Practicing summarizing key information from a text.

The Grade 4 students selected an article that interested them. They read the article with a partner and highlighted the important information. They then wrote a summary using about 40 words.

Here are some samples of their work. 

The biggest pumpkin

Howard Dill is a famous pumpkin grower. There are contests for fruits and vegetables.

The judges check to see which pumpkin weighs the most. His pumpkin weighed 1061 pounds. People can even buy the fruit and vegetables after the competition.

Alligator attack

Some friends went camping. They went canoeing. All of a sudden they saw a huge alligator. They were really scared but managed to row back to shore after one of the girls Loretta hit the alligator on the head with a paddle.

Living like a chicken

Two strangers Eric and Pam stayed in a chick cage for a week. They were filmed by Rob Thompson. He was trying to show it is unfair to keep animals in cages. They had no TV, radio, books or privacy. They were paid $2500.

Bugs

In Japan a man called Aki Takahashi paid $800 for a black beetle. Most people in Japan are crazy about bugs and pay a lot of money for one. No pet store is considered complete if it does not have a place for bugs. Children also love bugs.

Short pants

Jeff and Shaun are couriers. They deliver packages. Six couriers had a contest to see who can wear shorts the longest, even when it is minus 30oC. One year later Jeff and Shaun are still in short pants.

Flagpole

Tom’s job is painting flagpoles. They are high in the air. Tom has worked for 10 years.

He is 54 years old. The tallest pole he has painted was 137 feet high and it was dangerous.

Living like a chicken

Pam and Eric volunteered to live in a chicken cage for a week and get only $2500 each.

This was filmed by Rob Thompson. He wanted to make a documentary about the way animals are treated. The film caught every second of what was going on.

The biggest pumpkin

Howard Dill grew a bigger pumpkin that anyone else. Most pumpkins weigh 15-20 pounds. People have been trying to grow big pumpkins for hundreds of years. Howard’s record pumpkin was 1,061 pounds.

Alligator attack

This is a story about Loretta, her son, her friend Suzie and her two daughters. They were in Florida and went canoeing. An alligator swam under their canoe and scared them. The Park people said “Alligators don’t hurt you if you do not hurt them”.

Flagpole

Tom Freeman paints flagpoles. He is 54 years old. He travels around the world painting poles. He started by helping his friends. It is dangerous but he tries his best. He is a pro flagpole painter.

After lunch we practiced this skill some more. The students listened to an audio book 'Esio Trot' and then wrote a short summary on their own.