Summarizing Text

Summarizing a Text by Jackie Robinson

I can identify central ideas and supporting details

Multiple Choice

a small piece of information that contributes to a

larger idea or story

• Author’s purpose

• Central idea

• Detail

• Summarize

Multiple Choice

an author’s primary reason for writing a text, most

often to inform, persuade, or entertain

• Author’s purpose

• Central idea

• Detail

• Summarize

Multiple Choice

to write the central ideas of a text in your own

words

• Author’s purpose

• Central idea

• Detail

• Summarize

Multiple Choice

the most important idea in a text

• Author’s purpose

• Central idea

• Detail

• Summarize

Multiple Choice

Read this excerpt from I Never Had It Made.

"It's all that ought to count," he replied. "But it isn't. Maybe one of these days it will be all that counts. That is one of the reasons I've got you here, Robinson. If you're a good enough man, we can make this a start in the right direction. But let me tell you, it's going to take an awful lot of courage."

He was back to the crossroads question that made me start to get angry minutes earlier. He asked it slowly and with great care.

"Have you got the guts to play the game no matter what happens?"

"I think I can play the game, Mr. Rickey," I said.

The next few minutes were tough. Branch Rickey had to make absolutely sure that I knew what I would face. Beanballs would be thrown at me. I would be called the kind of names which would hurt and infuriate any man. I would be physically attacked. Could I take all of this and control my temper, remain steadfastly loyal to our ultimate aim?

Which is the central idea of this excerpt?

• Rickey treats Robinson as an equal.

• Rickey teaches Robinson about baseball.

• Rickey expects people to oppose integration.

• Rickey struggles to control his emotions.

Multiple Choice

Read this excerpt from I Never Had It Made.

The team went to South Bend, Indiana, for a game. The hotel management registered the coach and team but refused to assign a room to a black player named Charley Thomas. In those days college ball had a few black players. Mr. Rickey took the manager aside and said he would move the entire team to another hotel unless the black athlete was accepted. The threat was a bluff because he knew the other hotels also would have refused accommodations to a black man. While the hotel manager was thinking about the threat, Mr. Rickey came up with a compromise. He suggested a cot be put in his own room, which he would share with the unwanted guest. The hotel manager wasn't happy about the idea, but he gave in.

Which detail supports the idea that Branch Rickey is personally involved in his players’ struggle for acceptance?

• "The hotel management registered the coach and team but refused to assign a room to a black player named Charley Thomas."

• "In those days college ball had a few black players."

• "He suggested a cot be put in his own room, which he would share with the unwanted guest."

• "The hotel manager wasn't happy about the idea, but he gave in."

Multiple Choice

Read this excerpt from I Never Had It Made.

Thirty-five years later, while I was lying awake nights, frustrated, unable to see a future, Mr. Rickey, by now the president of the Dodgers, was also lying awake at night, trying to make up his mind about a new experiment.

He had never forgotten the agony of that black athlete. When he became a front-office executive in St. Louis, he had fought, behind the scenes, against the custom that consigned black spectators to the Jim Crow section of the Sportsman's Park, later to become Busch Memorial Stadium. His pleas to change the rules were in vain. Those in power argued that if blacks were allowed a free choice of seating, white business would suffer.

Which detail best supports the central idea that many people oppose Branch Rickey’s ideas?

• "Mr. Rickey, by now the president of the Dodgers, was also lying awake at night, trying to make up his mind about a new experiment."

• "He had never forgotten the agony of that black athlete."

• "[H]e had fought, behind the scenes, against the custom that consigned black spectators to the Jim Crow section of the Sportsman's Park"

• "Those in power argued that if blacks were allowed a free choice of seating, white business would suffer."

Multiple Choice

Read this excerpt from I Never Had It Made.

Branch Rickey lost that fight, but when he became the boss of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1943, he felt the time for equality in baseball had come. He knew that achieving it would be terribly difficult. There would be deep resentment, determined opposition, and perhaps even racial violence. He was convinced he was morally right, and he shrewdly sensed that making the game a truly national one would have healthy financial results. He took his case before the startled directors of the club, and using persuasive eloquence, he won the first battle in what would be a long and bitter campaign. He was voted permission to make the Brooklyn club the pioneer in bringing blacks into baseball.

Winning his directors' approval was almost insignificant in contrast to the task which now lay ahead of the Dodger president. He made certain that word of his plans did not leak out, particularly to the press.

Which detail best supports the central idea that Branch Rickey understood the risks involved in integrating baseball?

• "Branch Rickey lost that fight, but when he became the boss of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1943, he felt the time for equality in baseball had come."

• "He knew that achieving it would be terribly difficult. There would be deep resentment, determined opposition, and perhaps even racial violence."

• "He was convinced he was morally right, and he shrewdly sensed that making the game a truly national one would have healthy financial results."

• "He took his case before the startled directors of the club, and using persuasive eloquence, he won the first battle in what would be a long and bitter campaign."

Multiple Choice

What text features can give you a clue of what the main idea is?

• Title
• Headings
• Pictures
• All of these

Multiple Choice

You can make all sorts of things with Legos. (Which detail doesn't belong?)

• You can very easily build a column.

• You can make a castle, a monkey, or a car.

• It hurts to step on Legos with bare feet.

• There are even kits available to make Star Wars ships.

Multiple Choice

Which is the main idea?

• Playing with Play Doh involves all your senses.

• Play Doh feels smooth and cold.

• You can see it comes in bright, vibrant colors.

• It tastes a little salty, but don't ask how I know that.

Multiple Choice

The main idea is what the story is ______________ about.

• mostly
• only
• never
• very

Multiple Choice

Soccer players learn many skills when playing soccer.  Soccer players learn how to dribble and pass the ball.  They also learn how to control the ball so they can eventually score.  Most importantly, soccer players learn how to work together with their teammates.
What is the main idea?

• They also learn how to control the ball so they can eventually score.
• Soccer players learn how to dribble.
• They learn how to work together as teammates.
• Soccer players learn many skills when playing soccer.

Multiple Choice

Key details give important information to support the main idea.

• True
• False

Multiple Choice

The Statue of Liberty is visited by thousands of people every year. The Statue of Liberty is a 151 foot tall statue of a woman holding a book and a torch. It was a gift of friendship from the people of France. It has become the universal symbol for freedom.
Which of the following is NOT a supporting detail? 

• The Statue of Liberty is an amazing statue
• The Statue of Liberty is 151 feet tall
• Thousands of people visit the Statues of Liberty each year
• It was a gift of friendship from France

Multiple Choice

The main idea is...

• The order in which events happen in a story.
• A series of important details identified in a nonfiction text.
• The big idea or life lesson that the author wants us to take away from a fictional story.
• A brief statement that you create which shows/reflects what a nonfiction text is mainly talking about.

Multiple Choice

Please read the following details and determine the main idea of these words.
-ghosts
-October
-costumes
-pumpkins
-haunted houses

• Halloween
• Christmas
• Spring
• Birds

Multiple Choice

Please read the following details and determine the main idea of these words.
-candles
-presents
-party
-cake
-once a year

• Valentine's Day
• birthday
• vacation
• sports

Multiple Choice

Miranda’s mom dropped her off at her best friend’s house after school on Friday. They couldn’t wait to hang out. The girls were so excited to be spending the whole night together. They had been planning this night for two weeks. Now the day was finally here! Yay!

What is the MAIN IDEA of this passage?

• Miranda and her best friend had fun at their sleepover.

• Miranda’s mom dropped her off at her friend’s house.

• Miranda and her friend were very excited to have their sleepover.

• Sleepovers are fun.

Multiple Choice

Dogs are great pets. They can learn tricks and they are very loyal to their owners. Dogs can keep you company when you take a walk, play with you when no one else is around, or even make you laugh with the silly things they do. Dogs are cute and fun. Everyone should own a dog.

What is the MAIN IDEA of the passage?

• To tell about the tricks a dog can do.

• To tell you why dogs are great pets.

• Dogs can make you laugh with their silly tricks.

• Dogs can keep you company when you take a walk.

Multiple Choice

Cats are horrible animals. They can hiss, scratch, and bite people. Cats can make people sneeze and can be very messy in a house. Dogs are great animals and do not hiss at people. I do not know why anyone likes cats. Dogs are friendlier and smarter than cats.

Which of the following is a DETAIL from the passage?

• To tell about how great dogs are.

• To tell you why cats are horrible animals.

• To tell how messy and mean cats are.

• They can hiss, scratch, and bite people.

Multiple Choice

What is the difference between Main Idea and Supporting Details?

• Main Idea is the end, and Supporting Details are the beginning.
• Main Idea is what the passage is about, and Supporting Details help describe/explain the Main Idea.
• Main Idea is in every passage, but Supporting Details are only in some. 
• Main Idea is what supports the supporting details.