Writing a Short Summary in 1st Grade

We have been working on identifying the important details in a book and using those details to write a short summary.  As I was reading Beatrice Does Not Want To by Laura Numeroff my first grade friends would record the important details as they were listening.  We had done a small whole group lesson on important vs. non important details. I also told my kids that they did not need to write in complete sentences.  Just get the idea down and we can come back to put it into a sentence.   This allowed them to listen and decide what they would record and not record.  After reading I asked to kids to tell me some of the important details they recorded.  Then I wrote them out on paper using their help to put them into complete sentences.  Then we cut the sentences out into strips and put them in order according to when they happened in the book.  Lastly, we read our finished summary.  Take a peek...

                     Student samples of their notes on the important details they wrote down.

My recording sheets that I used in front of the kids to record their important details and turn them into complete sentences.

Our Final Summary