SWBST Summarizing Strategy

Sally had a birthday party at her house. She invited lots of friends. They all brought her a present to open. She was excited to share cupcakes with her friends. She thanked everyone for coming before they went home. What is the best summary for this paragraph?

• Sally opened presents.

• Sally ate cupcakes with her friends.

• Sally had a birthday party with her friends.

• Sally thanked her friends for coming.

Which is the best summary of the following passage?
As soon as she arrived at grandmother's house, Jessica ran into her bedroom to look at the blue quilt. It covered her grandmother's bed and was Jessica's favorite. It had patches of dark blue, medium blue, and light blue, with pictures of birds and flowers on every other patch. Jessica liked to take naps with the quilt wrapped around her. She loved the way it felt so soft and warm against her skin. Whenever she was visiting grandma, just looking at the quilt made Jessica happy.

• Jessica's grandmother has a pretty blue quilt.

• Jessica loved her grandmother's quilt.

• Jessica took naps at her grandmother's house.

• The quilt was warm.

When would you most likely summarize a book?

• when you want to forget a book you've read

• when you want to tell a friend your opinion of a book but not what it was about

• when you want to tell a friend the gist or main ideas of a book

• when you don't understand a vocabulary word you read in a book

It started when they got to the bears. Peter felt tired and his stomach hurt. He dragged himself over to see the elephants, which were eating from a stack of hay. Normally, the elephants were his favorite. Without much interest, Peter followed his classmates to the camels, which were busy swatting flies with their tails. Peter knew he should be having fun at the zoo, but he just felt terrible and all he wanted to do was lie down and rest. Even the lions and tigers did not interest him now. 
The best summary of this passage is...

• Peter's favorite animals were the elephants.

• The camels were swatting flies with their tails.

•  It was really hot at the zoo.

• Peter didn't enjoy the zoo because he felt really bad.

What is a summary?

• a short explanation of a text

• a persuasive argument about a text

• a movie based off of a book

• a theme or universal lesson

You should write your summary

• in your own words with complete sentences

• in a secret language that you make up

• in one draft without revising

• in fragments without punctuation

In the SWBST (somebody wanted but so then) strategy, what word tells you who the main character is? 

• Somebody

• Wanted

• Bus

• So

What does the 'S' in SWBST stand for in the summarizing strategy?

• Somebody

• Somewhere

• Something

• Somehow

In the SWBST strategy, which part helps identify the main conflict in the story?

• Somebody

• Wanted

• But

• So

Which of the following is a key component of the SWBST strategy?

• Setting

• Plot

• Character

• Theme