1. s
Detail
De
s
act
ta
ils
F
facts
Details
Main Idea
How
To
SUMM
Summarize
ARY
2. When I SUMMARIZE, I…
• Sum it up
• Conclude
• Judge
• Determine
• Reread
• Evaluate
A summary is a short statement that tells the
main points about a piece of text.
3. Summarizing Nonfiction
Identify the WHO or WHAT
Pull out facts
Delete Repeated Details
Delete unimportant facts
Collapse and categorize (group) and
label
Summarize = Topic + Verb + Main Idea
5. What is the summary of this picture?
A) Japanese people collected bottled water after the
tsunami.
B) Some people wear masks to protect them from
radiation and disease.
C) After the tsunami the military watched to make
sure people didn’t steal supplies.
D) Japanese lined up for the limited supplies after the
tsunami.
6. Radioactive iodine detected in Tokyo’s water supply
prompted Japanese authorities on Wednesday to warn
that infants in Tokyo and surrounding areas should not
be given tap water to drink, adding to the anxiety about
public safety posed by Japan’s unfolding nuclear crisis.
Ei Yoshida, head of water purification for the Tokyo
water department, said at a televised news conference
that iodine 131 had been detected in water samples at a
level of 210 becquerels per liter, about a quart. The
recommended limit for infants is 100 becquerels per liter.
For adults, the recommended limit is 300 becquerels.
(The unit is named for Henri Becquerel, one of the
discoverers of radioactivity.)
7. Who or What is the Topic?
Ask yourself—
Who or What is this mostly about?
Look for topics that are repeated.
Look at the title.
.
8. Pull out the Facts
Do NOT underline a, an, the
Do NOT underline word more than once
Do
Not underline interesting details
ONLY underline important details
The facts should relate to the Topic
9. Delete repeated
and unimportant Facts
Go through the list and cross out any facts
that are not important.
Collapse, Categorize
and Label Facts
Move facts around-sort into groups that
have similarities. Label the groups with a
general topic
10. Summarize =
Topic + Verb + Main Idea
Write a sentence that tells Big Idea of the
section.
Don’t add unnecessary words.
Keep it short.
Use a verb (action word or helping verb).
.
11. Summary Rubric
A=Summary includes main topic, important details, no
unnecessary details, and is briefly stated in my own words.
B=Summary includes main topic, important details, and is
briefly stated in my own words.
C=Summary includes main topic, important details, but uses
the language of the text.
D=Summary includes main topic, important an unimportant
details, no unnecessary details, and uses exact language
from the text.
F=Summary is not about main topic, has many unimportant
details and may be copied exactly from text.
12. Children are at much higher risk of being made
seriously ill by contaminated (polluted) water than adults
because they are growing. Since children are smaller than
adults, a dose of radiation could do more harm. According
to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, if an
adult and a child ingest the same amount of radioactive
iodine, the thyroid dose will be 16 times higher to a
newborn than to an adult; for a child under 1 year old,
eight times the adult dose; for a 5-year-old, four times the
adult dose. People in Japan have been advised to be
careful and drink only bottled water in the areas near the
nuclear plants.
13. As authorities tried to maintain calm in Tokyo,
residents were racing to buy as much bottled water as
they could, clearing the shelves of the city’s stores. Mr.
Edano said Thursday that officials were considering a
plan to import (bring in) water from overseas, to increase
the number of bottles they planned to begin give out
across the city. At a convenience store in central Tokyo,
the shelves were about half-stocked with water. A clerk
said he had restocked them just an hour before. “People
came in and cleared us out in the first hour after the
announcement,” he said, saying he did not want to be
identified because he did not want to anger his boss.
“They were taking 20 to 30 bottles at a time.” Outside the
store a man struggling to load more than 30 half-liter
bottles on his bicycle said he had bought the water for
his three small children.
14. Kobe cattle, like the other leading brands in Japan,
have strict requirements for certification. Only 3,000 head
per year make the Kobe grade and get the Kobe stamp.
If a piece of meat has it, the public knows they are
getting very high quality beef. A five-ounce sirloin at the
Ekki Bar and Grill in Tokyo currently goes for 12,000 yen
($150). Japan’s other brands of premium beef include
Sendai, Ohmi, Matsuzaka and Yonezawa. “We can’t feed
our cows anymore because of the lack of feed and
water,” said The manager of the JA Cooperative in hard-
hit Japanese city that raises Sendai beef. “We have only
20 percent of the feed we need. I can’t imagine what
effect the contaminated food and water is going to have
on our herd. Since there is not very much that is not
contaminated, many of our herd will die of starvation.”
15. Our class went on a field trip to a nursing home today.
We each spent an hour visiting one person. I visited a
sweet older woman named Dorothy. Dorothy told me
about her life. I was surprised to learn we had a lot in
common. She likes vanilla ice cream. She also likes
sports, especially baseball. We talked about the Red
Sox, her favorite team, The hour went by extremely fast.
Dorothy said I could come back and visit any time. When
I do, I think I will bring my baseball card collection to
show her.
1) What is the main topic of this selection?
A) Baseball and Red Sox
B) Class field trips
C) kid and older woman
D) Dorothy and older woman
16. Our class went on a field trip to a nursing home today. We
each spent an hour visiting one person. I visited a sweet
older woman named Dorothy. Dorothy told me about her
life. I was surprised to learn we had a lot in common. She
likes vanilla ice cream. She also likes sports, especially
baseball. We talked about the Red Sox, her favorite team,
The hour went by extremely fast. Dorothy said I could come
back and visit any time. When I do, I think I will bring my
baseball card collection to show her.
2) What is the summary of this selection?
A) A older woman tells story about her life.
B) A kid surprisingly enjoys nursing home visit.
C) The next time he will bring his baseball collection.
D) The class visits a nursing home.
17. Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States.
He was a great man with many ideas and interests. He helped write
the Declaration of Independence. He was also an architect, an
inventor and a musician. Some people believe he had a brilliant
mind.
President John. F. Kennedy made a remark once while
entertaining a group of Nobel Prize winners. He said, “ I think this is
the most extraordinary collection of talent and knowledge that has
ever been gathered at the White House, with the exception of when
Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”
What is the main topic of this selection?
A) Thomas Jefferson
B) John F. Kennedy
C) Nobel Peace Prize
D) US Presidents
18. Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States. He
was a great man with many ideas and interests. He helped write the
Declaration of Independence. He was also an architect, an inventor
and a musician. Some people believe he had a brilliant mind.
President John. F. Kennedy made a remark once while entertaining
a group of Nobel Prize winners. He said, “ I think this is the most
extraordinary collection of talent and knowledge that has ever been
gathered at the White House, with the exception of when Thomas
Jefferson dined alone.”
What is the summary of this selection?
A) Thomas Jefferson was the third president.
B) John F. Kennedy admired Thomas Jefferson.
C) Thomas Jefferson was a brilliant and talented president.
D) The Nobel Peace prize winners were smart.
