Finding Theme and Summarising · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Finding Theme and Summarising

English · Reading Comprehension · ages 9-11
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Read this story: 'The tide came in fast. Sam's sandcastle washed away. He built the next one higher up the beach.' A friend writes this summary: 'Sam's sandcastle washed away, so he built the next one higher up.' That is a good summary of the story.

    Circle one:   True   False

  2. What is the theme of a story?

    • The main character's name
    • The lesson the story teaches
    • The number of chapters in the book

  3. An objective summary can include your own opinion about whether you liked the story.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. A story is about a boy who moves to a new school. What would be its topic?

    • Courage
    • The importance of friendship
    • Starting a new school

  5. Read this story: 'Bea's cat Nutmeg vanished on Friday. Bea put up posters all around the park. On Sunday a woman called to say Nutmeg was asleep in her greenhouse. Bea carried him home in a basket.' Which summary does not match the text?

    • Nutmeg went missing and turned up asleep in a woman's greenhouse.
    • Bea put up posters, and on Sunday she got Nutmeg back.
    • Bea searched the park herself and found Nutmeg under a bush.

  6. Read this story: 'Theo's brother hid the TV remote as a joke. Theo searched the sofa and the kitchen for an hour. He found it inside a rubber boot. Then he hid his brother's sock in a cereal box.' Which summary keeps small details but misses what the story is about?

    • Theo looked in the kitchen, and the boot was a rubber one.
    • Theo's brother hid the remote as a joke, Theo found it, and Theo played a joke back.
    • Theo hunted for the hidden remote and found it in a boot.

  7. Which sentence belongs in an objective summary of a story about a lost dog finding its way home?

    • I felt so sad reading this part
    • The dog crossed a river and followed familiar smells home
    • This was my favorite book ever

  8. Read this story: 'Priya's team lost every game in the fall. Their coach wore a green hat. They practiced passing twice a week all winter. In spring they won their first game.' Which sentence should be left out of a summary?

    • Their coach wore a green hat.
    • They practiced passing all winter.
    • In spring they won their first game.

  9. Here is a summary of a story: 'Kofi kept a broken bike in his shed for a year. Every Saturday he fixed one small part. In spring he rode it to school.' Which theme fits this summary?

    • Kofi kept a bike in his shed for a year.
    • Bikes are hard to mend without help.
    • Small steps, done again and again, finish a big job.

  10. Read this story: 'The lighthouse lamp went dark at midnight. Hours earlier, a gull had knocked a wire loose. Ada climbed the stairs with a flashlight and pressed the wire back. The lamp swept the water again before dawn.' Which summary tells the events in the order they really happened?

    • The lamp went dark, a gull knocked a wire loose, and Ada pressed it back.
    • A gull knocked a wire loose, the lamp went dark at midnight, and Ada pressed the wire back.
    • Ada climbed the stairs, a gull knocked a wire loose, and then the lamp went dark.
LightMySky · lightmysky.comW1-mt_A0htaNaK7b-s1

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Finding Theme and Summarising W1-mt_A0htaNaK7b-s1

  1. True · The summary keeps both key events in the order they happened and adds no opinion, so it works.
  2. The lesson the story teaches · The theme is the big idea or lesson behind the events, not a fact like a name or chapter count.
  3. False · An objective summary sticks to facts and key events, no personal opinions.
  4. Starting a new school · 'Starting a new school' is what happens, the topic. 'Courage' or 'friendship' would be a theme, the lesson underneath.
  5. Bea searched the park herself and found Nutmeg under a bush. · The text says a woman called and Nutmeg was asleep in her greenhouse. A summary cannot change who found him or where.
  6. Theo looked in the kitchen, and the boot was a rubber one. · The story is about two brothers playing jokes on each other. One summary keeps only the kitchen and the kind of boot, so the jokes drop out.
  7. The dog crossed a river and followed familiar smells home · Only the sentence about the dog describes an actual event. The other two are personal opinions, which don't belong in a summary.
  8. Their coach wore a green hat. · The green hat is a small detail. Take it out and the story still works. Take out the winter practice or the win in spring and the story falls apart.
  9. Small steps, done again and again, finish a big job. · A theme is a lesson about life, not a plot event. Kofi's year of Saturdays shows that small steps add up.
  10. A gull knocked a wire loose, the lamp went dark at midnight, and Ada pressed the wire back. · 'Hours earlier' tells you the gull came before the dark lamp, even though the story mentions the lamp sooner. Ada's climb comes after both.
Worksheet · LightMySky