Independent Summary Review

Which best describes a summary?

• a really long detailed piece of writing
• the entire text told in your own words
• a dumb thing that teachers make you write
• the main ideas and important details of a text

Summaries help me...

• understand what I'm reading
• write about what I read
• include the key points of a text
• all of the above

Which one of the following is NOT a part of a summary?

• using your own words
• summary being shorter than the text
• exact words from the text
• including main ideas only

What can you summarize?

• only novels

• only nonfiction

• only movies

• anything you read or watch

What is the difference between retelling and summarizing?

• A summary is a long detailed paragraph and a retell is not.
• A retell is telling about all the events while a summary only talks about main ideas.
• Retelling and summarizing are the same thing.
• Retelling is a word used for little kids and summarizing is used for big kids.

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 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.

Julie watched the ants as they carried small crumbs down the trail to the anthill. She thinks ants are very hard working and industrious little creatures. They always seemed busy, and you never saw an ant just laying around doing nothing. They were carrying food, building tunnels, or defending the anthill. One thing you could say about ants is that they sure aren't lazy.
The Summary of this passage is:
 

• Ants carry many things.
• Some ants may bite you.
• Ants are hard workers.
• Some ants help take care of the queen.

Julie watched the ants as they carried small crumbs down the trail to the anthill. She thinks ants are very hard working and industrious little creatures. They always seemed busy, and you never saw an ant just laying around doing nothing. They were carrying food, building tunnels, or defending the anthill. One thing you could say about ants is that they sure aren't lazy.
The Summary of this passage is:
 

• Ants carry many things.
• Some ants may bite you.
• Ants are hard workers.
• Some ants help take care of the queen.

Which one of the following is NOT a part of a summary?

• using your own words
• summary being shorter than the text
• exact words from the text
• including main ideas only

What does it take to be a survivor?  Gary Paulsen knows.  This well-known writer had a difficult childhood and left home at age fourteen.  He worked with a carnival, on a farm, on a ranch and as a truck driver. He's also been a teacher, editor and singer. Today, Paulsen receives more than 400 letters a day from readers who identify with the struggles of the main character in his award-winning books, Hatchet, Brian's Winter and The River.  When he's not writing, Paulsen enjoys sailing and adventure.  Which title best summarizes this paragraph?

• Reading Gary Paulsen's Books
• Why Paulsen Left Home at Fourteen
• Paulsen: Survivor in Life and Literature
• Getting to Know Book Characters