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Summarise a Text
Grade 4 - Reading - Challenge Me
Worksheet 1
1After reading "Prairie Dog Warning," which summary is most accurate? A prairie dog standing near its burrow gave a sharp bark. Other prairie dogs froze, then hurried underground. Scientists watching the colony wrote that different calls can warn about different kinds of danger.
2Which sentence best summarizes the whole passage "Solar Oven Test"?
3The passage says: At the observatory, Kenji drew Orion low in the winter sky. His guide showed him a summer chart where Orion was missing but Scorpius was visible. Kenji wrote that the night sky changes because Earth moves around the Sun. Which choice should be left out of a summary because it is an opinion?
4Which detail belongs in a summary of "Market Garden Budget" because it helps explain the central idea?
5Read this possible summary of "Solar Oven Test": "Mara proves that clouds make food cook faster in a solar oven." Why is it weak?
6After reading "The Maple Tree Journal," which summary is most accurate? Every Friday, Tessa measured the maple twig taped beside her window. In March, the buds were tight and brown. By late April, each bud had opened into a small green leaf, and Tessa drew the change beside last month's sketch.
7Which sentence best summarizes the whole passage "Prairie Dog Warning"?
8The passage says: Jonah began the debate sure that recess should be indoors on windy days. Then Anika showed a chart of wind speeds and playground accidents. Jonah crossed out his first reason and wrote a stronger one about checking the forecast before recess. Which choice should be left out of a summary because it is an opinion?
9Which detail belongs in a summary of "Library Mural Vote" because it helps explain the central idea?
10Read this possible summary of "Prairie Dog Warning": "Prairie dogs bark only when they want to play together above ground." Why is it weak?
About this worksheet
A useful summary is short, accurate, and focused on the important ideas in the text. Fourth graders often struggle in two opposite ways: they copy nearly every detail, or they make the summary so short that it leaves out the point. This worksheet asks children to compare summaries that are complete, partial, inaccurate, or padded with opinions. The passages are brief enough to reread, but the answer choices are close enough that guessing from memory is risky. When reviewing the page, ask your child to explain why the correct summary includes the central idea and the most important action. Also ask what was left out. Leaving out a small detail is not a mistake; leaving out the reason the passage was written usually is.
What your child will learn
Choose an accurate summary of a passage
Keep the central idea and key details
Leave out minor facts and personal opinions
Notice when a summary changes what happened
Worked example
A passage about Tessa's maple journal should be summarized as watching buds change into leaves, not as only taping a twig to a window.
Common mistake
Picking a sentence from the passage instead of a summary of the whole passage.
Helpful hint
A summary should be shorter than the passage but still tell the main point.
Worksheet 1