Choose the best summary of a short text

Reading Comprehension

CCSS RI.4.2CCSS RL.4.2England: Y5/6 Reading (summarising)England: Y4 Reading (main ideas)England: KS2 SATs Reading

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Choose the best summary of a short text.

I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
I can explain each step and say why it works.
I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Main idea and supporting details

Leads to: Compare and contrast: how are they alike and different?; Which sentence from the text best supports the answer?; Choose the strongest conclusion

Materials: A short text or extract (one copy each), Highlighters, Question cards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 6 min

Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Main idea and supporting details). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

Spiders are not insects. Insects have six legs, but spiders have eight. Insects have three body parts, while spiders have two. Most insects have wings; spiders never do. What is the main idea? (Insects can fly. / Spiders are different from insects in several ways. / Spiders have eight legs. / Spiders are scary.) → Spiders are different from insects in several ways.Prompt: What is the WHOLE text mostly about, not just one part?
Exercise is good for your body and your mind. It makes your heart and muscles stronger. It can also help you sleep better and feel happier. What is the main idea? (Running is fun. / Muscles are strong. / Sleep is important. / Exercise has many benefits.) → Exercise has many benefits.Prompt: What is the WHOLE text mostly about, not just one part?
Dolphins are very smart. They can learn tricks, solve puzzles and recognise themselves in a mirror. They also talk to each other with clicks and whistles. What is the main idea? (Dolphins whistle. / Dolphins live in the sea. / Dolphins are intelligent animals. / Dolphins like mirrors.) → Dolphins are intelligent animals.Prompt: What is the WHOLE text mostly about, not just one part?

Hook · 6 min

Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
Share the objective: Choose the best summary of a short text. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 12 min

Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
Example: In 2021, a small town opened a 'repair café'. Once a month, volunteers fix broken toasters, toys and bikes for free. In its first year, the café saved over two tonnes of items from being thrown away. Which is the best summary?
Step 1: The best summary states the main idea and the most important points in your own words.
Step 2: So the answer is: A town's monthly repair café fixes broken items for free and has kept tonnes of things out of the rubbish.
Answer: A town's monthly repair café fixes broken items for free and has kept tonnes of things out of the rubbish.
Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 12 min

Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

Wind turbines turn moving air into electricity. The wind spins the blades, which turn a generator inside the tower. Wind power does not burn fuel, so it does not release smoke, but turbines only work when the wind blows. Which is the best summary? (Wind turbines are the best invention ever. / Wind turbines use spinning blades to make clean electricity, but only when it is windy. / There is a generator in the tower. / Turbines have blades.) → Wind turbines use spinning blades to make clean electricity, but only when it is windy.Prompt: A summary is short and covers the WHOLE text, not just one part.
Lena was nervous about the school talent show. At practice, she forgot the words to her song twice. On the night, she spotted her grandad in the front row, giving her a thumbs-up. She took a deep breath, sang every word, and the hall burst into applause. Which is the best summary of the story? (Talent shows are a waste of time. / Lena overcomes her nerves, with her grandad's support, and sings well at the talent show. / Lena's grandad sat in the front row. / Lena forgot the words twice.) → Lena overcomes her nerves, with her grandad's support, and sings well at the talent show.Prompt: A summary is short and covers the WHOLE text, not just one part.

You do: independent practice · 17 min

Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 7 min

Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

Honeybees live in colonies of thousands. The queen lays the eggs. Worker bees collect nectar and pollen, look after the young and guard the hive. Drones have one job: to mate with a queen. Every bee has a role that keeps the colony alive. Which is the best summary? (Bees are the most amazing insects in the world. / Drones are male bees. / In a honeybee colony, the queen, workers and drones each have a job that keeps the hive alive. / Worker bees collect nectar and pollen.) → In a honeybee colony, the queen, workers and drones each have a job that keeps the hive alive.Prompt: A summary is short and covers the WHOLE text, not just one part.
Every morning, an old fox watched the farm from the hill. One winter, when the snow was deep, the farmer's daughter left scraps by the fence. The fox never touched the hens again, and each spring it brought its cubs to the hill to watch the farm. Which is the best summary of the story? (Foxes like to sit on hills. / A girl's kindness to a hungry fox in winter makes the fox leave the farm's hens alone. / It snowed a lot one winter. / The fox had cubs.) → A girl's kindness to a hungry fox in winter makes the fox leave the farm's hens alone.Prompt: A summary is short and covers the WHOLE text, not just one part.

Watch out for

Answering from memory or opinion instead of evidence in the text.
Copying a long quote without explaining what it shows.

Support and stretch

Support

Review first: Main idea and supporting details.
Use concrete materials: a short text or extract (one copy each).
Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

Move on to: Compare and contrast: how are they alike and different?; Which sentence from the text best supports the answer?; Choose the strongest conclusion.
Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-4.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

eurekami

Choose the best summary of a short text

Name

Date

Score/ 8

A Helicopter on Mars

In February 2021, NASA's Perseverance rover landed on Mars. Tucked underneath it was a passenger: a tiny helicopter called Ingenuity. It weighed only about 1.8 kilograms, a little less than a big bag of flour. Flying on Mars is much harder than flying on Earth. The air on Mars is extremely thin, about one hundredth as thick as the air we breathe. Helicopter blades push against the air to lift off, so with so little air, Ingenuity's blades had to spin very fast: about 2,400 times a minute. On 19 April 2021, Ingenuity rose about three metres into the Martian sky, hovered for about forty seconds and landed again. It was the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. Engineers on Earth cheered, even though the radio signals took several minutes to reach them. Ingenuity was only meant to make five test flights. Instead, it made 72. It scouted ahead for the rover, taking photos of rocks and slopes so that drivers on Earth could choose safe routes. In January 2024, one of Ingenuity's blades was damaged during a landing, and the mission ended. The little helicopter still sits on Mars today, and engineers are already using what they learned to design bigger flying machines for future missions.

1
Question 1
Read "A Helicopter on Mars". Which is the best summary?
- A. Mars has thin air.
- B. Ingenuity weighed about 1.8 kilograms.
- C. Helicopters are the best way to travel.
- D. A small helicopter made the first powered flight on Mars and flew far more times than planned, helping future missions.

Pepper's First Week: A Diary

Saturday. Today we collected Pepper from the rescue centre. She is a skinny brown dog with one floppy ear and one ear that stands straight up. In the car, she shook the whole way home, and I held her blanket so she could smell it. I felt nervous too. Sunday. Pepper hid behind the sofa all day. Mum says rescue dogs sometimes need time to trust people because they do not know what is going to happen next. I lay on the floor and read my comic out loud so she could get used to my voice. Tuesday. A breakthrough! When I got back from school, Pepper crept out and sniffed my shoes. Then she licked my hand. I stayed completely still, although I wanted to cheer. Thursday. We went to the park on her lead. A bicycle rang its bell, and Pepper jumped behind my legs. I knelt down and talked to her calmly until her tail started wagging again. Friday. Tonight Pepper fell asleep with her head on my foot. I didn't move for an hour, even though my foot went numb. I think she has decided she lives here now.

2
Question 2
Read "Pepper's First Week: A Diary". Which is the best summary of the diary?
- A. A dog goes to the park and hears a bell.
- B. Pepper has one floppy ear.
- C. Dogs are better pets than cats.
- D. Over a week, a scared rescue dog slowly learns to trust her new family.

3
Question 3
Amara's family moved to a flat with no garden, and she missed growing things. She asked the neighbours if she could use the empty plant boxes on the shared balcony. By summer, the boxes were full of strawberries, and neighbours who had never spoken before were chatting and swapping recipes. Which is the best summary of the story?
- A. Amara turns empty balcony boxes into a garden that brings her neighbours together.
- B. Amara grew strawberries.
- C. Everyone should swap recipes.
- D. The flat had no garden.
4
Question 4
Honeybees live in colonies of thousands. The queen lays the eggs. Worker bees collect nectar and pollen, look after the young and guard the hive. Drones have one job: to mate with a queen. Every bee has a role that keeps the colony alive. Which is the best summary?
- A. Bees are the most amazing insects in the world.
- B. Drones are male bees.
- C. In a honeybee colony, the queen, workers and drones each have a job that keeps the hive alive.
- D. Worker bees collect nectar and pollen.
5
Question 5
Every morning, an old fox watched the farm from the hill. One winter, when the snow was deep, the farmer's daughter left scraps by the fence. The fox never touched the hens again, and each spring it brought its cubs to the hill to watch the farm. Which is the best summary of the story?
- A. It snowed a lot one winter.
- B. The fox had cubs.
- C. Foxes like to sit on hills.
- D. A girl's kindness to a hungry fox in winter makes the fox leave the farm's hens alone.
6
Question 6
In 2021, a small town opened a 'repair café'. Once a month, volunteers fix broken toasters, toys and bikes for free. In its first year, the café saved over two tonnes of items from being thrown away. Which is the best summary?
- A. Repair cafés are better than shops.
- B. The café opened in Wales.
- C. A town's monthly repair café fixes broken items for free and has kept tonnes of things out of the rubbish.
- D. Volunteers fix toasters.
7
Question 7
Octopuses are clever problem-solvers. In aquariums they have unscrewed jar lids to reach food and escaped from their tanks. Scientists think their large brains and flexible arms help them explore and learn. Which is the best summary?
- A. One octopus opened a jar.
- B. Octopuses are scary.
- C. Octopuses are smart animals that can solve problems, helped by their large brains and flexible arms.
- D. Octopuses live in aquariums.
8
Question 8
Wind turbines turn moving air into electricity. The wind spins the blades, which turn a generator inside the tower. Wind power does not burn fuel, so it does not release smoke, but turbines only work when the wind blows. Which is the best summary?
- A. Wind turbines are the best invention ever.
- B. Turbines have blades.
- C. There is a generator in the tower.
- D. Wind turbines use spinning blades to make clean electricity, but only when it is windy.

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Answer key: Choose the best summary of a short text

1. D. A small helicopter made the first powered flight on Mars and flew far more times than planned, helping future missions.
2. D. Over a week, a scared rescue dog slowly learns to trust her new family.
3. A. Amara turns empty balcony boxes into a garden that brings her neighbours together.
4. C. In a honeybee colony, the queen, workers and drones each have a job that keeps the hive alive.
5. D. A girl's kindness to a hungry fox in winter makes the fox leave the farm's hens alone.
6. C. A town's monthly repair café fixes broken items for free and has kept tonnes of things out of the rubbish.
7. C. Octopuses are smart animals that can solve problems, helped by their large brains and flexible arms.
8. D. Wind turbines use spinning blades to make clean electricity, but only when it is windy.