The Somebody-Wanted-But-So strategy is used during or after reading. It provides a framework to use when summarising the action of a story or historical event by identifying key elements. The strategy also helps students identify the main ideas, recognise cause and effect relationships, make generalisations, identify differences between characters and look at various points of view. Explicitly teaching key reading comprehension and learning skills - making connections, self-questioning, visualising, inferring, determining importance, summarising, synthesising and self-monitoring - can help students become more purposeful, active readers, thinkers and learners.