summary of the book and share some of the important plot points, as well as share their opinion of the book.

When my son first attempted to do his book report from his English assignment, he struggled with what to write, and how to pull it all together in one cohesive report. I wanted to really lay out the process for him, to break it down into manageable steps .

If your child is new to writing book reports, I would recommend doing the first one together . Choose a book you have been reading aloud as a family (or a new one to read together), so you can then walk through the template and process with them.

If you are reading the book together, model how to take notes of important characters and plot points as you read . These notes will be great to reference later when writing the report.

Once you are finished reading and taking notes, grab your book report template and work through the process of putting together the report ( this printable makes it so easy! ).

My Book Report Template for Kids

There are many options out there with ideas for creative and different styles of book reports (I love these ideas from We Are Teachers), but if you are looking for a simple way for your elementary-aged student to organize their thoughts into a basic book report, these are for you.

The pages include:

• 2 Book Report Planning Pages where your kids will organize their thoughts about the main characters, important plot events, and what they learned and liked about the book. They will also have space to draw out their favorite scene from the story.
• First Draft Pages where they will write a rough draft. These sheets also include checklists that will walk them through the revision and proofreading process.
• My Book Report Pages where your kids will write their final copy of their book report.
• Book Report Rubric which is a sheet you can use to offer comments and suggestions on their work, if desired.
• Reading Log page that your kids can use to keep track of what they are reading (great for your homeschool record keeping as well!)

Using a template like this will help your kids organize their thoughts in the planning pages, so it’s easier for them to put the final review together. They will see all of the important parts that need to go into their book reports, which will help them learn how to write effective reviews and recommendations.

Printable Book Report Template

I’d love for this book report template to be a blessing to you and your family as well! Grab it below when you join my subscriber list – I love to send out freebies, homeschool tips, inspiration and more as I go through my own homeschooling journey.

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And if you love all of those, take a peek at my shop where I share some other helpful printables I’ve created for your home and homeschool.

Drop a comment below and let me know – what are some of your kid’s favorite books they have read, or what are they reading now?

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Summarizing fiction texts simplified.

Seems simple, RIGHT? Read a chapter, write a summary…

Our students see this a lot, whether it be on our reading assessments, in our own classroom work, or on our state assessments.

Bottom line, we want our kids to be proficient (and feel confident) in taking out the important elements from a piece of text, both fiction and non-fiction. We want our zealous little readers to be able to get at the heart of the matter when writing summaries, and we want them to be able to do it in as few words as possible.

Unfortunately, we sometimes forget that our students need to be taught “HOW” to break down a larger piece of text into a short, brief, to the point summary.

Obviously, since the whole problem-solution narrative format tends to be the easiest, I figured this would be a great place to start.

Lastly, we agreed on the solution to the problem or the outcome as the Then .

In addition to practicing with the above mentor texts, we also practiced with differentiated passages from my Summarizing: Differentiated Reading Passages and Questions found HERE .

Having differentiated passages ready to go at three different levels has been so helpful to master this skill.

I got a few, THAT’S IT? and WHERE HAS THIS BEEN ALL MY LIFE! comments. I was cracking up. Unfortunately, my friends, this is just the beginning.

Questions I asked my readers today: What happens when the author does not use the format of problem-solution? What about when an author doesn’t present the information in the exact order that the graphic organizer is laid out? What happens when the author doesn’t come out and neatly provide the reader with any of the above information but instead uses figurative language or forces the reader to infer things like problems and solutions?

The above questions will be our next feat to tackle! But, until then, we are practicing, practicing, and practicing some more!

These resources are now digital! Use them as a part of your digital or distance learning.

What are some tips and tricks you use for teaching higher level summary writing and non-fiction summary writing?

In addition to using the Someone, Wanted, But, So, Then strategy, I also guide students to dig a bit deeper with their reading in my Summarizing: Differentiated Reading Passages and Questions . The goal of this resource is to help students sharpen their ability to summarize. It provides students with a practical process that initially guides them to relevant information from the text using the Someone, Wanted, But, So, Then strategy in a graphic organizer. I also ask them to read a summary and identify different issues (irrelevant details, opinions, not enough information, retelling events out of order, etc.) Once students progress through this resource and become familiar with the summary-writing process, I remove the use of a graphic organizer and ask them to write their own summaries. Additionally, they are asked to make increasingly-detailed critiques of other summaries to identify issues and explain how to improve the summary. You can see the entire resource by clicking HERE or the button below.

This resource is now included in a large bundle with over 300 differentiated passages. Click HERE or the button below to check it out!

This bundle includes 20 total resources – 10 Informational Text and 10 Fiction Differentiated Passages and Questions. Click HERE or the button below.

61 Comments

This is a great post! You are a fabulous blogger! You should see about publishing your ideas. You really have a way with words.

I also teach my kids the SWBST strategy but we also add a Finally onto it to sum up the story in one more final way.

For non-fiction, I teach my kids to find key words then turn the key words into a summary.

Jennifer Teaching to Inspire in 5th

I use the same format as well, but I added a ‘finally’ to help my kids wrap up their thinking. I like to use picture books that I’ve read to them to do as a whole class lesson…I think they remember those the best!

[email protected]

:) Kaitlyn Smiles and Sunshine

I use a graphic organizer, but I think I like this one better! We also use stickies. We do a lot of summarizing in our responses to text :)

Thanks for your comments ladies, and for reading my blog!

I do like the “finally” idea and was thinking about adding this element in this week since my kids feel confident with what we’ve done thus far!

@Kristen- I should own a percentage of Post-Its since I use them so much. ;)

The coordinate mystery pictures are on the way!

I think the key is doing it over and over, starting with smaller picture type books and then expanding into chapter books. Lots of modeling!

tokyoshoes (at) hotmail (dot) com

I just found that summarizing organizer last week and I LOVE it!! It’s so helpful for my students, plus it allows them to start writing independently without saying “I don’t know what to wriiiiite” (can you hear that voice in your head? lol) I love the chart you made to go with it! I may do that this week! =)

Ashley The Resource Room Teacher I’m having a linky party!

Thanks so much for your comments ladies! You’re right about going slow and modeling Suzy! It has gone VERY slow, but I am so happy I took so much time to model it with my kids, because it’s paying off!

@Ashley- I can totally hear it! ;) Isn’t this graphic organizer the best? Thank you for your comment!

Wow! It’s seriously hard to believe that you’re a “young” teacher. You have such great ideas… I don’t think you need many tips or tricks! =) I absolutely love this way of summarizing!It makes it a lot easier for them to understand. My kids struggle with taking this type of organizer and then writing the summary. They are a few years younger than yours though, so I don’t feel so bad. I’ll just keep modeling, modeling, modeling. =) Keep up the amazing work! -Jackie- Sister Teachers

I teach summarizing A LOT to my kiddos and really appreciate your thorough and informative post. I will definitely be trying these ideas.

The REAL Teachers of Orange County

@Jackie- That is the sweetest thing. I AM a young teacher (well…4th year now!) I appreciate your kind comments, they mean so much! My kids struggled SO much too in the beginning, but when I kept modeling and practicing with them day after day we had some MAJOR breakthroughs!

@RealOCteachers- THANK YOU! I teach it a lot as well. It really is a super important skill to have (though not always the easiest to teach!)

I had good luck teaching summary by having students find the 5Ws and H (who, [did] what, where, when, why, how).

I had much better luck when it became who, [wanted] what, where, when, why and how. The _wanted_ (as you have it) is critical to getting at the character’s internal characteristics.

Teaching summary really gets students to the heart of a story :).

So I’ve never used this format to teach summary writing, but I think all that will soon have to change. We usually spend time making flow maps and plot charts of the story to work on summarizing, but they do have trouble with pulling out unimportant details. Thanks for sharing this!

Kristine–We are living parallel lives (sort of). We’re finishing up informational summarization and moving back into fiction, however. I won’t lie–it was tricky! The 5th grade CCSS of finding more than one main idea & summarizing is open to all sorts of interpretation. It was good, but HARD. I am beyond thrilled to be returning to the familiar strategy you mention, and even more thrilled to see your example with Among the Hidden! I read it to my kids every year, and we refer back to it all year long. Thanks for sharing your chapter summarization work.

We are preparing for DRA two assessments also. I also use the somebody, wanted, but, so, then, strategy. I swear by it! It helps the kids Get to the heart/Lesson learned of the story so much better than a listing of important events. Thanks for sharing your anchor charts! They are always super cute!

This is great! I just found your blog, and am glad I did! I am currently teaching resource room (mostly push-in, co-teaching) and it is amazing how many of the intermediates (4-6) cannot write a summary!

I will put this item in my wish list because here in Colombia teachers don´t teach how to sumarize. I´ts incredible that you will find college students who doesn´t know how to make a summary. We need to change that. Thanks!

Oxana Teacher’s clipart blog

I have been looking for something to help my kids grasp summarizing and this is perfect! Thanks so much. I can’t stop buying your stuff at the TPT store!

Thanks Jenny! That’s so kind of you! I’m so glad it helps! :)

Thanks for the shout out about the graphic organizer! I love using this resource with my students. It helps them keep focused on a summary as opposed to a retelling! Wendy One Happy Teacher

This is my first year teaching and I have a wonderful class of 5th graders. I have been struggling with how to mix up my reading lessons. Having them respond on Post-it’s so that they can fill in a large anchor chart is awesome. Thanks for the great ideas!

Wow! This is an amazing blog! Super interesting, LOVE the set up! Have you thought about joining the yearly EduBlogs Challenge? It gives students and teachers a chance to check out other blogs! Some of the info is on our school blog! (:

I work with UClass, where you can share your lessons with the world. If you want to get these great ideas out there and get paid for them, apply here https://uclass.wufoo.com/forms/uclass-lesson-planner/

This is most helpful. I thought I had a great way of teaching fictional summary writing, but the more I try to clarify it for the students, the more I am struggling to define exactly how they should pick out only the most important information. I was using M+2D where M is the main event or idea and the 2D is two related details. The tricky part in fiction is picking out just one event from a chapter for your M. You could choose one every few pages, or one for the whole chapter. I guess that the fact that it changes relative to the length of the text that you need to summarize makes it difficult. (If I’ve read a 20 page chapter, how do I even start picking just one main event?)

I like the method you outlined here, and I want to play with it more for my own purposes before presenting it to my sixth graders. Thanks!

Hi, I used your graphic organiser today with my Year 5 class- they loved it! It made it so much easier to summarise. the text. Thank you PS You may have noticed by my spelling that I am an Australian teacher from Melbourne. I will be back for more inspiration! :)

Thank you so much! This is great!

This lesson went so well this week! Last year, summarizing was really tough for my kids because I used a different strategy that didn’t help step them through the plot well. This year, I feel like I they produced great fiction summaries the FIRST time around. That’s huge. Thanks!

What a great idea! I am a huge fan of Response to Literature! Did you use all 4 of those mentor texts to teach problem solution?

Amanda- Thanks for your kind words! Sometimes I use all four, and other years I have only used one or two. It really just depends on my class and how much practice they need.

“Questions I asked my readers today: What happens when the author does not use the format of problem-solution? What about when an author doesn’t present the information in the exact order that the graphic organizer is laid out? What happens when the author doesn’t come out and neatly provide the reader with any of the above information but instead uses figurative language or forces the reader to infer things like problems and solutions?”

Do you have any answers for these questions? I love how you laid this out, but I would love some help with when writing gets tricky.

Thank you so much for sharing the Organizer for Summarizing. My daughter loves reading, but dreads writing summaries. I think this will help her easily write them for class assignments. -KG

I’m so glad to hear, Karelli! Thanks for your comments!

Thanks so much, Karelli! I’m so happy to hear it will help her! :)

I’ve been having a hard time using the right strategy for my 1st grader, and was looking for some help online (I knew I couldn’t be the only parent with this problem!). I like the way you’ve outlined getting to the details of the summary, and am going to give this a try next week onward. Thank you!

Thanks so much for your comments, Dee. I hope my strategies help! :)

Do you have a teaching plan/ graphic organizer for non-fiction summary writing? Thank you for all of your guidance in all of your writings!

Hi Jennifer- Thanks for your kind words! Check out this blog post on Reading and Summarizing Nonfiction: https://kristinenannini.com/reading-and-summarizing-nonfiction/ . I hope that helps!

So happy to be here,great website i like the template of a site.Great work done by developer.

Hello Kristine,

I must say, your a saviour :)… I was looking for some cool ideas as how to teach my daughter who is in grade 1 to write a summary in an easy and best way. and there i found your page. perfect. excellent and so damn useful.

Thanks a million…

I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks so much, Tehmina!

I teach first grade, and we are about to start our Reading Fair! (Like a science fair, only with digging into a book, instead of digging into a science experiment.)

The kids will be comparing characters, finding the moral/theme, finding the problem and solution, etc. To get them ready for 2nd grade, I am adding in a summarizing component, and this graphic organizer will be great to aid them in that first attempt!

They’ll finish it up by writing their review/opinion of their book (our writing focus right now!), and then present their posters to the class.

Thanks for creating and sharing this!

My students are able to accomplish this task for a smaller book or a few chapters at a time, like the examples you use with your class. They really struggle when they need to apply it to the whole chapter book. My school requires trimester book reports in which they need to write a 10-15 sentence summary. Any suggestions on applying this skill to a whole chapter book?

if you are novice in writing summaries, you can take a look at this site for a quick guide https://pro-essay-writer.com/blog/book-review.html

Great post. Thanks! I like such informative and useful posts and I also share them with readers at different blogs. For example I found one more interesting article here http://www.summarizing.biz/all-summarizing-strategies/ about effective summarizing strategies and tips. So I believe it is worth reading!

Thank you so much admin is already providing the information to us and here we are sorry permission to share your article may be useful

I really like your ideas and resources. I’m all about finding ways to teach things so that it makes clear sense to the students. So this is fantastic. Thank you and God bless all your efforts and endeavours.

Thank you so much, Carolyn! I appreciate your kind words!

Thank you so much admin is already providing the information to us and here we are sorry permission to share articles may be useful and helpful

i’m late to this party but I am using this idea too and love it. I had my kids use a slides presentation for each of the parts.I prepared it for them and sent it to them on google classroom.They have really caught onto this method, too!

Thank you so much admin is already providing the information and sorry I share articles here may be useful and help

Spasibo! (This means “Thank you” in Russian) I teach in the Russian Immersion program, 5th grade. I love your blogs. I am very grateful for your brilliant ideas that are very clear and engaging. You are an amazing teacher! Thank you!

Hi Olessia- Thanks so much for your kind words! I am so happy to hear that my ideas are able to help you all the way in Russia! :)

this summary guide is amazing! thank you so much!

Thanks so much, Natalie!

I’m a first year teacher and this information is awesome! Thank you!

Thanks so much, Angela! I’m so glad to hear it helped!

Thank you for such useful information. Summarizing is one of those skills that can be very easy for a teacher however can be troublesome for students who have not been appropriately taught how to summarize correctly. For a long time I didn’t educate my seventh and eighth grade students how to condense and summarize paragraphs online . I would simply request that they abridge messages and afterward get distraught at them when they neglected to deliver quality synopses. I wasn’t right in doing this. Presently I generally teaching my students how to write summaries.

Thanks so much for your comments, Eva!

you are a great blogger! thank you so much for your effort. this blog helped me lot with my assignment. keep up the good work. :))

Thank you very useful information admin, and pardon me permission to share articles here may help

It was really a great information thanks for sharing.

Thank you for such useful information. Summarizing is one of those skills that can be very easy for a teacher however can be troublesome for students who have not been appropriately taught how to summarize correctly and greateful article.We have amazing offers and trending deals,discount coupon save your money.

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How We Do Book Reports- 4th Grade Literature

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What do you do for literature? Do you do book reports for 4th grade?

This year, after discussing with our teacher, we decided to take a different approach to the traditional comprehension questions by focusing on book reports instead.

Marc doesn’t like writing, and writing composition is difficult for him. So, book reports aren’t one of his strong points yet, even though he is a capable reader and his comprehension is great.

Pin this image to read the article later. 📌

We chose these four books for literature in 4th grade:

• Around the World in 80 Days
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
• Charlotte’s Web
• Lincoln and His Boys

I was a bit confused as to what a book report entailed until our teacher sent us some samples. I managed to create a “process” that works for us, which enabled me to “hold his hand” and make sure he gets the most out of it. Here’s how we do it:

Step 1: Read the book

The first step is obviously reading the book. I planned the year so he would read a long and a shorter book per semester. We started with Around the World in 80 Days because it was the longest. It was full of descriptions in Jules Verne’s style that tired Marc after a while, but he managed to finish it and, surprisingly, he liked it so much that he listened to the audiobook versions of all Jules Verne’s famous books!

To avoid reading fatigue, I split the book into bits, asking him to read 3 chapters per week. This worked great because he didn’t need to do much at once. I did that for all the books, but if he wants to read them faster, I am okay with that, too. He finished Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH in a week.

Ideally, I would have asked him questions after every chapter or given him small writing assignments every few chapters. However, because this was the first year we were doing it and I didn’t want it to be overwhelming (or push him into hating reading), I just let him read as he pleased.

Step 2: Listen to the audiobook and see the movie (if available)

I got this idea because I stumbled upon the Audible Audiobooks for some of the books we needed to read. We played them at night, as bedtime stories.

They are so worth it! Here’s a list of the ones available:

• Around the World in 80 Days – on Audible. If you want to listen to this book, buy this version! It was a delight to listen to, with all the characters coming to life.
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH – on Audible. Another beautiful audiobook, unabridged.
• Charlotte’s Web – on Audible. You have to get this version narrated by Meryl Streep, we LOVED IT!

I also rented the movies I could find from Amazon Prime. You can either rent them, buy them, or buy the DVDs depending on where you are in the world.

• Around the World in 80 Days – you can buy the DVDs from Amazon or, if you have a USA card, you can rent the movie.
• The Secret of NIMH – Amazon DVD or Prime.
• Charlotte’s Web – DVDs or Prime video from Amazon

By listening to the audiobooks and watching the movies after reading the original book, we could discuss the differences. It was a great exercise for Marc, and I used this opportunity to tell him never to judge a book by its movie.

Step 3: Make an outline of your book reports

The third step actually meant that I would get more involved. We usually start with diagramming and writing down the main idea and supporting details.

I used some teacher guides to help me, and Marc either filled them in or I just asked some questions to see his comprehension. The best ones for our books were:

• Around the World in 80 Days Guide – FREE pdf
• Lincoln and His Boys Guide – FREE pdf
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH Guide – Amazon (I got the Kindle version)
• Charlotte’s Web Guide – from Amazon

Then, I take a piece of paper and start asking him step-by-step questions. As he answers them, I write them down for him. After we are done, we read it together, make tweaks, and bring it to a final form.

This is the step where I help him the most, and I hope that in time he will get used to creating his own outlines and first drafts.

Step 4: Book reports – final form

We are actually going to submit two final forms: one is handwritten by Marc, and one is typed.

I created our 4th grade book report template in a PDF form for anyone who wants to download it below:

The second one is a typed one. This one takes forever to type because Marc is still not used to all the keys, but I saw it as a good opportunity to use the computer in a practical way and let him learn things freely, as we go.

He is learning how to research information about the author online, how to extract it and reword it, how to look for and save images, how to edit a text on a computer, how to print, and more.

I also created a full guide for elementary-aged kids to show them book reports can be fun where I talked about the importance of book reports and provide them with more guides (for grades 2-5). If you want, you can check it out below:

Step 5: Grading and presentation

I am required to use a rubric for grading his reports, and our teacher from Bridgeway Academy was kind enough to send me one. We just love how helpful she is!

At this point, I am checking for comprehension, ability to remember details, and ability to detect the main idea. I am less concerned about him being able to put it all together because I realize it’s a long process that we will continue over the years, and he will get better at it by seeing it modeled.

I would have liked to make him present the whole project to us, but I felt like it would be too much. Maybe from next year, we will start working on this aspect as well.

How do you approach book reports in your home? Let me know in the comments.

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I'm a homeschool mom and photographer that loves reading, traveling and writing about our homeschool adventures.

I live in Europe with my 13-year-old son who is a handful to raise and educate. He is gifted in STEM and my opposite in every way. So life is never boring for us.

I've been homeschooling for 7 years ⭐️ now and I feel I still have so much to explore and learn but at the same time, I've gathered a lot of information during these years.

I want to share my ideas and discoveries with you and I love talking to other homeschool parents and learning from them.

"We rise by lifting others" is my favorite motto. That's why I love sharing and helping whenever I can. So don't shy away from dropping me a line. I always love hearing from you 🤗

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