Summarizing Stories

Read the following passage and then select the best summary.

• The Elk River is a small river.

• The Elk River starts in the northern part of the state.

• The Elk River is very important to people and animals.

• People catch fish in the Elk River.

Read the following passage and then select the best summary.

San Francisco is located on the coast of California in an area often called the Bay Area. The weather is generally very mild, seldom getting really cold or really hot. Its mild climate is one reason many people live there. It seldom snows in San Francisco and generally does not get below freezing during the winter. Even in the middle of summer, temperatures may be in the mid 80s with a cool breeze from the bay keeping the weather very comfortable.

• San Francisco has many neat things to do.

• It seldom snows in California.

• Many people choose to live in California.

• The weather in San Francisco is generally very mild.

When writing a summary, it is okay to include any opinions or background knowledge you have on the topic.

• True

• False

What does BME stand for?

• Beginning, Main Idea, and End

• Before, Main Idea, and Ending

• Beginning, Middle and End

• Back, Middle, and End

A summary does what?

• nothing

• tells an opinion

• makes an educated guess

• is a shorter way to explain a text with important information or key points

Summaries help me...

• understand what I'm reading

• write about what I read

• include the key points of a text

• all of the above

When writing a summary for a LITERARY text, what is a good thing to consider?

• text features

• story elements

• topic

• details

A summary is...

• A list of key details in the text that are placed in the correct order.

• A short paragraph in a fictional story that reveals the big idea, lesson, or moral.

• A short paragraph that you create which includes the main idea of the text and some key important details.

• A short paragraph that you find in the text which includes the main idea and some key details.

Creating a concise statement of the most important parts of the passage is...

• Synthesizing

• Summarizing

• Evaluating

• Reflecting

Read the following passage and then select the best summary. The tortoise and the hare had a race. The hare was very confident of winning, so he took a nap during the race. The tortoise kept going slowly but steadily and won the race.

• A) The hare was faster than the tortoise.

• B) The tortoise won because he was slow and steady.

• C) The hare took a nap during the race.

• D) The tortoise and the hare had a race.