• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Main idea and supporting details). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Dolphins are very smart. They can learn tricks, solve puzzles and recognise themselves in a mirror. They also talk to each other with clicks and whistles. What is the main idea? (Dolphins like mirrors. / Dolphins whistle. / Dolphins live in the sea. / Dolphins are intelligent animals.) → Dolphins are intelligent animals.Prompt: What is the WHOLE text mostly about, not just one part?
2. Spiders are not insects. Insects have six legs, but spiders have eight. Insects have three body parts, while spiders have two. Most insects have wings; spiders never do. What is the main idea? (Spiders have eight legs. / Spiders are different from insects in several ways. / Spiders are scary. / Insects can fly.) → Spiders are different from insects in several ways.Prompt: What is the WHOLE text mostly about, not just one part?
3. Recycling helps our planet. When we recycle paper, fewer trees are cut down. Recycling cans saves energy. It also means less rubbish goes into the ground. What is the main idea? (Cans are made of metal. / Recycling helps the planet in many ways. / Paper comes from trees. / Rubbish is smelly.) → Recycling helps the planet in many ways.Prompt: What is the WHOLE text mostly about, not just one part?

• Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
• Share the objective: Choose the best summary of a short text. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: In 2021, a small town opened a 'repair café'. Once a month, volunteers fix broken toasters, toys and bikes for free. In its first year, the café saved over two tonnes of items from being thrown away. Which is the best summary?
• Step 1: The best summary states the main idea and the most important points in your own words.
• Step 2: So the answer is: A town's monthly repair café fixes broken items for free and has kept tonnes of things out of the rubbish.
• Answer: A town's monthly repair café fixes broken items for free and has kept tonnes of things out of the rubbish.
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. Octopuses are clever problem-solvers. In aquariums they have unscrewed jar lids to reach food and escaped from their tanks. Scientists think their large brains and flexible arms help them explore and learn. Which is the best summary? (Octopuses live in aquariums. / Octopuses are smart animals that can solve problems, helped by their large brains and flexible arms. / One octopus opened a jar. / Octopuses are scary.) → Octopuses are smart animals that can solve problems, helped by their large brains and flexible arms.Prompt: A summary is short and covers the WHOLE text, not just one part.
2. Every morning, an old fox watched the farm from the hill. One winter, when the snow was deep, the farmer's daughter left scraps by the fence. The fox never touched the hens again, and each spring it brought its cubs to the hill to watch the farm. Which is the best summary of the story? (A girl's kindness to a hungry fox in winter makes the fox leave the farm's hens alone. / The fox had cubs. / Foxes like to sit on hills. / It snowed a lot one winter.) → A girl's kindness to a hungry fox in winter makes the fox leave the farm's hens alone.Prompt: A summary is short and covers the WHOLE text, not just one part.

• Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
• Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Octopuses are clever problem-solvers. In aquariums they have unscrewed jar lids to reach food and escaped from their tanks. Scientists think their large brains and flexible arms help them explore and learn. Which is the best summary? (One octopus opened a jar. / Octopuses are scary. / Octopuses live in aquariums. / Octopuses are smart animals that can solve problems, helped by their large brains and flexible arms.) → Octopuses are smart animals that can solve problems, helped by their large brains and flexible arms.Prompt: A summary is short and covers the WHOLE text, not just one part.
2. When the class robot, Bolt, broke down the day before the science fair, Jai wanted to give up. Instead, his team stayed after school, found a loose wire, and rebuilt Bolt's arm. At the fair, Bolt sorted coloured blocks perfectly and the team won second prize. Which is the best summary of the story? (Jai wanted to give up. / Bolt sorted coloured blocks. / There was a loose wire. / Jai's team fixes their broken robot in time and does well at the science fair.) → Jai's team fixes their broken robot in time and does well at the science fair.Prompt: A summary is short and covers the WHOLE text, not just one part.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-4.