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Summary

Total questions: 14

Worksheet time: 21mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

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.


The summary of this passage is:

a)

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.

b)

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.

c)

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.

d)

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.

2.

Which line contains an idea that would be most important to include in a summary of this passage?


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.

a)

Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white passenger.

b)

The boycott introduced the country to a man named Martin Luther King, Jr.

c)

Rosa Parks was sent to court. She was found guilty of breaking the law.

d)

Rosa Parks is an example of courage and strength. She inspires all Americans to live free.

3.

Which of the below statements best summarizes the passage?


April's parents were dog breeders and their kennels were often filled with a litter of puppies. April helped care for the dogs by bathing them and giving them the best food and water.

April's class had also been learning how to care for animals in their science lessons, so she was thrilled when her teacher announced a field trip to an animal shelter. The shelter manager, Rachel, led the class into the kennel area where dogs and cats sat along opposite walls of the building. April was stunned by what she saw. Some dogs looked like they had been starved before coming to the shelter.

"What happened to these dogs?" April asked.

"These dogs are here because their owners did not care for them properly," Rachel replied. "We try to keep the animals healthy so they can go to good homes. If you know someone who wants to adopt a pet, please tell them about our shelter."

April decided to take action and she printed flyers with information about the shelter. April's parents handed them out to people who bought their puppies. The following day April received permission to post a flyer at her school. That afternoon, April received a phone call at home.

"Hi, April, this is Rachel. I wanted to thank you for creating flyers for the shelter. Our adoptions have already started to increase!"

"You're welcome! I just wanted to help rescue the puppies."

a)

After a field trip to the animal shelter, April makes flyers to increase animal adoption because she cares about animals.

b)

April's class takes a field trip to an animal shelter, and April learns how to take care of animals with the rest of her class.

c)

The local animal shelter manager tells April that animals come to the shelter because their owners do not care for them.

d)

April's parents have too many dogs to care for, and April works to keep their dogs from being taken to an animal shelter.

4.

April's parents were dog breeders and their kennels were often filled with a litter of puppies. April helped care for the dogs by bathing them and giving them the best food and water.

April's class had also been learning how to care for animals in their science lessons, so she was thrilled when her teacher announced a field trip to an animal shelter. The shelter manager, Rachel, led the class into the kennel area where dogs and cats sat along opposite walls of the building. April was stunned by what she saw. Some dogs looked like they had been starved before coming to the shelter.

"What happened to these dogs?" April asked.

"These dogs are here because their owners did not care for them properly," Rachel replied. "We try to keep the animals healthy so they can go to good homes. If you know someone who wants to adopt a pet, please tell them about our shelter."

April decided to take action and she printed flyers with information about the shelter. April's parents handed them out to people who bought their puppies. The following day April received permission to post a flyer at her school. That afternoon, April received a phone call at home.

"Hi, April, this is Rachel. I wanted to thank you for creating flyers for the shelter. Our adoptions have already started to increase!"

"You're welcome! I just wanted to help rescue the puppies."


Which detail from the second paragraph would be most important to include in a summary of this passage?

a)

The shelter manager named Rachel gave April a tour.

b)

April's class took a field trip to the local animal shelter.

c)

April's class had been learning about animals in their classes.

d)

April received a phone call at home in the afternoon.

5.

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 lipstick there is soap, oil, fish scales, and wax!


Which is the best way to summarize this passage?

a)

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

b)

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

c)

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

d)

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

6.

Picture this: a herd of elephants flies past you at sixty miles perhour, followed by a streak of tigers, a pride of lions, and a bunch of clowns. What do you see? It must be a circus train! One of the first uses of the circus train is credited to W.C. Coup. He partnered with P.T. Barnum in 1871 to expand the reach of their newly combined shows using locomotives. Before circus trains, these operators had to lug around all of their animals, performers, and equipment with a team of more than 600 horses. Since there were no highways, these voyages were rough and took a long time. Circuses would stop at many small towns between the large venues. Performing at many of these small towns was not very profitable. Because of these limitations, circuses could not grow as large as the imaginations of the operators. After they began using circus trains, Barnum and Coup only brought their show to large cities. These performances were much more profitable and the profits went toward creating an even bigger and better circus. Multiple rings were added and the show went on. Today, Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus still rely on the circus train to transport their astounding show, but now they use two.


The summary of this passage is:

a)

One of the first uses of the circus train is credited to W.C. Coup. He partnered with P.T. Barnum in 1871 to expand the reach of their newly combined shows using locomotives.

b)

Barnum and Coup only brought their show to large cities. These performances were much more profitable and the profits went toward creating an even bigger and better circus.

c)

Circuses used to have a difficult time traveling and had to stop at many small towns along the way. Trains allowed circuses to travel easily from large city to large city.

d)

Before circus trains, these operators had to lug around all of their animals, performers, and equipment with a team of more than 600 horses.

7.

Giddy-up, cowboys and girls! In the Southwest during early half of the 1800s, cows were only worth 2 or 3 dollars a piece. They roamed wild, grazed off of the open range, and were abundant. Midway through the century though, railroads were built and the nation was connected. People could suddenly ship cows in freight trains to the Northeast, where the Yankees had a growing taste for beef. Out of the blue, the same cows that were once worth a couple of bucks were now worth between twenty and forty dollars each, if you could get them to the train station. It became pretty lucrative to wrangle up a drove of cattle and herd them to the nearest train town, but it was at least as dangerous as it was profitable. Cowboys were threatened at every turn. They faced cattle rustlers, stampedes and extreme weather, but kept pushing those steers to the train station. By the turn of the century, barbed wire killed the open range and some may say the cowboy too, but it was the train that birthed him.


The summary of this passage is:

a)

Cows were not worth a lot of money until they could be easily transported to the East after the invention of the train. Many people then became cowboys despite the dangers they faced.

b)

In the Southwest during early half of the 1800s, cows were only worth 2 or 3 dollars a piece.

c)

It became pretty lucrative to wrangle up a drove of cattle and herd them to the nearest train town, but it was at least as dangerous as it was profitable.

d)

People could suddenly ship cows in freight trains to the Northeast, where the Yankees had a growing taste for beef. Out of the blue, the same cows that were once worth a couple of bucks were now worth between twenty and forty dollars each, if you could get them to the train station.

8.

Electric trolley cars or trams were once the chief mode of public transportation in the United States. Though they required tracks and electric cables to run, these trolley cars were clean and comfortable. In 1922, auto manufacturer General Motors created a special unit to replace electric trolleys with cars, trucks, and buses. Over the next decade, this group successfully lobbied for laws and regulations that made operating trams more difficult and less profitable. In 1936 General Motors created several front companies for the purpose of purchasing and dismantling the trolley car system. They received substantial investments from Firestone Tire, Standard Oil of California, Phillips Petroleum, and other parties invested in the automotive industry. Some people suspect that these parties wanted to replace trolley cars with buses to make public transportation less desirable, which would then increase automobile sales. The decline of the tram system in North America could be attributed to many things—labor strikes, the Great Depression, regulations that were unfavorable to operators—but perhaps the primary cause was having a group of powerful men from rival sectors of the auto industry working together to ensure its destruction. Fill it up, please.


The summary of this passage is:

a)

Electric trolley cars or trams were once the chief mode of public transportation in the United States. Though they required tracks and electric cables to run, these trolley cars were clean and comfortable.

b)

Many large companies that served the automotive market conspired to dismantle the electric trolley car system and replace them with less desirable buses.

c)

In 1922, auto manufacturer General Motors created a special unit to replace electric trolleys with cars, trucks, and buses. Over the next decade, this group successfully lobbied for laws and regulations that made operating trams more difficult and less profitable.

d)

The decline of the tram system in North America could be attributed to many things—labor strikes, the Great Depression, regulations that were unfavorable to operators—but perhaps the primary cause was having a group of powerful men.

9.
A summary does what?
a)
nothing
b)
tells an opinion
c)
makes an educated guess
d)
is a shorter way to explain a text with important information or key points
10.
Summaries help me...
a)
understand what I'm reading
b)
write about what I read
c)
include the key points of a text
d)
all of the above
11.
The 'who/subject' is....
a)
the person or thing a text or article is about
b)
The date the article is happening
c)
where the stuff takes place
d)
What happens in the article or text
12.
The 'Where' is...
a)
the time the action takes place
b)
what the who/subject does
c)
the place the action in the text takes place or the setting
d)
just a place
13.
The 'Why' is...
a)
not important
b)
the reason the action takes place or motivation for Who/Subject to do something
c)
the question presented in the text
d)
what the who is asking
14.
"I only write summaries in middle school, I will never need these skills in college."
a)
True
b)
False