Writing a summary is effective for retelling the whole story. As the story has many vignettes within it, this will be a good challenge for students already developing summarization skills. They will need to practice determining importance and main idea to create a successful summary storyboard. The storyboard format will help students practice being concise when many elements are in play.
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Student Instructions
Make a storyboard summary of Stuart Little.
Use a graphic organizer such as a story map or summary chart to help students visually structure key events and details from 'Stuart Little.' This approach supports students as they identify main ideas and sequence events, making it easier for them to create a clear and focused storyboard summary.
Read a short section of the book aloud and think out loud as you summarize its main point. This demonstration shows students how to distinguish important details from less important ones, giving them a clear example of effective summarization.
Ask students to highlight or underline key events and character actions in the text. This technique helps them focus on what matters most for their summaries and avoid getting lost in minor details.
Have students exchange storyboards with a partner and provide constructive feedback on clarity and completeness. Peer review helps students refine their summaries and learn from each other’s ideas.
Lead a brief class discussion where students share which events they chose and why. This reflection encourages critical thinking about summary decisions and builds confidence in summarizing longer stories.
Stuart Little is a children’s novel by E.B. White about a mouse born to a human family. Stuart uses his small size to his advantage, befriends a bird named Margalo, and embarks on a quest to find her after she flees for safety, experiencing many adventures along the way.
Students can create a storyboard summary by drawing or arranging pictures that represent two main events from the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Writing a brief sentence under each picture helps reinforce understanding of the story’s main ideas.
Effective strategies include using storyboards to help students identify and organize main events, encouraging them to write one-sentence summaries for each part, and discussing which details are most important to the plot.
Summarizing helps students practice determining importance, main idea, and conciseness. With 'Stuart Little’s' multiple story vignettes, students are challenged to focus on key events, boosting their critical thinking and comprehension skills.
Beginning: Stuart is born a mouse and adapts to his family life. Middle: He has city adventures and befriends Margalo. End: Margalo flees for safety and Stuart goes on a quest to find her, facing new adventures.