Practise Predicting, Summarising and Ordering Events from a Non-Fiction Text

In this activity, we’re going to be looking at predicting and summarising information from a text.

Read the passage below.

In a garden adorned with emerald leaves and blossoming trees, four friends, Lily, Max, Mia, and Jake, stumbled upon a wounded bird. Its delicate feathers, which were once a tapestry of white and gold, were now ruffled and faded. Its chirps echoed like a tiny orchestra, the notes trembling with fear.

With hearts pounding like drums, the children gently cradled the fragile creature - its heartbeat was a galloping horse in their hands. The four children looked at each other. They knew what they had to do.

Prediction

What do you predict will happen next?

With prediction questions, we must use the context of the passage to help us.

The children have found an injured bird and it says ‘They knew what they had to do’.

We can predict that the group have come up with a plan to rescue the bird. Maybe they will call for someone to come and help or they may take the bird to a vets or rescue centre.

The prediction must be related to what’s happening in the text.

If we said, ‘The children will go and have ice cream’, it has no connection to the text and would be seen as an incorrect answer!

Ordering and Summarising

Some summarising questions ask us to order key events from a text.

Which order do these events come in?

The children came up with a plan.

Unexpectedly, four children came across an injured bird.

The bird made petrified sounds.

Did you spot the correct order here?

1. Unexpectedly, four children came across an injured bird.
2. The bird made petrified sounds.
3. The children came up with a plan.

Summary questions also ask us to summarise an entire text or a certain paragraph.

Can you summarise the first paragraph of this story in no more than 7 words?

Here’s one summary:

Four children find an injured bird.

We don't need to add extra information like where exactly they found the bird, the children’s names or how they handled the bird.

Now, it’s your turn to answer prediction, summarising and ordering questions about a text.