Card
SWBST: Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then
One of the hardest things for students to understand is summarizing a story without giving a play-by-play account of all the details. The “Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then” strategy is a way to help students figure out the main points of a story. This strategy is often used with fiction, but it works just as well with nonfiction, primary sources, and across content areas.
SWBST: Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then
Summary
Use this strategy during or after reading. It helps students summarize by identifying key elements: Somebody (main character/thing), Wanted (goal/motivation), But (problem/conflict), So (solution), Then (outcome/resolution).
Procedure
Model the strategy with the whole class by reading a text or retelling a story. Have the class identify the "somebody" (or multiple main characters) and the remaining key elements from the story.
Continue to model by reading all of the elements as a summary statement.
Discuss with students the difference between a summary and a retelling of the story.
Have students practice this on their own by reading a selected text and working in pairs or small groups to identify the SWBST.
Have students use their SWBST to write a summary statement.
Have pairs of students work with another pair of students to compare their summary statements.
Continue to guide students until they can use the strategy independently.
Adapted from: NBSS. (n.d.). Somebody Wanted But So: Reading and Learning Strategy. https://www.nbss.ie/sites/default/files/publications/somebody_wanted_but_so_c_0.pdf
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Placement In Lesson
- Evaluate/Assessment
- Explain/Closing
- Explore/Learning Activity
- Extend/Additional Learning Activity
Intention/Purpose
- Analyze
- Critical Thinking
- Cross-Curricular
- Elaborate
- Evaluate
- Identify
- Organize
- Recognize
- Summarize
- Writing
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