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Summarize

English Language Arts, Grade 8

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To summarize a text, look for the main idea and supporting details. Then write the main idea in your own words. You are not copying the text; you are summing it up. Include only the most essential details. If a text has three paragraphs, the longest your summary should be is four sentences. That’s one sentence for each paragraph plus one to state the main idea. A summary should be much shorter than the text being summarized. For example, this text is 171 words, while its summary is just 52 words. Some animals live in a symbiotic relationship. It is a partnership in which both animals benefit. They are different species, yet they rely on each other. Some birds live this kind of lifestyle. Tiny Darwin ground finches help giant Galapagos tortoises by eating the ticks that are on the tortoises’ skin. This saves the tortoises from tick bites and gives the finches food. The petrel is bird that shares its nest with a tuatara, a lizard that hunts at night. The lizard eats the bugs that would bite the baby petrels. The tuatara will eat other birds’ eggs and babies, but it will not hurt the ones in the nest it shares with the petrel. Red-billed oxpeckers help out impalas. Impalas are antelopes that live on the African plains. The birds eat the ticks and fleas that infest the impalas. These parasites drink the impala's blood. The red-billed oxpeckers enjoy the food, and the impalas enjoy being pest-free. Article’s Main idea: Some birds live in a symbiotic relationship with other animals so that both species benefit. Support from paragraph 1: Tiny Darwin ground finches eat ticks from giant Galapagos tortoises. Support from paragraph 2: Petrels share their nests with tuataras that eat the bugs that would bite the birds’ babies. Support from paragraph 3: Red-billed oxpeckers eat the ticks and fleas on impalas in Africa. Summary: Some birds live in a symbiotic relationship with other animals so that both species benefit. Tiny Darwin ground finches eat ticks from giant Galapagos tortoises. Petrels share their nests with tuataras that eat the bugs that would bite the birds’ babies. Red-billed oxpeckers eat the ticks and fleas on impalas. Summarize Visit www.newpathlearning.com for Online Learning Resources. © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. 92-4048

Summarize the article below using the graphic organizer. Article’s Main idea: Support from paragraph 1: Support from paragraph 2: Support from paragraph 3: Support from paragraph 4: Summary: Could a Tree Grow on the Moon? Since the moon has no atmosphere or weather, it is a barren place. Nothing lives there because it is cold and lacks water. Yet when the astronauts landed there in 1969 during the Apollo 11 Mission, they planned to plant an oak tree. Would it have grown? We will never know. They ran out of time to plant it. Their plan was this: Dig a hole, put an acorn in it, water it, and place a small greenhouse over it. A greenhouse is a structure made of glass panels. The astronauts planned fill the greenhouse with carbon dioxide gas, which is what a tree needs in order to live. The acorn would have had moon soil and plenty of sunlight. If a sapling sprouted, it would have been enclosed by the greenhouse, which would trap the moisture and sun’s warmth. The greenhouse would have kept the tiny tree warm, and the water would not have escaped. It would’ve worked the same way as a terrarium. Trees make and use carbon dioxide, so it might have been able to survive for years. However, one day the tree would have grown so tall that it burst through the greenhouse roof. Once the glass broke, the water and carbon dioxide would have escaped and doomed the tree. It All Stacks Up Summarize Visit www.newpathlearning.com for Online Learning Resources. © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. 92-4048

Summarize

English Language Arts, Grade 8

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