Summarizing Text

Dorothea Lange was an American photographer. She was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, on May 26, 1895. Early in her career, she took portraits for a living in San Francisco. Though she lived for a time in the Southwest, she returned to San Francisco in the early thirties. By then, the Great Depression of the 1930s had begun. Lange began walking the streets with her camera. She recorded pictures of hungry people standing in lines to get free handouts of bread and other powerful images.

Lange became best known for her black and white photos of poor, migrant¹ farm workers. Life was very hard for them in the thirties. They went to California to find work, but there were few jobs to be had. When jobs could be found, the pay was very low. Lange hoped her photos would get the government and other groups to help. Her pictures brought the world’s attention to the migrant workers’ situation. Dorothea Lange passed away on October 11, 1965. Today, her work lives on in museums, galleries, and books.

¹ someone who must move to different places to find work

Which two ideas should be included in a summary of the second paragraph?

• Many migrant farm workers came out west looking for work, but the pay was very low.

• Lange took photos of migrant farm workers, and she drew attention to their suffering.

• There were few jobs around during the Depression, and Lange's photos appear in museums.

• Lange's photgraphs appear in books, and she passed away in 1965.

Dorothea Lange was an American photographer. She was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, on May 26, 1895. Early in her career, she took portraits for a living in San Francisco. Though she lived for a time in the Southwest, she returned to San Francisco in the early thirties. By then, the Great Depression of the 1930s had begun. Lange began walking the streets with her camera. She recorded pictures of hungry people standing in lines to get free handouts of bread and other powerful images.

Lange became best known for her black and white photos of poor, migrant¹ farm workers. Life was very hard for them in the thirties. They went to California to find work, but there were few jobs to be had. When jobs could be found, the pay was very low. Lange hoped her photos would get the government and other groups to help. Her pictures brought the world’s attention to the migrant workers’ situation. Dorothea Lange passed away on October 11, 1965. Today, her work lives on in museums, galleries, and books.

¹ someone who must move to different places to find work

Choose the best sentence to summarize how the Great Depression affected Lange's work.

• The Depression caused a shift in Lange's work as she began to focus on the hardships of the Great Depression.

• The Depression stretched on through the thirties, leaving a large portion of the country out of work and struggling.

• Lange moved to California during the thirties, far from her childhood home in New Jersey.

• Before the Depression began, Lange made her living taking people's portraits in San Francisco.

Some animal species are good at hiding from predators, animals that hunt them for food. For instance, the squid is a soft, boneless animal. It can change colors to blend with its surroundings. This disguise¹helps to hide it from its enemies. If a predator comes too close, the squid will squirt it with ink!

Recently, a team of five biologists found a spider that protects itself in an unusual way. This little spider, just five millimeters long, lives in the Amazon rainforest. To fool and scare off its enemies, it builds a larger copy of itself using twigs and mud. The team of scientists came upon the fake spider, and they thought it was real! It had a head, eight legs, and a thorax (middle section). When the team came closer, they found the tiny little spider “artist” hiding behind the copy it had made. The team was amazed it could make something that looked so lifelike.

¹change of appearance

Which statement best summarizes how the rainforest spider protects itself?

• It hides from scientists who are passing by.

• It builds a larger spider and hides behind it.

• It finds a big spider and hides behind it.

• It gathers materials to build a spider.

For the walls, Jenny thought she would use a bright yellow paint. She would pick a border that had mostly bright red and green colors, and maybe a little bit of blue. She already had found some curtains that were sky blue with streaks of red, blue and yellow that she thought would go great with the walls. And finally, she had picked a carpet that was mostly blue with specks of red and yellow. Jenny couldn't wait till she was done decorating her room. It was really going to look awesome.

Which sentence best summarizes the passage?

• Jenny likes bright colors.

• Jenny was going to paint her room.

• Jenny was picking out colors and materials to decorate her room.

• Yellow is a good color to paint your walls.

Right now Jason was playing right field. He really wanted to play third base. Earlier this year, coach had put him in left field and second base in a game, but never at third base. Once in practice, coach let him play third base, but he kept missing ground balls. When he did stop one, he made a bad throw to first base. Maybe if he kept practicing, Jason would be good enough to play third base. That was his dream.
The best summary of this passage is:

• Jason really wanted to play third base.
• Jason was the best player on his team.
• Jason had trouble catching ground balls.
• Jason was too lazy to practice.

Tags

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.5.9

It started when they got to the bears. Peter felt tired and his stomach hurt. He dragged himself over to see the elephants, which were eating from a stack of hay. Normally, the elephants were his favorite. Without much interest, Peter followed his classmates to the camels, which were busy swatting flies with their tails. Peter knew he should be having fun at the zoo, but he just felt terrible and all he wanted to do was lie down and rest. Even the lions and tigers did not interest him now. 
The best summary of this passage is...

• Peter's favorite animals were the elephants.
• The camels were swatting flies with their tails.
•  It was really hot at the zoo.
• Peter didn't enjoy the zoo because he felt really bad.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RI.5.9

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

Weather reporters have to give out a lot of information. That's why they use pictures. The pictures help them tell us about the weather without using so many words. Weather reporters need to know where the cold air is. They need to know where the warm air is. They have to know where it is raining and what types of clouds are in the area. Their reports need to be correct, but they also need to be short. The pictures help weather reporters get the information out in a fast way.
Which sentence best describes the main idea of the paragraph?

• Weather reporters need to know where the cold air is
• Pictures help weather reporters get information out in a fast way
• Their reports need to be correct, but they also need to be short
• They have to know where it is raining and what types of clouds are in the area

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.3.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

Seated on his throne, King Midas wore a golden crown. He had golden rings on each finger and held a golden scepter. His vest was embroidered with golden thread and even his shoes had golden ornaments. He had a golden box filled with gold coins. He named his daughter Marigold.
What is the main idea of this paragraph?

• King Midas loved gold.
• King Midas sold lots of gold.
• King Midas had a heart of gold.
• King Midas hated gold.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

Some people say that the White House has ghosts.  The most famous ghost is Abraham Lincoln.  He is often seen standing in his room looking out the window.  Even Eleanor Roosevelt said that she saw him.  There is a legend that old Abe walks back and forth all night before something terrible is about to happen.  This paragraph mainly tells:

• what Lincoln's ghost is like
• when Eleanor Roosevelt's ghost walked
• hwo many ghosts the White House has
• how ghosts show when something will happen

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

A key detail is...

• A life lesson that the author is trying to communicate to us.
• An important point in the text that can help us find the main idea
• Reveals the main characters in the story.
• Is the main point the author is trying to make about the topic.