When writing a summary, it is okay to include any opinions or background knowledge you have on the topic.

As our landfills grow into large mountains of junk it has become apparent that we need to take action. Every year thousands of water bottles are thrown into landfills where they do not get recycled and they do not decompose. Thus, further adding to our society's waste.

These sentences support the argument that buying bottled water _____.

When you determine the main idea and significant details of a text while condensing information into a short paragraph, you are _____.

March 2nd was a great day at the New York Public Library. More than 250 first and second graders wore red-and-white-striped stovepipe hats. They were celebrating The Cat in the Hat's 50th birthday. Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat picture book has been published for 50 years now. The famous feline danced with children racing around him. At the same time, pink, purple, and white confetti rained down.

Serena Williams, the tennis champion, read The Cat in the Hat to second graders. They sat on brightly-colored rugs around her. Two lucky second graders from PS 152 in Manhattan sat next to Williams on a big red chair. Pink and purple umbrellas hung from the ceiling. The students giggled while Williams made her voice change from deep to high for the many characters in the story.

After reading the book, Williams shouted, "Tip your hat to the Cat!" The students took off their hats and waved them excitedly.

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

Which of the following best summarizes the text?

Squirrels are small creatures that belong to the family of rodents. They have a bushy tail and pointed ears. Squirrels can be divided into three types: tree squirrels, ground squirrels, and flying squirrels. Ground squirrels live in holes that they make on the ground. They eat nuts, fruits, berries, and insects. Tree squirrels live in holes that they make in trees. They eat the bark of trees, fruits, flowers, nuts, and eggs. If needed, they also come down in search of food. Flying squirrels live in nests or in holes that they make in trees. They cannot fly, but they can glide through the air from one tree to another. They eat fruits, berries, nuts, eggs, and small animals.

Squirrels are very possessive about where they live. They make very protective mothers and become wild and violent to protect their babies from enemies. Baby squirrels are blind when they are born and completely depend on their mothers. However, as squirrels get older, they have very good eyesight. They can spot their food from a distance. Many people think that they eat only nuts, but they are actually omnivores. This means that they eat both plants and animals.

Squirrels are considered to be very intelligent. They can imitate the actions of different animals and also of human beings. They hide their food in different places to keep it away from their enemy's reach. Squirrels also use different tricks to protect themselves from their enemies. For instance, they chew the skin of a dead snake and then lick themselves so that they smell like a snake. They then hide in their burrows. When an enemy passes by their burrow, it thinks that the squirrel is a snake. There is so much to learn about squirrels.

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.

Which of the following sentences should be included in a summary of this text?

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.

Read the following passage and then select the best summary.

The Elk River flows from the far northern part of the state all the way to the southern tip. All kinds of animals rely on it for drinking water, people eat the fish they catch in it, and farmers in the state depend on it for irrigating their crops. Since there is very little rain in this state, the Elk River gives animals and humans the water they need to stay alive. Even though the river is not nearly the biggest in the nation, it is very important to the people and animals that live near it.

Read the following passage and then select the best summary.

San Francisco is located on the coast of California in an area often called the Bay Area. The weather is generally very mild, seldom getting really cold or really hot. Its mild climate is one reason many people live there. It seldom snows in San Francisco and generally does not get below freezing during the winter. Even in the middle of summer, temperatures may be in the mid 80s with a cool breeze from the bay keeping the weather very comfortable.

You know that spiders spin silk, but do you know what spiders do with their silk? Mother spiders keep the eggs they lay in silk sacs. Spiders also use their silk to make webs or homes. Many spiders have hideouts in places such as window corners or under sills. They line the entrances to these places with silk. Spiders also use silk threads to drop straight to the ground when enemies appear. And, of course, spiders can spin silken traps and nets to catch their dinner.

Which title best summarizes this paragraph?

Turtles have been around for more than 200 million years. Scientists think they are the most ancient of all reptiles. Turtles live in many places on land and in water. Like all reptiles, they are cold-blooded. Turtles that live where winters are cold usually hibernate. Turtles eat insexts, fish and frogs. They also munch on plants, including fruit and flowers. The largest turtle is the leatherback, which can weigh more than 2,000 pounds!

Which title best summarizes this paragraph?