Summarizing Text

What can you summarize?

• only novels

• only nonfiction

• only movies

• anything you read or watch

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

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
  

Which of the following questions should you definitely answer in a summary of the novel My Funny Friend Fiona?

• What’s Fiona’s neighbor’s favorite color?

• What happens to Fiona?

• Is My Funny Friend Fiona a boring book?

• How long did it take you to read My Funny Friend Fiona?

What detail should be cut from the following summary?

• the name of the main character

• the title of the book

• the fact that the book is a novel

• the opinion that it's the "funniest book in the world"

Which sentence should be included in the summary of the passage above?

• After reading the book, Williams shouted, "Tip your hat to the Cat!"

• Two lucky second graders from PS 152 in Manhattan sat next to Williams on a big red chair.

• The students giggled while Williams made her voice change from deep to high

• Serena Williams, the tennis champion, read The Cat in the Hat to second graders.

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 about this passage?

• Damon was moving to South Dakota.

• Damon guessed that his new hometown would not be like his old hometown, but was excited to be moving anyway.

• Damon did not want to stop in other states along the way.

• Damon was moving to Illinois.

Answer explanation

The passage does not mention what state he is moving to, and it also does not mention that he didn't want to stop in other states along the way.

What can you summarize from this passage?

• It is great to have younger siblings.

• Younger siblings are annoying.

• You only want a sibling to be older than you.

• Being away an only child is the best.

Answer explanation

The passage is positive about younger siblings, so the answer choice will be positive as well.

What can you summarize about the little girl?

• She had always had a room to herself.

• She was excited to redo her room the way she wanted.

• She wanted to paint her room purple.

• Her mother wasn't happy with her decisions.

Answer explanation

It does not mention wether or not shee has had her own room before or not. Her mother is not even mentioned and it sid she was decorating her room pink, not purple.