The Five Finger Summary Strategy

What is summarizing?

• Summarizing involves taking large sections of text and reducing them into shorter, concise passages.

• Summarizing involves the key ideas or the “gist” of the story or article.

• When summarizing, you should use your own words without changing the meaning of the writing, and you should maintain the plot’s sequence.

• Remember to focus on only the most important details.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vpH-LYdTDY&feature=related

Today’s focus

The Five Finger Summary StrategyThe five finger summary is an easy method to quickly summarize any narrative piece.

It can be used for a page, for a chapter, or for an entire book.

Let’s Practice…

http://www.toonjet.com/cartoon/285/WaltDisneyClassics/Three-Little-Pigs/

Somebody…This is the person considered the main character.

This character drives the action of the story.

It can be a group.

In the Three Little Pigs, the somebody is the three little pigs.

Wanted…What is the main character trying to do?

What is the goal of the character?This usually leads to the problem.In the Three Little Pigs, the pigs wanted to have their own homes.

But…This is the main problem of the story.It is usually in the middle of a story.

It is the challenge facing the main character.

In the story The Three Little Pigs, the wolf keeps blowing down the pigs’ houses.

So…This is the main consequence of a story.

It is also usually found in the middle of the story.

It can sometimes come before the “but.”

In The Three Little Pigs the pigs run to each other’s houses to escape the wolf.

In the end…This represents the solution or resolution of the story.

It is usually at the end.

In The Three Little Pigs the pigs were safe in the house of bricks.

Example of the Five Finger Summary

The three little pigs wanted to build their own houses, but a wolf kept blowing them down one at a time. So, each piggy escaped to his brother’s house for safety. In the end, all three pigs were safe in the last pig’s brick house.

The History of Play-Doh

http://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/how-do-you-know/play-doh-story

This time watch the video and

fill out your “SWBST ”chart.

The History of Play-Doh

http://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/how-do-you-know/play-doh-story

The History of Play-DohSOMEBODY:

A man named Joe McFicker

WANTED:to make money from his gooey invention

BUT:his product was no longer needed for removing

soot because heating systems improved

SO:his sister-in-law, a nursery school teacher, suggested he market the product to children

THEN:he added color to his creation and named the

product Play-Doh

The Clock-Maker

http://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button/fathers-clock

The Clock-MakerSOMEBODY:

A blind father and clock-maker

WANTED:to build a large clock

BUT:became distraught when his son died in war

SO:he created a clock that moved in reverse in

attempt to turn back time

THEN:presented his clock to the town, along with his

theory

Let’s practice…Wilma Rudolph

Wilma Rudolph was the first American female runner to win three gold medals in the Olympic Games. Her performance was all the more remarkable in light of the fact that she had double pneumonia and scarlet fever as a young child and could not walk without braces until age 11.

Rudolph was born on June 23, 1940, in St. Bethlehem, Tennessee, the 17th of 19 children, and soon moved with her family to Clarksville. At an early age, she survived polio and scarlet fever, only to be left with the use of one leg. Through daily leg massages administered in turn by different members of her family, she progressed to the point where she was able walk only with the aid of a special shoe. Three years later, however, she discarded the shoe and began joining her brother in backyard basketball games. At Burt High School in Clarksville, while a sophomore, Rudolph broke the state basketball record for girls. As a sprinter, she was undefeated in all of her high school track meets.

In 1957, Rudolph enrolled at Tennessee State University and began setting her sights on the Olympic Games in Rome. In the interim, she gained national recognition in collegiate meets, setting the world record for 2000 meters in July of 1960. In the Olympics, she earned the title of the "World's Fastest Woman" by winning gold medals for the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash (Olympic record), and for anchoring the 400-meter relay (world record). She was named by The Associated Press as the U.S. Female Athlete of the Year for 1960 and also won United Press Athlete of the Year honors.

Let’s try the Five Finger Summary…Who is the somebody?Wilma RudolphWhat did she want?She wanted to walk and run.But?She was sick with polio and wore a leg brace.So?Her mother and family massaged her legs daily, and she exercised her muscles every day.

What happened in the end?In the end, Wilma was able to walk and run so well that she won three medals at the 1960 Olympics.

The SummaryWilma Rudolph wanted to walk and run like a normal child, but she had polio and had to wear a leg brace. So her mother and family had to massage her legs daily. Wilma also exercised. In the end, Wilma not only learned to walk and run without her brace, she became a three time Olympic gold medal winner.

On Your Own…

Pick up “A Lucky Man”, read, and fill out your “SWBST” chart as you go. Once you’re done, you’ll be ready to share your summary with a classmate.