In this activity, students decide on what they think the important parts in the text are, 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 up the text, 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.
Nicky has to spend the summer with his Grandma and he is not happy about it. His Grandma makes him do chores, and he tries to fish, but doesn't catch anything.
He finds a raft, covered in drawings of animals, and secures it to the dock. He learns that his Grandma spent her summers poling the river on the same raft. The raft attracts many animals. Nicky loves riding around on the raft and sketching the animals.
Nicky spends most of the summer on the raft. On his last day at Grandma's, he helps a fawn up a muddy bank. He draws a picture of the fawn on the raft. He knows he is now a part of the river, forever.
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Make a storyboard summary of The Raft.
Begin by inviting students to share what they think are the most important events from the story. Write their ideas on the board and guide the class to categorize these events as the beginning, middle, or end. This helps students build comprehension and confidence in identifying story structure.
Distribute a simple graphic organizer with three sections labeled Beginning, Middle, and End. Ask students to write or draw key events from each part of the story. Visual aids help learners organize information and see how events connect.
Pair students and have them take turns retelling the story, focusing on the beginning, middle, and end. This reinforces understanding and gives students the chance to practice summarizing key details.
Invite students to each draw a scene from the beginning, middle, or end of the story. Combine their illustrations into a large class mural that visually summarizes the book. This hands-on activity boosts engagement and memory.
Provide sentence starters like "In the beginning...", "In the middle...", and "At the end..." to help students write concise summaries under their pictures or in journals. Scaffolding makes writing less intimidating and helps all learners succeed.
A BME summary for 'The Raft' breaks the story into three main parts: the beginning (Nicky arrives at his Grandma's, unhappy), the middle (he discovers the raft and enjoys adventures), and the end (he helps a fawn and feels connected to the river).
To create a storyboard summary of 'The Raft', students draw a picture for the beginning, middle, and end of the story, then write a sentence under each to explain the key event depicted.
Main events for a BME activity include: Nicky's reluctance at Grandma's house (beginning), discovering and exploring the animal-covered raft (middle), and helping a fawn and connecting with nature (end).
Breaking a story into beginning, middle, and end helps students organize information, identify key events, and improve comprehension by focusing on the structure of the narrative.
The best way to teach parts of a story with 'The Raft' is to have students summarize each section with drawings and sentences, fostering understanding and engagement with the text.