summarizing
DESCRIPTION
For student use only!TRANSCRIPT
Keys to
SummarizingAdapted from: Benner,
P.1997. Breakthroughs in
Critical Reading.
Developing critical reading
skills. pp. 31
How To Summarize
You need to find the main idea and
important details
You don’t include every bit of
information, only what is necessary to
understand what’s happening
Read This PassageThe old lady knelt in the soft, spring earth. She
was planting flowers in her garden. Her wrinkled hands dug the hole for each plant. Carefully, she placed a purple petunia in the first hole and then patted the dirt back to fill in the empty space. Then she dug the next hole.
“A red one here, I think,” she said to herself.
Soon all the plants were in place. Gently she gave each one water.
“There!” she said, talking to herself again. “Even if the doc says I won’t live to see it, there’ll be a mass of bright color here in a few months. At least I can leave something pretty behind for other folks to enjoy.”
Summarizing a ParagraphThe old lady knelt in the soft, spring earth. She was planting flowers in her garden. Her wrinkled hands dug the hole for each plant. Carefully, she placed a purple petunia in the first hole and then patted the dirt back to fill in the empty space. Then she dug the next hole.
“A red one here, I think,” she said to herself.
Soon all the plants were in place. Gently she gave each one water.
“There!” she said, talking to herself again. “Even if the doc says I won’t live to see it, there’ll be a mass of bright color here in a few months. At least I can leave something pretty behind for other folks to enjoy.”
Who?
Did what?
Where?
When?
Why?
Summarizing a Paragraph
Who?
Did what?
Where?
When?
Why?
Now write a summary statement by filling in the
blanks below
________________________________________________
Who? Did what? Where?
________________________________________________
When? Why?
*Your summary may be more than one sentence long.
Thinking Skills
Based on the information in the paragraph, choose the answer that best completes this sentence:
The old lady believes that
A) bright colours look terrible
B) planting flowers isn’t worth the trouble
C) she should be paid to do gardening
D) she is going to die soon
E) she will enjoy the flowers next spring
Thinking SkillsThe old lady knelt in the soft, spring earth. She was planting flowers in her garden. Her wrinkled hands dug the hole for each plant. Carefully, she placed a purple petunia in the first hole and then patted the dirt back to fill in the empty space. Then she dug the next hole.
“A red one here, I think,” she said to herself.
Soon all the plants were in place. Gently she gave each one water.
“There!” she said, talking to herself again. “Even if the doc says I won’t live to see it, there’ll be a mass of bright color here in a few months. At least I can leave something pretty behind for other folks to enjoy.”
Based on the information in the paragraph, choose the answer that best completes this sentence:
The old lady believes that A) bright colours look
terrible
B) planting flowers isn’t worth the trouble
C) she should be paid to do gardening
D) she is going to die soon
E) she will enjoy the flowers next spring
Read This PassageRecently, some toy manufacturers have
asked children to try out newly designed toys. One company has a special room in its factory where children may come to play for a six-week period. Toy designers then watch the children as they play. The designers want to know which toys appeal most to children, which toys hold up the best. They are also concerned about the safety of each toy. By watching children play, toy designers can predict which toys will be good sellers for their company.
Summarizing a Paragraph Recently, some toy
manufacturers have asked children to try out newly designed toys. One company has a special room in its factory where children may come to play for a six-week period. Toy designers then watch the children as they play. The designers want to know which toys appeal most to children, which toys hold up the best. They are also concerned about the safety of each toy. By watching children play, toy designers can predict which toys will be good sellers for their company.
Who?
Did what?
Where?
When?
Why?
Summarizing a Paragraph
Who?
Did what?
Where?
When?
Why?
Now write a summary statement by filling in the blanks below
_____________________________________Who? Did what? Where?
_____________________________________When? Why?
*Your summary may be more than one sentence long.
Thinking Skills Which of the following toys might be
dangerous? Put a check by each dangerous toy. You may choose more than one.
A) A toy for a two-to-three-year-old with sharp pointed ends
B) a round, red rubber ball, about six inches in diameter
C) a teddy bear with small button eyes for an infant
D) a carved wooden truck with smooth edges
Summarizing a Longer passageThe Effects of Crack on BabiesWhen people think about drug addicts they usually don’t picture
newborn babies, but annually thousands of American children are born addicted to crack cocaine. Unborn children become addicted because their mothers use crack regularly during pregnancy, and after birth these babies suffer through painful withdrawal like any other addict.
The physical effects of crack on infants are varied. Often crack addicted babies are unusually small. Sometimes they are unresponsive, irritable, and likely to cry more than other infants. As these children grow older, they also have difficulty concentrating on schoolwork because they have short attention spans.
At first doctors thought that children exposed to crack would be permanently affected, but recent research suggests that most of crack’s physical effects on children are relatively minor problems that eventually fade. However, these children are still at risk in other ways. Crack-exposed children tend to develop serious physical and emotional problems because of inadequate care they receive from parents who are addicted to drugs themselves.
Thankfully, doctors now believe that with early intervention these children can develop normally. For example, proper nutrition can help dangerously tiny babies gain weight and drug treatment programs can help their parents reject crack and create a healthy home environment for their children.
Fill in the following chart with the main idea
and the three major supporting ideas from the
passage
a)
b) c) d)
Main idea
Supporting idea
(paragraph 2)Supporting idea
(paragraph 3)
Supporting idea
(paragraph 4)
* Based on the chart above, write a two or three sentence summary of
the article
Summarizing a Paragraph
Who?
Did what?
Where?
When?
Why?
Now write a summary statement by filling in the blanks below
_____________________________________Who? Did what? Where?
_____________________________________When? Why?
*Your summary may be more than one sentence long.