My Father's Dragon Summary Activity

Students decide on what are important parts in the text and categorize them into the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Having students decide on the beginning, middle, and end will help them break the text up and make it easier to choose one or two main events to create. Students can plan their ideas with a partner or individually and decide what main parts they would like to add to their storyboard.

The storyboard above shows one example for the beginning, middle and end, but you could set a number of frames for the students to use depending on the ability of the student or the length of the text.

Example My Father's Dragon Summary

Beginning

Elmer Elevator befriends an alley cat who tells him of a mysterious island called Wild Island. The cat says there is a baby dragon there that is tied up and forced to carry people and cargo up and down the river. Elmer decides he will run away to Wild Island to save the dragon.

Middle

Elmer hides in a cargo ship and eventually makes it to the island. On the island he runs into many animals that block his path to the dragon. Elmer uses his supplies from his knapsack to help him get past the animals. For example, a lion has snarly hair, so Elmer gives him a comb and shows him how to brush his hair and tie it up.

End

To cross the river, Elmer ties the crocodiles tails together with a band and a lollipop to form a chain. He runs across, but the animals chasing him get stuck in the middle of the river on the crocodiles backs. Elmer reaches the dragon, cuts him free from his rope, and together they fly away from Wild Island.

Student Instructions

Make a storyboard summary of My Father's Dragon.

1. Make a picture that shows the beginning of the story.
2. Make a picture that shows the middle of the story.
3. Make a picture that shows the end of the story.
4. Write a sentence under each picture.