Literacy Update
St Fidelis' Catholic Primary School
Comprehension strategy - summarising
In reading comprehension, summarising is a strategy that helps readers focus on the most important ideas in a text. It involves identifying the key points and then retelling them in a clear and concise way, using your own words and leaving out unnecessary detail. When summarising, students need to think carefully about what the main ideas are, rather than including everything that happened.
This is different from retelling, which usually includes more detail and follows the order of the text. A retell often covers everything that happens, whereas a summary focuses only on the most important information.
Summarising is an important comprehension skill because it shows whether a reader has really understood a text. It requires students to process what they have read, decide what is essential, and organise those ideas clearly. This helps build deeper understanding, improves memory of key information, and supports students to become more active and thoughtful readers.
At home, you can support summarising by:
- asking your child to tell you the main idea of what they have read in a few sentences
- asking, “What is this mostly about?”
- prompting them to pick out the most important parts, not every detail
- asking, “What would you include if you had to explain this in just a few sentences?”
- encouraging them to explain the text in their own words as briefly as possible.
Student writing
In writing this term, the Year 5/6 students have been developing their narrative writing skills. They began by building sentences from images, focusing on including the who, what, when, where and why. Students then combined their ideas into paragraphs before extending their writing into longer narratives.
As their confidence grew, students explored ways to make their writing more engaging through the use of sizzling starts and detailed noun groups. These techniques have helped them create stronger descriptions and capture the reader's attention from the very beginning.
Writing beyond the classroom
Students who enjoy writing may also be interested in entering external writing competitions throughout the year. These opportunities are completely optional and are not associated with the school. They provide a chance for students to showcase their writing and creativity to a wider audience.
The links below provide information about a range of writing competitions that students may wish to enter.
2026 Writing Competition | Better Read Kids
Competitions and Prizes - Story Studios Australia
Imagination Creation Writing Competition | Wyndham City
What's Your Story? Writing Competition Stonnington Libraries
Write It Out: Greater Dandenong Short Story Competition - Writers Victoria
Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge
The Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge is well underway, with students continuing to enjoy a wide range of books. So far, 833 books have been read, and there are still 91 days left, with the challenge ending on 4 September 2026. It’s great to see so many students already involved, and there is still plenty of time for others to jump on board, get reading and add to our total. Keep up the fantastic effort and happy reading!
Wishing you a great week ahead. Stay warm and dry.
Bernadette Parnis