Paraphrasing and Summarizing

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.

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

Tomorrow is Jill's birthday. She is excited because she gets to pick where she will eat dinner. Will it be Mexican food at the Big Enchilada House? Or will it be fried chicken at the Chicken Shack, or a big cheeseburger at Al's Hamburger Palace. She just couldn't decide. Then there was always the Pizza Shop with that great pepperoni pizza. How would she ever decide? Maybe she would just flip a coin.
The Summary of this passage is:

• Jill has many restaurants to choose from for her birthday.

•  Jill loves Mexican food.

• The Pizza Shop has the best pizza in town.

•  Jill will choose a place by flipping a coin.

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 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.

A good paraphrase has the _____________ ___________, different words, and different word order.

• same ideas

• different ideas

• weird synonyms

Read the excerpt below.

Which sentence best restates the ideas?

"Although television was not widely used in American homes until the 1950's, small, experimental television images were broadcast in the 1920's."

• Television was not widely used in American homes until the 1950's.

• Television became popular in the 1950's, but the first televisions were used thirty years earlier.

• Television became popular in the 1920's, and again in the 1950's.

Choose the BEST paraphrase of this text: 

Lionel Messi earns a whopping $39.6 million a year for playing striker for La Liga's Barcelona team.
(Scholastic Book of World Records 2011 page 99)

• Lionel Messi earns a whopping $39.6 million a year for playing striker for La Liga's Barcelona team.

• According to Scholastic Book of World Records 2011, I think it is great that soccer player Lionel Messi earns a whopping $39.6 million a year for playing striker for La Liga's Barcelona team!

• Soccer player Lionel Messi earns a whopping $39.6 million a year for playing soccer as striker/winger for La Liga's Barcelona team. Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain.

• According to Scholastic Book of World Records 2011, soccer player Lionel Messi makes over $39 million dollars annually. This impressive salary is from his work as a striker for La Liga's Barcelona team (page 99).

Johnny really wanted an adventure. He borrowed his friend's bike and explored the world. He saw many amazing things and had a lot of fun. Johnny was so glad he went on his trip! What is the best summary for this paragraph?

• Johnny saw amazing things.

• Johnny went on a fun bike adventure.

• Johnny was glad he went on a trip.

• Johnny wanted to explore.

Sally had a birthday party at her house. She invited lots of friends. They all brought her a present to open. She was excited to share cupcakes with her friends. She thanked everyone for coming before they went home. What is the best summary for this paragraph?

• Sally opened presents.

• Sally ate cupcakes with her friends.

• Sally had a birthday party with her friends.

• Sally thanked her friends for coming.

How do I know my paraphrase is CORRECT? 

• I check that it has the same meaning as the first phrase.

• I check that I repeated the same words as the first phrase.