How can answers come from the text rather than general memory?
Identify the question, predict where the answer is and underline clues. Then answer in the child’s own words with evidence. Summaries retain ideas and relationships, removing examples and repetition.
Practical takeaways
- Text type guides the reading approach.
- Every analytical answer needs evidence.
- Summarising means selecting and organising, not copying.
Story and informational text structure
In stories, track the problem, events and resolution. In informational text, seek the idea, cause and effect, comparison or classification.
From question to evidence location
Identify question terms and likely locations, read surrounding sentences, then choose evidence that truly answers—not just a sentence sharing a word.
Justified inference
Write: “I infer that… because the text says or shows…”. Use this temporary scaffold until linking evidence becomes a habit.
A focused summary
Identify the idea, two key points and their relationship. Remove examples and repetition, use your own words and check the summary stands alone.
Frequently asked questions
Should the answer copy the evidence?
Prefer the child’s own words, pointing to evidence or quoting a short part if needed.
How long should the summary be?
It depends on the text and task; retain key ideas and relationships without excess detail.
The child gives an opinion instead of the text’s answer: what now?
Distinguish “What does the text say?” from “What do you think?”. Require textual evidence for the first and reasoning for the second.