Grade 5 · Reading · Lesson 15

Summarize long passages

A summary is a SHORT version of a long passage that keeps only the most important ideas. A good summary is much shorter than the original — usually three to five sentences — and it is written in your OWN words, not copied. Summarizing proves that you really understood what you read.

What this lesson teaches

1Identify the main idea and key points that belong in a summary
2Drop minor details, examples, and repetition when shrinking a passage
3Use the five W{’}s frame (who, what, when, where, why) to organize a summary
4Write a three-to-five-sentence summary in your own words

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