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Years 3 and 4 English · Key Stage 2 · Reading – comprehension

Years 3 and 4 reading: main ideas, summarising and non-fiction

In Years 3 and 4 children learn to pull out the main idea from a whole passage rather than a single sentence, to summarise it in a few words, and to find and note down facts from non-fiction books. They look at how language, layout and presentation help a text do its job, and they take part in book discussions where everyone gets a turn.

Main ideas and non-fiction, explained

A main idea is what a group of paragraphs is mostly about. Earlier in primary school children usually answer questions about one sentence or one paragraph. Now they are asked to look across several paragraphs and say what links them. A passage about frogs might have a paragraph on eggs, one on tadpoles and one on legs, and the main idea is not simply frogs: it is how a frog changes as it grows. Seeing the difference between a topic and a main idea is a major step.

Summarising means saying the main idea in a few of your own words, leaving out detail. Teachers help children by asking them to keep a tight word limit, to cross out less important details, or to write one short sentence per paragraph first and then combine them. A good summary is shorter than the original, accurate and in the child’s own words rather than copied.

Non-fiction is a different kind of reading. Children are taught to decide what they want to know before they open the book, and then to use the contents page, headings, index, captions and diagrams to find it. A contents page lists chapters in page order. An index, at the back, lists topics in alphabetical order with page numbers. Children then record what they find as short notes, in a list or table, rather than copying whole sentences. They also look at how language, structure and presentation contribute to meaning: why a heading is there, why a key word is in bold, what a diagram adds that words can’t.

The last part is discussion. When a class talks about a book, children are expected to take turns and listen to what others say. Many teachers ask the class to develop, agree and evaluate their own rules for good discussion, such as one person speaking at a time, building on what the last person said and giving reasons. This works just as well round a kitchen table.

Words your child will hear

Main idea
What a section of text is mostly about, drawn from more than one paragraph.
Summary
A short account of the main points, in your own words.
Contents page
A list at the front of a book showing chapters in order with page numbers.
Index
An alphabetical list at the back of a book of topics with the pages they appear on.
Heading
A title that tells you what a section is about.
Retrieve
Find a fact that is stated in the text.
Caption
A short label or explanation that goes with a picture or diagram.

What the National Curriculum says

In Years 3 and 4, pupils should be taught to:

  • Understand what they read by identifying main ideas drawn from more than 1 paragraph and summarising these
  • Understand what they read by identifying how language, structure, and presentation contribute to meaning
  • Retrieve and record information from non-fiction
  • Participate in discussion about both books that are read to them and those they can read for themselves, taking turns and listening to what others say

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

A worked example: summarising and finding a fact

Read this text under the heading “From egg to frog”, then write a one-sentence summary and say what a tadpole breathes through. A frog begins life as an egg. Many eggs are laid together in water, in a jelly-like clump called spawn. When an egg hatches, a tadpole comes out. It has a tail for swimming and breathes through gills, like a fish. Over several weeks, the tadpole grows back legs, and then front legs. Its lungs develop and its tail shrinks away until it looks like a tiny frog.

  1. Decide what you need before reading. Here there are two jobs: a summary of the whole passage and one fact about a tadpole. The heading, “From egg to frog”, already hints at the main idea.
  2. Note the key point of each paragraph in a few words.
    1: eggs laid in water
2: tadpole hatches, tail, gills
3: grows legs, lungs; tail shrinks
  3. Ask what links the three notes. They are all stages in a frog’s life, with a change at each. So the main idea isn’t just “frogs”: it is how a frog changes as it grows.
  4. Write the summary in your own words, leaving out detail such as the jelly-like spawn and the several weeks. Keep it to one sentence.
  5. For the fact, scan the passage for the word tadpole and the word breathes. The second paragraph says a tadpole breathes through gills. Record it as a short note: tadpole, gills.

Summary: A frog begins as an egg in water, hatches into a tadpole, then grows legs and lungs and loses its tail. Fact: a tadpole breathes through gills.

Common mistakes and how to help

Confusing the topic with the main idea

A child asked what a text is about says “frogs”, which is the subject, rather than what the text actually says about frogs.

What helps: Ask “What is the text telling us about frogs?” The answer, how they change as they grow, is the main idea. A main idea is usually a phrase or sentence, not a single word.

Copying sentences from the text and calling it a summary

Choosing and copying feels safe, and children aren’t sure which details can be left out.

What helps: Set a limit, such as ten words, and ask them to cover the text before writing. Cross out details first, then say what is left in your own words.

Reading a non-fiction book cover to cover to find one fact

Stories are read from front to back, so children use the same method for information books and run out of patience.

What helps: Practise using the contents page, headings and index. Think of a question first, such as “How do bats find food?”, and find the right page together.

Waiting for a turn rather than listening in a discussion

Children are keen to share their own idea and stop listening as soon as they have thought of it.

What helps: Agree simple rules together, then practise a phrase such as “I agree with… because…” or “I’d like to add…” so that each answer builds on the last one.

How to help at home

  • Ten-word summary. After a chapter or a page of an information book, ask your child to say what it was about in no more than ten words. Then see whether anyone can improve it.
  • Find it fast. Think of a question, such as “Why do leaves change colour?”, and ask your child to find the answer in an information book using the contents page or index. Notice how few pages you actually need to read.
  • Notes, not sentences. Make a simple two-column table, for example animal and what it eats, and fill it in with short notes while reading. This stops copying and helps facts stick.
  • Look at the layout. Pick up a leaflet, magazine page or information book and talk about the headings, bold words, captions and pictures. Why are they there, and what would be lost without them?
  • Dinner-table discussion rules. Choose three simple rules for talking about a book, such as one speaker at a time, give a reason, and say something about what the last person said. Try them out over a meal.

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