---
title: "Paraphrasing What You Hear"
description: "Paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, capturing the key ideas accurately in one's own words"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/paraphrasing-what-you-hear-mt_-DuXzMVVXQ
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/paraphrasing-what-you-hear-mt_-DuXzMVVXQ.md
retrieved: 2026-10-19
---

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# Paraphrasing What You Hear

Paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, capturing the key ideas accurately in one's own words

Subject: English · Area: Speaking & Listening · Ages 9 to 10
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/paraphrasing-what-you-hear-mt_-DuXzMVVXQ

## Ready when they can

- Listen to a passage read aloud and restate the main idea and key details in own words without looking at the original text
- Paraphrase information from a short video, podcast, or presentation, identifying the central message and supporting details
- Distinguish between paraphrasing (restating in own words) and copying, demonstrating the ability to capture meaning without repeating exact wording

## Lesson: Say it in your own words

When you listen to a talk, a video, or a podcast, you can paraphrase it. That means saying the same thing in your own words instead of the exact words you heard. You already know how to find the main idea of a text. A paraphrase keeps that main idea and the key details, so your listener gets the same message you did.

**Example.** A podcast says, "Octopuses have three hearts and blue blood." Mia paraphrases it like this: "Octopuses are really different from us. They have three hearts, and their blood is blue." Same meaning, her own words.

*(drawing: Mia heard the octopus facts, kept the meaning, and said them in her own words. That swap is paraphrasing.)*

Paraphrasing is not copying. If you repeat the exact same words in the exact same order, that is copying. Change the words, but keep the meaning the same.

**Example.** After watching a video about the water cycle, Theo does not write down every word the narrator said. Instead he explains the central idea and the important details in his own words.

**Recap.** Paraphrasing means retelling the main idea and key details in your own words, without copying the exact wording you heard.

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Main Ideas & Note-Taking](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/main-ideas-and-note-taking-mt_sMAcZW6vWM)

## Opens up

- [Summarising Spoken and Media Presentations](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/summarising-spoken-and-media-presentations-mt_A4YUbzUFan)
- [Keeping a Conversation Going](https://lightmysky.com/learn/languages/keeping-a-conversation-going-mt_SZsWbcNJIv)