1. Summarizing
RL6.2 – I can summarize a literary text free from judgements and opinions.

2. Why summarize?
A good reader can choose the most important points of a story and relay them to others is a logical way.

3. Length
The length of a summary depends on the length of the original text. For our purposes, we will strive to summarize in five sentences.

4. Elements to include in a summary.
Title and author
Names of main characters
Description of the conflict
Mention of the setting
Description of the beginning, middle, and end of the story.

5. Example summary of “Ta-Na-E-Ka”
In “Ta-Na-E-Ka” by Mary Whitebird, the main character, Mary, and her cousin Roger live on the northernmost part of the Missouri River in on a Kaw Reservation and do not want to participate in their tribe’s endurance ritual even though it is very important to their elders. Grandfather expected Mary and Roger to survive on their own in the wilderness for five days. Mary and Roger reluctantly went along with the idea, but Mary planned ahead and borrowed five dollars from her teacher to use during her Ta-Na-E-Ka. Mary found shelter in a restaurant and changed her mind about the importance of her culture when the restaurant’s owner criticized the idea of Ta-Na-E-Ka. Mary returned home to face her grandfather and convinced him that there is more than one way to show your ability to endure.