Summarizing Main Idea

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.

• 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.

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 best 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.

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.

What is the main idea of this passage?

• 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.

When some people think about Texas, they think of cowboys on the open range-herding cattle up a dusty trail. However, Texas has much more than open prairie with large herds of cows. There are the mountains of West Texas, the piney hills of east Texas, and the emerald waters off the coast of Padre Island. Texas also has large coastal harbors with numerous sailboats, powerboats, inland lakes, rivers, swamps of southeast Texas with alligators and other exotic wildlife. What is the main thing the author is trying to tell us?

• There are many different, varied parts of Texas.

• There are a lot of cows in Texas.

• There are alligators in the swampland of southeast Texas.

• Texas is one of the biggest states in the United States.

The first book Chris read in fifth grade was about a lost kitten. Then he read a book about a family of bears, and then he read about a wild kangaroo in Australia. It seems every book Chris reads is about animals. Last week he found a good book about snakes and reptiles, and another book about elephants. Today Chris went to the library, and he checked out a book about dolphins, whales and other animals that live in the sea. The best summary of this passage is...

• Chris likes kangaroos.

• Chris is in the fifth grade.

• Chris reads a lot of books about animals.

• Dolphins and whales live in the sea.

Julie watched the ants as they carried small crumbs down the trail to the anthill. She thinks ants are very hard working and industrious little creatures. They always seemed busy, and you never saw an ant just laying around doing nothing. They were carrying food, building tunnels, or defending the anthill. One thing you could say about ants is that they sure aren't lazy. The best summary of this passage is:

• Ants carry many things.

• Some ants may bite you.

• Ants are hard workers.

• Some ants help take care of the queen.

Books lay in the middle of his floor. Several broken toys were shoved halfway under the bed, and dirty clothes were everywhere. Frank's parents kept telling him to clean his room, but it never seemed to get clean. In fact, if Frank did manage to clean part of it, the rest of the room just got messier. In one corner of the room was an old peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and an open bag of potato chips was thrown on the dresser.

What is the main thing the author wants us to know?

• Frank's room was a mess.

• A peanut butter and jelly sandwich was in one corner of the room.

• Frank liked potato chips.

• Frank got in big trouble because his room was not clean.

I can't wait until this weekend! We’re going to my grandparents’ house and my entire family will be there. I will spend most of my time playing games with my cousins. We always have such a good time together! The day goes by so fast, and by the end we are all exhausted... but we still don’t want to leave!

What is the main idea?

• The author enjoys spending time with his/her family.

• Weekends are for travel.

• The grandparents live far away.

• The author is sad to leave her cousin's house.

What is the main idea?

• Mrs. Jones bakes pies.

• Mrs. Brown bakes rolls.

• Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Brown are bakers

• They work at a store called Bake Goods to Go.

Which of the following statements is TRUE about SUMMARIZING?

• A summary should include many story details.

• A summary is always found in the first sentence of a paragraph or chapter.

• A summary should always be fiction.

• A summary is what the passage is mostly about.