Strategies for teaching literature & nonfiction
Book Clubs | Summarize Literature | Summarize Informational Text | ESL Resources
Retell & Summarize Informational Text
Recall details
Identify the types of details readers should collect.
These who, what, where, when, and why question cards are great to scrimmage looking for
key details during whole-class read alouds and small-group conversations.
Collecting important information about many primary nonfiction concepts is often easier with do, is, has, can. Project these JPEGs when engaging in a recall with young readers.
Understanding “can” details
Excerpt about a squirrel | Excerpt about tigers
Here is a list of the does, is, has, can details students noted while reading I Pick Fall Pumpkins by Mary Lindeen (on EPIC!) and pages 2-3 from “Pick a Pumpkin” (Scholastic News, Oct 2022, Grade 1).
Riverdale Elementary teacher Leslie Davis (Saint Joe, IN) taught her first graders Round 1 of Retell Information—including how to read for does, is, has, can details. When practicing during read alouds, Leslie helped students talk through their thinking. (When recalling a fact, she would ask if it was something that the subject CAN do SOMETIMES or DOES ALL the time.) “I am really impressed with how they are able to work through the information and determine if it’s a do or a can. They are noticing author words like sometimes or might and announcing ‘That’s a can!'”
Use Figjam to collect informational text details.
Customize learning with Information Pyramids.
