Summarizing Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

Learning to summarize a story is a skill students will use throughout their life. Starting with the Beginning, Middle, and End, students will learn to identify important scenes in stories in a way that creates an easy to understand summary. In this activity, students will create a 3 cell storyboard that summarizes Sadako’s story in the beginning, the middle, and the end.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes Summary Example

Beginning: When the readers first meet Sadako, she is energetic, determined, and ready to do anything to make the junior high running team the following year. Sadako and her family remember those who lost their lives due to the atom bomb on August 6, 1945; some lives were lost that day, and others are still being lost as a result of illness due to the poisons from the bomb.

Middle: Sadako learns that she has leukemia, otherwise known as the “atom bomb disease”. She is hospitalized and at the urging of her best friend, Chizuko, she begins folding paper cranes to save her own life. It is said that cranes live for a thousand years, and if a sick person folds 1,000 cranes, they will become healthy again.

End: Although at times she feels okay, Sadako’s health worsens, and she loses her battle on October 25, 1955, 356 cranes shy of 1,000. Her classmates fold the remaining 356 cranes so that Sadako can be buried with 1,000 of them. Three years later, a statue of Sadako is unveiled in Hiroshima Peace Park, honoring her and those who died as a result of the atom bomb.

Due Date:

Objective: Create a visual plot diagram of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes.

Student Instructions:

1. Click "Start Assignment".
2. Separate the story into the Beginning, Middle, and End.
3. Create an image that represents an important moment or set of events for each of the story components using appropriate scenes, characters, and items.
4. Write a short description for each part of the story.
5. Save and exit when you're done.