Summarize Informational Text

What is the best summary of the paragraph?

• The Atlantic puffins spend a majority of their time in the water, but they only beat their wings up to 400 times a minute. Most breed and lay eggs along the coast of Iceland.

• The Atlantic puffin's colorful and distinctive beak is why it is called a "sea parrot." The puffin is an excellent flier but spends most of its time in the water, and it breeds along the coast of Iceland.

• The Atlantic puffin has a distinctive beak that is the reason why the Atlantic puffin is called a "sea parrot." Puffins also lay thier eggs in the same site each year, and spend most of their time in the water.

• The Atlantic puffin looks like a penguin and can beat its wings 400 times a minute. Its beak is distinctive and changes to bright colors just in time for mating season.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be held in Brazil. It will be the 20th year of the World cup. Brazil was chosen in October 2007 to host the 2014 competition. Earlier in the year, South America has been chosen as the continent for the contest. Brazil was the only country to put in a bid. This is the second time Brazil will host the World Cup. The country hosted it in 1950. It is the first World Cup to be held in South America since 1978, when Argentina hosted. No other South American country has hosted the World Cup more than once.

Which of the following best summarizes the passage?

• The 2014 World Cup will be held in Brazil. It is the second time Brazil has been chosen to host the World Cup. Brazil is the only South American country to host the World Cup twice.

• In October 2007, Brazil was chosen to host the 20th World Cup. Brazil has already hosted the World Cup before. 1978 was the last time a South American country hosted the World Cup.

• Early in 2007, South America was chosen as the continent for the 20th World Cup. Brazil was the only country that put in a bid. Brazil hosted the World Cup before in 1950.

• The 20th World Cup will take place in 2014. In 2007, it was decided that the competition would be held in South America. It is the first World Cup in South America since 1978.

Turn over a bag of potato chips. Is the label interesting? A simple food recipe may use several ingredients. These come from the soil and from chemistry labs around the world. Surprises also show up in the labels on clothing and other products. Look at the label on a package of lipstick. The tube seems small and shiny, but inside the lipstick there is soap, oil, fish scales, and wax. What is the best way to summarize this passage?

• Lipstick seems small and shiny. Look at the label sometime. It has at least four different ingredients.

• Clothes and other products have many ingredients as well. Lipstick alone has soap, oil, wax, and fish scales.

• Labels show what goes into food, clothing, and other products. A simple product may have many ingredients.

• A bag of potato chips seems like a simple recipe. There are many ingredients from the soil and from chemistry labs.

Paragraph 1 from "History of the Harmonica":

The harmonica has been around for more than 200 years. Before its invention, people used small hollow objects that could make sounds. A person could blow into the instrument. A Chinese man made the first object like this. It was made from a gourd with reeds stretched across it. Later, the instruments were made from small pipes tied together.

Which detail from the first paragraph is most important to include in a summary of the passage?

• A Chinese man made the first instrument like a harmonica.

• People once had small hollow objects that could make sounds.

• The harmonica has been around for more than 200 years.

• Abraham Lincoln even carried a harmonica in his pocket.

What does summarizing information in a text involve?

• Repeating the text word for word to ensure accuracy

• Focusing on minor details and examples

• Condensing the main ideas and key details into a shorter form

• Presenting a new argument or perspective

When summarizing information from a text, what should you include?

• Every detail and example provided in the text

• Only the information that you find interesting

• The main ideas and important details

• Your personal opinions about the text

Which of the following best summarizes the text? Rosa Parks has been called the "mother of the civil rights movement." She is one of the most important people of the 20th century. In December of 1955, she refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white passenger. The bus driver had her arrested. She was sent to court. She was found guilty of breaking the law. Her act sparked a boycott of the bus system by blacks. Blacks refused to use the buses for more than a year. The boycott introduced the country to a man named Martin Luther King, Jr. People all over the country came to know King. Soon, the U.S. Supreme Court made segregation on city buses against the law. Over the next forty years, Rosa Parks helped make Americans aware of the history of the civil rights struggle. She earned many honors, including the Martin Luther King Jr. Nonviolent Peace Prize. She is an example of courage and strength. She inspires all Americans to live free.

• Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus. The bus driver had her arrested, and then she was found guilty of breaking the law. She was important to American history.

• Rosa Parks boycotted the bus system. This boycott brought Martin Luther King, Jr., to the front of the Civil Rights Movement. People all over the country got to know Martin Luther King, Jr.

• Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. Then, the buses were boycotted, and Martin Luther King, Jr., became very well known. He had a prize named after him.

• Rosa Parks was an important person of the 20th century. She refused to give up her seat on a bus, which led to a boycott of the bus system. She earned many honors for her work in the Civil Rights Movement.

Which of the following is an example of summarizing information?

• Quoting a sentence from the text

• Listing all the topics mentioned in the text

• Explaining the main points of the text in your own words

• Discussing how the text made you feel

Summarizing information from an informational text is useful for:

• Making the text longer and more detailed

• Sharing the text with others who may not have time to read the full version

• Changing the author's original meaning

• Focusing on irrelevant details

After reading a detailed account of the water cycle, summarize the process in one sentence.

• Water evaporates, condenses into clouds, and returns to Earth as precipitation.

• The water cycle is essential for sustaining life on Earth.

• Water in rivers flows into the oceans and evaporates.

• Plants and animals depend on water to survive.

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DOK Level 3: Strategic Thinking