The Five Finger Summary Strategy
What is summarizing?
• Summarizing involves taking large sections of text and
reducing them into shorter, concise passages.
• Summarizing involves the key ideas or the “gist” of the
story or article.
• When summarizing, you should use your own words
without changing the meaning of the writing, and you
should maintain the plot’s sequence.
• Remember to focus on only the most important
details.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vpH-LYdTDY&feature=related
Beginning
Middle
End
Summary
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
How?
Problem
Character
Setting
Solution
Somebody
Wanted
But
So
Then
The Five Finger Summary Strategy
 The five finger summary
is an easy method to
quickly summarize any
narrative piece.
 It can be used for a page,
for a chapter, or for an
entire book.
Let’s Practice…
http://www.toonjet.com/cartoon/285/WaltDisneyClassics/Three-Little-Pigs/
Somebody…
 This is the person considered the main character.
 This character drives the action of the story.
 It can be a group.
 In the Three Little Pigs, the somebody is the three little
pigs.
Wanted…
 What is the main character trying to do?
 What is the goal of the character?
 This usually leads to the problem.
 In the Three Little Pigs, the pigs wanted to have their
own homes.
But…
 This is the main problem of the story.
 It is usually in the middle of a story.
 It is the challenge facing the main character.
 In the story The Three Little Pigs, the wolf keeps
blowing down the pigs’ houses.
So…
 This is the main consequence of a story.
 It is also usually found in the middle of the story.
 It can sometimes come before the “but.”
 In The Three Little Pigs the pigs run to each other’s
houses to escape the wolf.
In the end…
 This represents the solution or resolution of the story.
 It is usually at the end.
 In The Three Little Pigs the pigs were safe in the house
of bricks.
Example of the Five Finger
Summary
 The three little pigs
wanted to build their
own houses, but a wolf
kept blowing them down
one at a time. So, each
piggy escaped to his
brother’s house for
safety. In the end, all
three pigs were safe in
the last pig’s brick house.
The History of
Play-Doh
http://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/how-do-you-know/play-doh-story
This time watch the
video and fill out
your “SWBST ”chart.
The History of
Play-Doh
http://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/how-do-you-know/play-doh-story
The History of Play-Doh
SOMEBODY:
A man named Joe McFicker
WANTED:
to make money from his gooey invention
BUT:
his product was no longer needed for removing
soot because heating systems improved
SO:
his sister-in-law, a nursery school teacher,
suggested he market the product to children
THEN:
he added color to his creation and named the
product Play-Doh
The Clock-Maker
http://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button/fathers-clock
The Clock-Maker
SOMEBODY:
A blind father and clock-maker
WANTED:
to build a large clock
BUT:
became distraught when his son died in war
SO:
he created a clock that moved in reverse in
attempt to turn back time
THEN:
presented his clock to the town, along with his
theory
Let’s practice…Wilma Rudolph
Wilma Rudolph was the first American female runner to win
three gold medals in the Olympic Games. Her performance was all
the more remarkable in light of the fact that she had double
pneumonia and scarlet fever as a young child and could not walk
without braces until age 11.
Rudolph was born on June 23, 1940, in St. Bethlehem,
Tennessee, the 17th of 19 children, and soon moved with her family
to Clarksville. At an early age, she survived polio and scarlet fever,
only to be left with the use of one leg. Through daily leg massages
administered in turn by different members of her family, she
progressed to the point where she was able walk only with the aid of
a special shoe. Three years later, however, she discarded the shoe
and began joining her brother in backyard basketball games. At Burt
High School in Clarksville, while a sophomore, Rudolph broke the
state basketball record for girls. As a sprinter, she was undefeated in
all of her high school track meets.
In 1957, Rudolph enrolled at Tennessee State University and
began setting her sights on the Olympic Games in Rome. In the
interim, she gained national recognition in collegiate meets, setting
the world record for 2000 meters in July of 1960. In the Olympics,
she earned the title of the "World's Fastest Woman" by winning gold
medals for the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash (Olympic
record), and for anchoring the 400-meter relay (world record). She
was named by The Associated Press as the U.S. Female Athlete of
the Year for 1960 and also won United Press Athlete of the Year
Let’s try the Five Finger Summary…








Who is the somebody?
Wilma Rudolph
What did she want?
She wanted to walk and run.
But?
She was sick with polio and wore a leg brace.
So?
Her mother and family massaged her legs daily, and she
exercised her muscles every day.
 What happened in the end?
 In the end, Wilma was able to walk and run so well that she
won three medals at the 1960 Olympics.
The Summary
 Wilma Rudolph wanted to walk and run like a normal
child, but she had polio and had to wear a leg brace. So
her mother and family had to massage her legs daily.
Wilma also exercised. In the end, Wilma not only
learned to walk and run without her brace, she became
a three time Olympic gold medal winner.
On Your Own…
Pick up “A Lucky Man”, read,
and fill out your “SWBST” chart
as you go. Once you’re done,
you’ll be ready to share your
summary with a classmate.
