Summarizing Fiction Texts

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 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.

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. The Summary of this passage is:

• 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.

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.
  

A summary...

• ...includes your thoughts, feelings, and reactions about the text.

• ...is a detailed, lengthy written piece including all the facts.

• ...is a brief, biased piece of writing including important details from the text.

• ...is a brief, unbiased piece of writing including important details from the text.

You should always...

• ...copy the text word-for-word when summarizing.

• ...focus on the key ideas.

• ...write just a little bit about the text.

• ...capture the main ideas.

When working on a summary, I should always...

• ...make a list.

• ...include my opinion.

• ...use quotes from the text.

• ...restate it in my own words.

I should include approxiamately____ details from the text in my summary.

• 2

• 3

• 5

• 1

Which of the following should we NOT use in our summaries?

• The main idea of the text.

• Inferences we draw from the text.

• Supporting details from the text.

• Connections to other texts.

Creating a concise statement of the most important parts of the passage is...

• Synthesizing

• Summarizing

• Evaluating

• Reflecting

Which of the following best describes the purpose of summarizing a fiction text?

• To provide a detailed analysis of the characters

• To give a brief overview of the main events and themes

• To rewrite the text in your own words

• To critique the author's writing style