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.
Isaac has a reoccurring dream that tells him to go to the capital city and look for treasure by the bridge of the Royal Palace. He decides he will listen to his dream and journeys to the Palace.
At the Palace, the Captain of the Guards asks him why he is there and the man explains his dream. The Captain laughs and says it's a pity the man has traveled so far for a dream.
Isaac travels back to his home and digs under the stove and finds a treasure! He builds a house of prayer and adds an inscription. He sends a priceless ruby to the Captain of the Guards. Isaac is content and is never poor again.
(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 Treasure.
Help students visually sort events from the story by providing a simple graphic organizer with sections for Beginning, Middle, and End. Students fill in the boxes with short notes or sketches as they read, making it easier to identify key moments for their summaries.
Demonstrate summarizing by reading a short passage aloud and thinking out loud about what belongs in each part of the BME organizer. This shows students how to make decisions about importance and sequence.
Encourage discussion by having students work in pairs or small groups to agree on the most important events for each story section. This supports deeper understanding and helps quieter students participate.
Boost engagement by asking students to create quick sketches or storyboards for each part of their summary. Visuals help students process and remember key story events.
Build confidence by inviting students to share their summaries and discuss why they chose certain events. Use this as a chance for classmates to give positive feedback and for you to reinforce key story elements.
A BME summary is a way to break down a story into its Beginning, Middle, and End. It helps students identify the most important events in each part to better understand and retell the story.
To teach students to summarize using BME, have them read the story, then discuss what happens at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end. Ask them to pick the most important event from each part and write or draw it.
For 'The Treasure', the beginning is Isaac's dream and journey, the middle is his talk with the Captain of the Guards, and the end is finding the treasure at home and building a house of prayer.
Breaking a story into beginning, middle, and end helps students organize information, remember key events, and improve comprehension, especially when retelling or summarizing.
Have students draw three pictures—one for the beginning, one for the middle, and one for the end of the story. Under each picture, they write a short sentence describing the main event.