Summarizing Texts

When you determine the key details (Characters, Setting, Main Problem, Events, and Conclusion) of a text while condensing information into a short paragraph, you are _____.

• predicting

• summarizing

• evaluating

• judging

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

• retelling the most important details of a text in your own words

When would you most likely summarize a book?

• when you want to forget a book you’ve read

• when you want to tell a friend your opinion of a book but not what it was about

• when you want to tell a friend the gist or main ideas of a book

• when you don’t understand a vocabulary word you read in a book

Which of the following statements about SUMMARIZING is true?

• A summary is written in your own words.

• The Summary is what the whole passage is mostly about. (includes key details)

• The Summary is specific, detailed information quoted from the passage.

• The Summary is always found in the first sentence of the passage.

Summarizing allows the reader to focus on the most important​ (a)   of a text. When readers ​ (b)   correctly, they are able to clearly and ​ (c)   communicate ideas.

• details

• summarize

• quickly

• plot

• complicated

• slowly

Little Red Riding Hood wanted to bring a basket of food to her sick grandmother. A mean wolf saw her walking on the path and wanted to trick her. He ran ahead to the grandmother’s house and locked the grandmother away. He then dressed up in the grandmother’s clothes before Little Red Riding Hood arrived. When she got there, Little Red Riding Hood was almost fooled. But she realized the trick and ran away to get a woodcutter who was working nearby. He killed the wolf. Little Red Riding Hood saved her grandmother.
Which of the following best summarizes this story?

• A woodcutter saves the day.
  

• Little Red Riding Hood wanted to bring food to her grandmother, but a wolf tried to play a trick on her by locking up her grandmother. So Little Red Riding Hood found a woodcutter who was working nearby, and he and Little Red Riding Hood put an end to the wolf’s tricks and saved the grandmother.
  

• Little Red Riding Hood went to visit to her grandmother who was sick. A wolf saw her walking on the path. There was also a woodcutter working nearby.
  

• A wolf dressed up as an old woman.
  

Mikah and his family took a vacation to Florida. Mikah had never been to the beach, so he was very excited. He wanted to swim and make a sand castle. He also wanted to look for sea shells. They drove for two days to get to Florida. They played car games and told stories and listened to music. It was a very long drive. Mikah was glad when they made it to Florida. When they arrived, it was raining. Mikah's mom said this happens by the beach. There is a lot of water in the air, so it sometimes rains a little bit each day. She thought the rain would be gone the next day. The rain did not stop the next day. It kept going for six days. On the last day of their vacation, it finally stopped raining. Mikah and his brother played on the beach all day to make up for a rainy week. Mikah hoped they would never have such a wet vacation again. Which of the following best summarizes the story?

• Mikah and his family drove to Florida for vacation. Mikah was excited to play on the beach, but when they arrived, it was raining. It rained for six days. On the last day, Mikah and his brother were finally able to play on the beach.

• Mikah's family drove for two days to go to the beach in Florida. Mikah was glad when they arrived because it took a long time to get there. It was a very long drive. When they got there, it was raining, and they were disappointed.

• Mikah and his brother spent their last vacation day on the beach because it had rained the entire rest of the time. His family had driven for two days to get to the beach in Florida. They played car games and told stories.

• Mikah wanted to build a sandcastle, swim, and look for sea shells, so his family drove for two days to get to Florida. They played car games and told stories and listened to music. It was raining when they got to the beach.

It was that time of year again. The fifth grade spelling bee was in one week, on Friday. Kendra was nervous. Every fifth grader in the school had to participate, and she was not a great speller. Kendra set herself a goal. She was going to get to the third round of the spelling bee. In third and fourth grade, she was out after the first round. She wanted to at least make it two more rounds. Kendra had studied for weeks and weeks. She studied day and night. She even made her parents ask her words at dinner. Kendra was determined to do well this time. The day of the spelling bee, Kendra felt like butterflies were in her stomach. She was really anxious. Her first turn, she spelled her word correctly. Kendra felt relieved. She was at least going to make it to the second round. Round after round went by, and Kendra was still going. It was down to her and a new kid, Vinny. Vinny misspelled his word. Kendra stood up and walked to the microphone. She breathed in, thought a minute, and spelled the word. Suddenly, everyone was clapping. Kendra had won the spelling bee! Which of the following best summarizes the story?

• Kendra set a goal of making it to the third round of the spelling bee. She was extremely nervous, so she studied her words at dinner. Everyone clapped when she won the bee.

• Kendra and Vinny were the last students in the spelling bee. Vinny misspelled his word, but Kendra spelled her word correctly. Kendra ended up winning the spelling bee.

• Kendra was nervous about the spelling bee. She wanted to make it to the third round this year, so she studied very hard. Kendra ended up winning the spelling bee.

• Kendra studied hard and made her parents help her practice. She studied her words at dinner. Kendra spelled all of her words correctly, so she won the spelling bee.

What can you summarize?

• only novels

• only nonfiction

• only movies

• anything you read or watch

Read the summary below.

Cynthia and the Spaceship is a novel by Evelyn Redding. In the book, Cynthia, the main character, overcomes a challenge to accomplish her dream of owning a spaceship. The novel is set in Chicago in the year 2150.
Which of the following would improve this summary?

• cutting the final sentence
  

• adding details about the challenge Cynthia faces in the novel
  

• adding details about what the spaceship looks like
  

• cutting the title and the author of the book