IXL | Summarize a story | 4th grade language arts

Read the story.

Buttercup

In the cold, foggy forest, Nathan hiked ahead of his older sister Willa. He was sure that Willa knew these mysterious woods better than he did. She had been exploring them for years before Nathan was old enough to join her. Still, he wanted to show her that he could find his way on his own. All at once, a strong gust of wind picked up, startling him. Nathan slipped on the fallen leaves, lost his balance, and hit the ground with a thump.

After a moment, Nathan sat up, struggling to catch his breath. As he brushed the dust off his body, he noticed a big blue feather floating down from the sky. He examined the feather closely, so closely he barely saw its owner glide silently down from above. But at the last minute, he looked up and found himself face-to-face with a large dragon covered in blue feathers.

They stared silently at each other. Then, the dragon folded its silky wings and came closer. Its razor-sharp teeth were just inches from Nathan's face. With a puff of smoke, the dragon let out a sharp screech, and Nathan screamed back.

The dragon took flight as Nathan leaped to his feet and scurried in the opposite direction. Running blindly through the thick fog, he bumped into something, knocking it backward.

Through the fog, Nathan saw Willa get to her feet and brush herself off.

"I'm sorry," Nathan apologized, "I didn't see you there."

"Why were you running? Did something scare you again?"

"Ah, no . . . I just like stretching my legs, that's all," Nathan lied, embarrassed. He was always trying to prove that he wasn't a baby. And he definitely didn't want Willa to think he was making up stories about a feathery dragon.

Willa snickered. "Come on, let's get moving. I'm freezing!"

On their way back, Nathan and Willa stopped in their tracks at the sight of a dark, swooping shadow. Standing before them was the blue dragon, puffing smoke and baring its sharp teeth. Nathan jumped and let out a shout, cowering behind Willa.

Willa laughed. "Scared of dragons? Don't worry, Buttercup won't bite. I've known her for years."

Willa pulled a cookie from her pocket and tossed it to the dragon. Buttercup caught it and swallowed it whole. Willa placed a cookie into Nathan's trembling hand.

"Now you try it."

Nathan gulped, but Willa encouraged him with a nod. He slowly moved from behind her and stuck out his hand.

With a gentle slurp, the dragon gobbled up the cookie from Nathan's hand. Nathan relaxed, wiping the dragon's slobber on his shirt. Buttercup shook her feathery wings and excitedly ran in circles around him.

"She likes you!" Willa cried.

Nathan cracked a smile, running his hands over Buttercup's soft blue feathers.

"Yeah, she does! I'm not scared of dragons," Nathan boasted.

"In that case, why don't we hitch a ride back to the house?"

Willa hopped onto Buttercup's back, grabbed Nathan's wrist, and pulled him up with her.

"Are you ready for your first dragon ride, Nathan?"

Before he could answer, Buttercup took to the air, carrying the two of them high above the fog.

Complete the first part of the table. Choose the text that best describes the story's background.

Background	FixedLengthPlaceholder ?
Problem	?
Solution	?

Willa is in a cold, gloomy forest. She is training a dragon to do tricks.

Nathan and his sister Willa are racing through the forest. Nathan discovers a blue bird.

Nathan and his older sister Willa are hiking through the forest. Nathan spots a dragon.

ref_doc_title.

Learn with an example

question

Read the story.

Bluebird Commons

"What's that you're looking at?" I asked Uncle Keith while I munched on my cereal. He was flipping through a handful of old photos.

"Your Aunt Phyllis found some photos. Look, it's me at Bluebird Commons back in the old days," Uncle Keith said. After Uncle Keith married Aunt Phyllis, they moved back to the same building that Uncle Keith had lived in as a kid. I joined them eight years ago.

I looked at the photo and laughed. It was strange to see a young Uncle Keith playing baseball in the same courtyard where I now played with my friends.

"What was Bluebird Commons like back then?" I asked between bites. "Has it changed a lot?"

"Oh, yes. You should have seen the courtyard, Jeremy," said Uncle Keith. He glanced out our apartment window. The courtyard had a rotted wooden bench and a faded sign by the entrance.

"It was beautiful. Everyone gathered every so often to clean up, take care of the plants, and just talk like neighbors," he sighed. "Now I hate having to walk through that courtyard. It's just a sad place."

"No one has time to clean the place up now," Aunt Phyllis chimed in from the other room. "It's all rush, rush, rush. Speaking of which, Jer—"

"Yeah, I'm going!" I said, grabbing my backpack and running out the door. Even though I needed to hurry, I paused for a moment in the courtyard. I tried to see it how Uncle Keith once saw it. Mostly I just saw broken bricks, peeling paint, and food wrappers blowing in the biting February wind. Then, looking closer, I saw something else.

"Jer, what are you doing?" asked my neighbor Nisha, who had just run outside. "Come on, we'll be late."

We sprinted to the bus stop. All the other Bluebird Commons kids were already there. We talked and joked the whole way to school, but my mind was turning over and over.

"Are you guys free this weekend?" I asked the group. "I need help with a surprise for my aunt and uncle." Then I told them my idea.

On Saturday evening, I stood by the bus stop, waiting for my aunt and uncle to come back from their friend's house.

"Well, hello there, Jer!" Aunt Phyllis called as she got off the bus. "How nice of you to greet us. Is everything okay?"

"Everything's okay! Everything is great. Come on!" I said. I grabbed Uncle Keith's bag and led them toward Bluebird Commons.

When the full courtyard came into view, they both gasped. Most of the kids from our building were there, hard at work. The trash was nearly gone, and my friends were collecting stray food wrappers.

"You did all of this?" my uncle asked. He looked toward the apartment steps, where Nisha was painting a cheerful bluebird onto a sign.

"We all did," I answered. "And we're not done! Every Saturday, we're going to work on something new: a garden, fresh paint, new benches where all the neighbors can sit and talk . . ."

Complete the first part of the table. Choose the text that best describes the story's background.

Background	FixedLengthPlaceholder ?
Problem	?
Solution	?

Jeremy, his uncle, and his aunt live in a building with a rundown courtyard that used to be nice.

Jeremy, his uncle, and his aunt have just moved to a brand new apartment building.

Jeremy, his uncle, and his aunt enjoy spending lots of time outside in their neighborhood.

key idea

A story summary includes the most important details in a story. To write a good summary, think about the main story elements.

The story's background includes information that sets the scene and introduces the main characters. It may also state the story's setting or describe an important event that happens at the beginning of the story.

The main problem in the story is something that goes wrong for the characters, or something that needs to be fixed or changed. The problem, or conflict, is what causes the characters to take action.

The solution to the story's main problem is how the problem in the story is solved. The solution, or resolution, is what wraps up the story.

You can take notes on story elements using a graphic organizer, like a table. Then, you can use the graphic organizer to help you write a story summary. Your summary should include the story elements. You should also include transition words and a few more details to help the summary flow.

For example, here is a completed graphic organizer:

Background	Lily has to stay home and babysit her little sister Marly while their parents go out.
Problem	Lily gets upset when Marly spills spaghetti all over the kitchen floor.
Solution	Lily and Marly turn cleaning up the kitchen into a fun game.

A good story summary might be:

Lily is babysitting her little sister Marly while their parents go out. During dinner, Lily gets upset because Marly spills spaghetti all over the kitchen floor. However, Lily has an idea. She attaches rags to her and Marly's feet, and they twirl across the kitchen floor. Just like that, cleaning up the kitchen turns into a fun game.

solution

Look at the following details from the story:

After Uncle Keith married Aunt Phyllis, they moved back to the same building that Uncle Keith had lived in as a kid. I joined them eight years ago.

"What was Bluebird Commons like back then?" I asked between bites. "Has it changed a lot?"

"Oh, yes. You should have seen the courtyard, Jeremy," said Uncle Keith. He glanced out our apartment window. The courtyard had a rotted wooden bench and a faded sign by the entrance.

They show you the story's background:

Jeremy, his uncle, and his aunt live in a building with a rundown courtyard that used to be nice.

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I.2Identify story elements

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