RI.6.2: Central Idea, Supporting Details and a Summary Without Opinions
In plain English: RI.6.2 is the Common Core grade 6 ELA standard that asks students to determine a central idea of an informational text and explain how particular details convey it. Students also write a short summary of the text in their own words that leaves out their personal opinions and judgments. It builds on finding main ideas and summarizing in grade 5.
Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy · Domain: Reading Standards for Informational Text · Cluster: Key Ideas and Details · Official standard
Students learn to determine a central idea of an informational text, show how particular details convey it, and write a summary that leaves out their own opinions and judgments. The texts are short nature essays by the American naturalist John Burroughs, from Bird Stories from Burroughs (1911), a collection made for young readers. Each passage makes one clear point about a bird and supports it with details Burroughs saw himself.
After a warm-up about a school newsletter, the teacher models the skills with "The Cedar-Bird," where Burroughs states his central idea in his first sentence. Pairs then repair a flawed student summary of the same passage. Students work on their own with "The Oven-Bird," whose central idea is built through a surprising contrast, and the homework uses a notebook record Burroughs kept about a chipping sparrow.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
Tell the difference between the topic of an informational text and its central idea
Determine a central idea, whether the author states it in one sentence or builds it through details
Explain how particular details convey the central idea, and recognize true details that do not
Write a short summary of the central idea and key details, in their own words and without personal opinions or judgments
Prior Knowledge Required
Students should already be comfortable with:
Determining two or more main ideas of a text and explaining how key details support them RI.5.2
Summarizing a text RI.5.2
Telling a fact, which can be checked, apart from an opinion
"Your school newsletter prints a short article with three facts: the garden club planted 40 tomato plants in April, club members water them every morning before class, and last week the club gave its first 25 pounds of tomatoes to the town food bank. In one sentence, what is the article mostly about? Then decide: if a friend says 'The garden club is the coolest club in school,' is that something the article says?"
Collect three or four one-sentence answers. Point out that a strong answer does not repeat one fact; it says what the three facts add up to, for example "The garden club's hard work is growing food for people in town." Then take the friend's sentence: it is an opinion, because the article never says the club is cool. Tell students that today they will find the big point an article makes, show which details support it, and retell the article without adding what they think of it.
Direct Instruction15 minutes
Teach six words before reading, and leave them on the board:
Topic: what a text is about, in a word or a short phrase ("cedar-birds," "building nests").
Central idea: the most important point the text makes about its topic, written as a complete sentence. An author may state it in one sentence, or a reader may have to put it together from the details.
Key details: the facts, examples and events that support and explain the central idea.
Summary: a short retelling of the central idea and the key details, in order and in your own words.
Opinion: what a person thinks or feels, which cannot be proved true or false ("the best birds").
Judgment: a word or sentence that calls something good or bad, smart or foolish, right or wrong ("the silly birds"). A summary leaves out the reader's opinions and judgments.
Introduce the text: John Burroughs (1837-1921) was an American naturalist, a writer who studied birds, plants and animals by watching them closely on his farm in New York State. His bird essays were collected for young readers in Bird Stories from Burroughs (1911). The cedar-bird, today usually called the cedar waxwing, is a soft brown bird named for the cedar berries it eats. Words to know: vigilant (watchful), absorbed (busy and paying close attention), concealing (hiding), screen (here, the hiding place Burroughs is behind), reconnoitre (British spelling of reconnoiter, to look over a place for danger), premises (the area around a building or nest), prospective (expected in the future) and incubation (keeping eggs warm until they hatch). Read the passage aloud twice.
1How alert and vigilant the birds are, even when absorbed in building their nests! In an open space in the woods I see a pair of cedar-birds collecting moss from the top of a dead tree. Following the direction in which they fly, I soon discover the nest placed in the fork of a small soft maple, which stands amid a thick growth of wild cherry-trees and young beeches. Carefully concealing myself beneath it, without any fear that the workmen will hit me with a chip or let fall a tool, I await the return of the busy pair. Presently I hear the well-known note, and the female sweeps down and settles unsuspectingly into the half-finished structure. Hardly have her wings rested before her eye has penetrated my screen, and with a hurried movement of alarm she darts away. In a moment the male, with a tuft of wool in his beak (for there is a sheep pasture near), joins her, and the two reconnoitre the premises from the surrounding bushes. With their beaks still loaded, they flit round with a frightened look, and refuse to approach the nest till I have moved off and lain down behind a log. Then one of them ventures to alight upon the nest, but, still suspecting all is not right, quickly darts away again. Then they both together come, and after much peeping and spying about, and apparently much anxious consultation, cautiously proceed to work. In less than half an hour it would seem that wool enough has been brought to supply the whole family, real and prospective, with socks, if needles and fingers could be found fine enough to knit it up. In less than a week the female has begun to deposit her eggs,--four of them in as many days,--white tinged with purple, with black spots on the larger end. After two weeks of incubation the young are out.
2Excepting the American goldfinch, this bird builds later in the season than any other, its nest, in our northern climate, seldom being undertaken till July. As with the goldfinch, the reason is, probably, that suitable food for the young cannot be had at an earlier period.
John Burroughs, Bird Stories from Burroughs, "The Cedar-Bird" (first two paragraphs) (1911). Public domain (published 1911). Source text.
Topic or central idea?
A student says the central idea of paragraph 1 is "cedar-birds." Is that a central idea?
Result: No. "Cedar-birds" is the topic, a word that names what the text is about. The central idea is a complete sentence that says what the text shows about the topic. Here Burroughs states it himself in his first sentence: "How alert and vigilant the birds are, even when absorbed in building their nests!" (paragraph 1). In your own words: birds stay watchful even while they are busy building.
Details that convey the central idea
Which details in paragraph 1 show that the birds stay alert?
Result: The female settles on the nest, but "her eye has penetrated my screen" and she darts away. The pair "refuse to approach the nest till I have moved off and lain down behind a log." Even then, only "after much peeping and spying about" do they "cautiously proceed to work" (paragraph 1). Each detail is a moment when the birds notice, or watch for, danger.
A true detail that does not convey it
Burroughs says the male arrives "with a tuft of wool in his beak (for there is a sheep pasture near)" (paragraph 1). Does the part in parentheses help convey the central idea?
Result: No. It is true and interesting: it explains where the wool came from. But it says nothing about how watchful the birds are, so it would not be one of the details you use to support the central idea, and it can be left out of a summary.
Summary or judgment?
Which sentence belongs in a summary of paragraph 1: "The pair will not go back to the nest until Burroughs moves away and hides behind a log" or "The cedar-birds are foolish to be afraid of a quiet person"?
Result: The first. It reports an event the text states, in the student's own words. The second is a judgment: it calls the birds foolish, which the text never does. A summary tells what the text says and leaves the judging out.
Find, prove, retell. Show Diagram 1. Model the three moves: find the central idea (is it stated? if not, ask what the key details have in common), prove it with two or three details, and retell the text in a few sentences. Test a central idea sentence two ways: it should fit the whole passage, not one moment, and it should be a statement, not an opinion.
Guided Practice15 minutes
Show the practice summary below. A student wrote it about Passage 1, and it has several problems on purpose. With Diagram 2 on the board, pairs underline every opinion, circle every judgment, box any minor detail, and note what important information is missing.
1In this amazing passage, John Burroughs hides under a tree to spy on two cedar-birds while they build a nest. The female sees him right away and flies off, and the male shows up with some wool. I think the birds are very smart.
2The birds are silly to be scared of a man who only wants to watch them. They will not go back to the nest until he moves away and lies down behind a log. Their eggs are white with black spots. Then they finally get back to work. Cedar-birds are the best birds in the woods.
Written for this page (an invented student summary), Practice Summary of "The Cedar-Bird" (contains deliberate problems for Guided Practice). Original passage written for this page.
Opinions. Teacher note: "amazing" (paragraph 1), "I think the birds are very smart" (paragraph 1) and "Cedar-birds are the best birds in the woods" (paragraph 2) tell what the student thinks, not what the passage says.
Judgments. Teacher note: "silly to be scared" (paragraph 2) judges the birds, and "spy on" (paragraph 1) makes Burroughs sound sneaky; the passage says he is "concealing" himself to watch. Ask pairs for a neutral verb, such as "watch."
Minor details and gaps. Teacher note: the colors of the eggs do not support the central idea and can go. The summary never states the central idea, and it leaves out that the birds check again and again before they "cautiously proceed to work."
Revise together. Model revision: "John Burroughs shows that birds stay alert even while they build their nests. Hiding under a pair of cedar-birds' nest, he sees the female spot him at once and fly off. The pair will not return until he moves away and lies down behind a log, and even then they check the area before they go back to work."
Independent Practice15 minutes
Students read Passage 3 on their own: the opening of Burroughs's chapter on the oven-bird, a small woodland bird named for its nest, which has a roof like an old-fashioned outdoor oven. The whole passage is one long paragraph. Words to know: loiterer (someone who strolls slowly), domestic fowl (a chicken), riveted (fastened tight), reiterated (repeated), rapturous (full of joy), prosy (dull and ordinary), lyric poet (a poet who writes songs), demure (quiet and shy), habitual (usual), perpendicularly (straight up and down), skylark (a European bird famous for singing as it flies high) and twilight (the dim light after sunset).
1Every loiterer about the woods knows this pretty, speckled-breasted, olive-backed little bird, which walks along over the dry leaves a few yards from him, moving its head as it walks, like a miniature domestic fowl. Most birds are very stiff-necked, like the robin, and as they run or hop upon the ground, carry the head as if it were riveted to the body. Not so the oven-bird, or the other birds that walk, as the cow-bunting, or the quail, or the crow. They move the head forward with the movement of the feet. The sharp, reiterated, almost screeching song of the oven-bird, as it perches on a limb a few feet from the ground, like the words "preacher, preacher, preacher," or "teacher, teacher, teacher," uttered louder and louder, and repeated six or seven times, is also familiar to most ears; but its wild, ringing, rapturous burst of song in the air high above the tree-tops is not so well known. From a very prosy, tiresome, unmelodious singer, it is suddenly transformed for a brief moment into a lyric poet of great power. It is a great surprise. The bird undergoes a complete transformation. Ordinarily it is a very quiet, demure sort of bird. It walks about over the leaves, moving its head like a little hen; then perches on a limb a few feet from the ground and sends forth its shrill, rather prosy, unmusical chant. Surely it is an ordinary, commonplace bird. But wait till the inspiration of its flight-song is upon it. What a change! Up it goes through the branches of the trees, leaping from limb to limb, faster and faster, till it shoots from the tree-tops fifty or more feet into the air above them, and bursts into an ecstasy of song, rapid, ringing, lyrical; no more like its habitual performance than a match is like a rocket; brief but thrilling; emphatic but musical. Having reached its climax of flight and song, the bird closes its wings and drops nearly perpendicularly downward like the skylark. If its song were more prolonged, it would rival the song of that famous bird. The bird does this many times a day during early June, but oftenest at twilight.
John Burroughs, Bird Stories from Burroughs, "The Oven-Bird" (first paragraph) (1911). Public domain (published 1911). Source text.
On the handout, students (1) name the topic of Passage 3 and write its central idea as one complete sentence; (2) copy three details that convey the central idea and explain each in a few words; (3) write a summary of three or four sentences, then trade with a partner, who checks it against Diagram 2. The quiz uses Passages 1 and 3.
Closure5-10 minutes
Exit ticket: (1) In one sentence, explain the difference between a topic and a central idea. (2) Write one sentence that would not belong in a summary of Passage 1, and explain why.
Teacher note on language and science: Burroughs wrote in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and he often describes birds as if they had human feelings ("a frightened look," "much anxious consultation"). Scientists today are more careful about claiming what an animal feels, so encourage students to notice words like "seems" and "as if," which show that Burroughs is guessing. The spellings "reconnoitre" and "titbit" are British forms that American books of his time sometimes used. Remind students never to disturb a real nest: Burroughs watched from a distance, and today most wild birds and their nests are protected by law. Two of Burroughs's facts differ from today's field guides: cedar waxwing eggs are described as pale blue-gray with dark spots (he writes "white tinged with purple"), and incubation takes about 12 days rather than two weeks. The reading answers on this page follow his text.
For homework: students read Passage 4, printed below, from Burroughs's chapter on the chipping sparrow, a small, common sparrow. Most of it is a record Burroughs copied from his own notebook, which is why it is in quotation marks. Words to know: attentive (paying careful attention), resent (feel angry about), hustle (push roughly), capacious (roomy, able to hold a lot), attitude of defense (a pose that protects), cow-bunting (another name for the cowbird, which lays its eggs in other birds' nests), distended (stretched wide), titbit (a small bite of food), brood (a family of baby birds) and maternal instinct (the natural urge of a mother to care for young).
1Last summer I made this record in my notebook: "A nest of young robins in the maple in front of the house being fed by a chipping sparrow. The little sparrow is very attentive; seems decidedly fond of her adopted babies. The old robins resent her services, and hustle her out of the tree whenever they find her near the nest. (It was this hurried departure of Chippy from the tree that first attracted my attention.) She watches her chances, and comes with food in their absence. The young birds are about ready to fly, and when the chippy feeds them her head fairly disappears in their capacious mouths. She jerks it back as if she were afraid of being swallowed. Then she lingers near them on the edge of the nest, and seems to admire them. When she sees the old robin coming, she spreads her wings in an attitude of defense, and then flies away. I wonder if she has had the experience of rearing a cow-bunting?" (A day later.) "The robins are out of the nest, and the little sparrow continues to feed them. She approaches them rather timidly and hesitatingly, as if she feared they might swallow her, then thrusts her titbit quickly into the distended mouth and jerks back."
2Whether the chippy had lost her own brood, whether she was an unmated bird, or whether the case was simply the overflowing of the maternal instinct, it would be interesting to know.
John Burroughs, Bird Stories from Burroughs, "The Chipping Sparrow" (the notebook record) (1911). Public domain (published 1911). Source text.
Differentiation Strategies
For Struggling Students
Give a sentence frame for the central idea: "In this passage, the author shows that ___." and one for details: "One detail that shows this is ___."
Before they read Passage 3, tell them to watch for the place where the bird changes, and give them a two-column chart: "Most of the time" and "During the flight-song"
Let them build their summary from three sentence strips (beginning, middle, end) before they write it out
For Advanced Students
Ask them to compare where the central idea appears in Passages 1 and 3 and explain why Burroughs's choice suits each passage
Have them find two words in Passage 3 that show Burroughs's own opinion and rewrite the sentences in neutral words
Ask them to write a one-sentence summary of Passage 3, then a three-sentence one, and explain what they had to leave out of the shorter version
Assessment Guidance
What to Look For
Check that the central idea is a complete sentence about the whole passage, not a topic ("oven-birds") and not a single detail. Look for details that really support the idea, with a sentence explaining how, rather than any true fact from the text. In summaries, look for the central idea near the start, key details in order, the student's own words and no opinion or judgment words. A summary may report the author's opinion if it names it as his ("Burroughs thinks..."), but it should not add the student's own.
02
Classroom Activities
3 Activities
1
Topic, Central Idea or Detail?
15 minPairs
Pairs sort eight cards about Passage 1 into three piles: Topic, Central Idea and Detail. Then they pick the three details that best support the central idea. The goal is to see the difference between what a text is about, what it says about that, and the evidence.
The Eight Cards
Cedar-birds
Nest building
Birds stay watchful even while they are busy building their nests.
The female spots Burroughs through his hiding place and flies away.
The pair watch the nest from the bushes before they come near it.
The birds bring moss from the top of a dead tree.
The nest sits in the fork of a small soft maple.
After much looking around, the pair carefully go back to work.
Procedure
Pairs sort the cards and write the sentence of paragraph 1 that backs up each Detail card
Pairs star the three Detail cards that best support the Central Idea card and write one sentence explaining their choice
Answer key for the teacher: Topic, cards 1 and 2; Central Idea, card 3; Detail, cards 4-8. The strongest support is cards 4, 5 and 8, which show the birds noticing or checking for danger; cards 6 and 7 are true but tell where the moss and the nest are, not how watchful the birds are
Discussion Questions
Why is "Nest building" a topic and not a central idea?
Cards 6 and 7 are true. Why are they weaker support than cards 4, 5 and 8?
Could card 3 be written in another way and still be right? Try one.
Modification
For students who need support, give them the Central Idea card already placed and have them sort only the other seven cards into Topic and Detail.
2
Newsroom Headlines
15 minGroups of 3-4
Groups act as a newspaper desk. They write a headline and a two-sentence news brief for Passage 1, then judge other groups' work. Writing a headline pushes students to name the central idea in a few words, and the brief is a very short summary.
Procedure
Each group writes a headline of eight words or fewer that states what the passage shows, not only what it is about
Each group writes a two-sentence brief: sentence one states the central idea, and sentence two gives the most important detail
Groups post their work, walk the room and mark each headline C (states a central idea) or T (names only a topic), and each brief with a star if it has no opinions or judgments
Sample work for the teacher: headline, "Nest-Building Birds Never Stop Watching for Danger"; brief, "Birds stay alert even while they build nests. A pair of cedar-birds would not return to their half-built nest until a hidden watcher moved away." A topic-only headline to discuss: "Cedar-Birds Build a Nest"
Discussion Questions
What is the difference between a headline that names a topic and one that states a central idea?
Which brief used the best detail, and why is it the best?
Did any headline slip in an opinion, such as "Amazing"? How would you fix it?
3
Summary Countdown: 50, 25, 10
10 minIndividual, then pairs
Students summarize Passage 1 three times, in about 50 words, then 25, then 10. Each cut forces a decision about which details matter most to the central idea.
Procedure
Students write a summary of about 50 words, then cut it to about 25, then to about 10
Pairs compare what each of them cut at each step and why
Model for the teacher: 10 words, "Cedar-birds building a nest stay alert to any hidden watcher." 25 words, "Burroughs shows that birds stay alert while nest building: a pair of cedar-birds would not return to their nest until he moved away and hid."
Discussion Questions
Which detail survived all three cuts in your summary? Why?
What was the first thing you cut, and why was it the easiest?
Did any opinion words sneak in when you were short of words?
Variation
For a quicker version, skip the 50-word step: students write the 25-word summary, then the 10-word one.
03
Diagrams & Visual Aids
2 diagrams
Diagram 1: Central Idea and Details
The central idea of Passage 1, stated in Burroughs's first sentence, held up by three details from paragraph 1. Each detail shows the cedar-birds noticing or checking for danger. A detail that does not hold up the idea, such as where the wool came from, is not one of the legs.
Diagram 2: What Goes in a Summary
A checklist for writing and checking a summary, used in Guided Practice with the practice summary of Passage 1 and again in Independent Practice.
04
Homework Assignment
~30 min
RI.6.2 Homework: Central Idea and Summary in "The Chipping Sparrow"
Directions: Read Passage 4 at the end of the lesson plan (in Closure). It is Burroughs's notebook record of a chipping sparrow, and its paragraphs are numbered 1-2. Answer in complete sentences, and put any words you copy from the passage in quotation marks.
Part 1: Topic and Central Idea (Problems 1-2)
Name the topic of Passage 4 in a word or short phrase. Then write its central idea as one complete sentence.
Two students try to state the central idea. Student A writes "Robins." Student B writes "The sparrow's head disappears in the robins' mouths." Neither one wrote a central idea. Explain what each student wrote instead, and why it is not a central idea.
Part 2: Details That Convey the Central Idea (Problems 3-4)
Quote two details from paragraph 1 that convey the central idea you wrote in Problem 1. After each quotation, write one sentence explaining how it supports the idea.
The old robins "hustle her out of the tree whenever they find her near the nest" (paragraph 1). How does this detail make the central idea stronger? Use one more detail from paragraph 1 in your answer.
Part 3: Summary (Problems 5-6)
Write a summary of Passage 4 in three or four sentences. Include the central idea and the key details in order, use your own words, and leave out opinions and judgments.
Read this student summary: "A sweet little sparrow feeds some baby robins, which is the cutest thing ever. The mean old robins chase her away, but she keeps coming back. In the end Burroughs figures out that she lost her own babies." Find every opinion and judgment, find the sentence that is not accurate, explain each problem, and rewrite the summary.
Rubric
Criterion
Full Credit (2 pts)
Partial Credit (1 pt)
No Credit (0 pts)
Central Idea
A complete sentence that fits the whole passage
An idea that fits only part of the passage, or a topic with an explanation
A single word, one detail, or no answer
Details
Two exact details, each explained as support for the central idea
Details named but not explained, or only one detail
No details, or details that do not fit
Summary
Central idea and key details in order, in own words, with no opinions or judgments
Key details present but with one opinion, one inaccuracy or a missing central idea
Opinions instead of content, or most key details missing
Revising
Finds every opinion, judgment and inaccuracy and rewrites the summary without them
Finds some of them, or rewrites with one left in
Does not find them
05
Quiz: 20 Questions
Interactive, with answers
Instructions
Questions 1-4 are about central ideas and summaries in general. Questions 5-6, 14 and 18 use "The Cedar-Bird" (Passage 1, in Direct Instruction), and questions 7-13, 15-17, 19 and 20 use "The Oven-Bird" (Passage 3, in Independent Practice). Your score updates as you answer, and Reset quiz clears everything.
Multiple choice: pick an option to check it. Short answer: write your answer, then reveal the model answer.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which of these is a central idea, not a topic?
Answer: C
A central idea is a complete sentence that says something about the topic, and Choice C does. Choices A and B are phrases that name a topic; they tell what a text is about but not what it says about it. Choice D is a complete sentence, but it is an opinion ("better than"), not an idea a text about bees would prove with details.
Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A student is summarizing an article about the history of a town library. Which sentence would NOT belong in the summary?
Answer: D
Choice D is a judgment: it calls the town foolish, which is the writer's view, not something the article reports. Choices A, B and C each report a fact from the article, which is what a summary is made of. A common error is to think a summary should end with what the reader thinks.
Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice
What belongs in a summary of an informational text?
Answer: A
A summary is short: it keeps the central idea and the details that matter most, retold in your own words. Choice B describes a retelling of everything, which is too long to be a summary. Choice C adds opinions, which the standard says a summary leaves out. Choice D confuses a summary with a list of quotations.
Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice
When a text never states its central idea in one sentence, how does a reader determine it?
Answer: B
When the idea is not stated, the reader looks at the key details and asks what point they add up to. Choice A works only when the author happens to state the idea first, as Burroughs does in Passage 1, and it fails otherwise. Choice C lets an opinion choose the idea. Choice D confuses a title, which often names only the topic, with a central idea.
Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which detail from Passage 1, paragraph 1 does the LEAST to convey the central idea that the birds stay alert while building?
Answer: C
Choice C tells how many eggs were laid and how fast, which is about the nest's timeline, not about watchfulness. Choices A, B and D each show the birds reacting to possible danger: a movement "of alarm," a "frightened look," and "still suspecting all is not right." A common error is to pick a detail because it has a number in it and seems important.
Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Paragraph 2 of Passage 1 adds an idea that is different from the central idea of paragraph 1. What is it?
Answer: D
Paragraph 2 says this bird "builds later in the season than any other" except the goldfinch, and gives the likely reason: "suitable food for the young cannot be had at an earlier period." Choice A is a detail about nest material from paragraph 1, not the new idea in paragraph 2. Choice B overstates the central idea of paragraph 1. Choice C misreads "After two weeks of incubation the young are out," which comes after less than a week of building and four days of egg-laying.
Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which sentence best states the central idea of Passage 3?
Answer: B
The passage is built on a contrast: most of the time the bird is "an ordinary, commonplace bird," but its flight-song is "rapid, ringing, lyrical." Choice B covers the whole passage. Choices A and C are single details that support only the "ordinary" half. Choice D is an overstatement; the passage never ranks the oven-bird against every other bird.
Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which pair of details from Passage 3 best shows the contrast that conveys its central idea?
Answer: A
Choice A puts the two sides of the bird next to each other: a dull singer and a powerful poet. Choice B gives details about how the bird looks and walks, which do not change. Choice C describes one place where it sings its ordinary song. Choice D gives two descriptions of the usual song only, so it shows one side of the bird, not the change.
Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Burroughs writes that the flight-song is "no more like its habitual performance than a match is like a rocket" (Passage 3). What does the comparison show?
Answer: A
The usual song ("habitual performance") is the small match, and the flight-song is the rocket, so the flight-song is much bigger and more exciting. Choice C reverses the comparison by matching the flight-song with the match. Choice B contradicts it. Choice D takes "rocket" as a statement about speed, which the passage does not make.
Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice
According to Passage 3, when does the oven-bird sing its flight-song most often?
Answer: C
The last sentence states it: "The bird does this many times a day during early June, but oftenest at twilight." Choices A, B and D each change the time of day and the month. A reader who skims may miss the answer because it comes in the final sentence, after the description of the song.
Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which sentence would belong in a summary of Passage 3 that has no opinions or judgments?
Answer: B
Choice B reports what the passage describes, in neutral words. Choice A judges the bird ("boring"). Choice C is the reader's opinion ("the best sound there is"). Choice D is a judgment ("lucky") that the passage never makes.
Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Burroughs writes, "Surely it is an ordinary, commonplace bird. But wait till the inspiration of its flight-song is upon it" (Passage 3). Why does he call the bird ordinary?
Answer: A
"But wait" signals a turn: Burroughs describes the ordinary side first so that the flight-song will seem even more surprising. Choice B ignores "But wait" and the rest of the passage. Choice C has no support; no other writer is quoted. Choice D is the opposite of what "wait" asks readers to do.
Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which sentence from Passage 3 gives Burroughs's opinion rather than something he observed?
Answer: B
Choice B is a judgment about what might happen ("If ... it would rival"), which no one could observe. Choices A, C and D describe what the bird does, which Burroughs could watch. The comparison to a hen in Choice C is colorful, but it still describes a real movement of the head.
Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A student's summary of Passage 1 ends: "The birds were right to be scared, because people are dangerous." What is the problem with this sentence?
Answer: D
"Right to be scared" and "people are dangerous" are the student's views; Burroughs never says either one. A summary reports the text. Choice A is wrong because a summary includes only key details, and the number of eggs does not support the central idea. Choice B is wrong because length is not the problem. Choice C is wrong because these are not Burroughs's words.
Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer
Burroughs says the oven-bird walks "like a miniature domestic fowl" and moves "its head like a little hen" (Passage 3). Explain how these comparisons help convey the central idea of the passage.
Model answer: The comparisons make the bird seem plain and everyday, because a hen is a common farm bird that no one thinks of as special. They build up the "ordinary" side of the contrast, so that when its flight-song turns out "rapid, ringing, lyrical," the change is a surprise. Rubric: 2 points for explaining that the comparisons show the ordinary side and connecting them to the transformation, with a quotation; 1 point for explaining only one of the two; 0 points otherwise.
Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer
Write a summary of Passage 3 in three or four sentences. Include the central idea and key details in order, and leave out opinions and judgments.
Model answer: John Burroughs explains that the oven-bird seems like an ordinary bird most of the time but becomes a remarkable singer during its flight-song. Usually it walks quietly over dry leaves, moving its head like a hen, and sings a sharp, repeated song from a low branch. During its flight-song, it climbs through the trees, rises fifty feet or more above them and bursts into a fast, ringing song before dropping back down. Rubric: 2 points for the central idea plus at least two key details in order, in the student's own words, with no opinions or judgments; 1 point if one of these is missing or one opinion slips in; 0 points otherwise.
Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer
Read this student summary of Passage 3: "The oven-bird is a dull little bird with an annoying song. It walks around like a chicken, which is hilarious. But when it flies up high, it sings the most beautiful song ever, and everyone should go hear it." Find the opinions and judgments, explain why each does not belong, and rewrite the summary.
Model answer: "Dull" and "annoying" are judgments of the bird; "which is hilarious" is the student's reaction; "the most beautiful song ever" and "everyone should go hear it" are opinions. None of them tells what the passage says. Revision: "Burroughs describes the oven-bird as a quiet bird that walks like a small hen and usually sings a sharp, repeated song. During its flight-song, it rises high above the trees and sings a fast, ringing song, a complete change from its usual one." Rubric: 2 points for finding at least four of the five problems, explaining them, and writing a revision without opinions; 1 point for finding some and revising partly; 0 points otherwise.
Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer
Burroughs says the male arrived with enough wool "to supply the whole family, real and prospective, with socks, if needles and fingers could be found fine enough to knit it up" (Passage 1, paragraph 1). Should this detail go in a summary? Explain your answer.
Model answer: No. It is a joke: Burroughs is exaggerating how much wool the birds brought by imagining it knitted into socks. It does not help convey the central idea that the birds stay alert, so it is a minor detail. A summary could say, at most, that the birds worked quickly once they felt safe. Rubric: 2 points for deciding it does not belong and explaining that it is a minor or joking detail that does not support the central idea; 1 point for the right decision with a weak reason; 0 points otherwise.
Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer
The central idea of Passage 3 is not in its first sentence. Quote the two short sentences in the middle of the passage that come closest to stating it, and explain why Burroughs places them there.
Model answer: "It is a great surprise. The bird undergoes a complete transformation." Burroughs places them right after he has described both the bird's ordinary song and the "wild, ringing, rapturous burst of song" in the air, so the reader has already met both sides of the bird. The two sentences sum up the change, and the rest of the passage describes it in more detail. Rubric: 2 points for the exact sentences and a reason connected to the details before them; 1 point for the sentences without a clear reason, or a close paraphrase with a reason; 0 points otherwise.
Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer
Burroughs calls the oven-bird "pretty" and its usual song "prosy" (Passage 3). Can a summary include his opinions? Explain, and give an example of a sentence that does it correctly.
Model answer: Yes, if the summary reports them as Burroughs's views and does not present them as the summary writer's own. "Burroughs thinks the bird's usual song is dull" reports what the text says. "The bird's usual song is dull" makes the writer of the summary sound as if he or she is judging it. Rubric: 2 points for explaining that the author's opinions can be reported if they are credited to him, with a correct example sentence; 1 point for a correct answer without an example, or an example without an explanation; 0 points otherwise.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
06
Frequently Asked Questions
10 Questions
What does RI.6.2 mean?
It means sixth graders must find a central idea of a nonfiction text, explain how particular details convey it, and write a summary without their own opinions or judgments. The standard joins three skills: finding the big point, proving it with details, and retelling the text fairly.
What is the difference between a topic and a central idea?
A topic is a word or phrase, and a central idea is a complete sentence. "Cedar-birds" is a topic. "Birds stay watchful even while they build their nests" is a central idea, because it says something about the topic that the details can prove.
Is a central idea the same as a main idea?
Mostly, yes. Earlier grades usually say "main idea"; from grade 6 on, the standards say "central idea." RI.6.2 asks for "a central idea," which allows for a text that makes more than one important point. In grade 7, RI.7.2 asks students to find two or more.
Does the central idea always appear in the first sentence?
No. Some authors state it at the start, some in the middle or at the end, and some never state it in one sentence. When it is not stated, students look at the key details and ask what point they add up to. A sentence that states it can come anywhere in a text.
What does "distinct from personal opinions or judgments" mean in RI.6.2?
It means the summary tells what the text says, not what the student thinks of it. Words like "amazing," "boring," "silly" or "the best" do not belong. If the author gives an opinion, the summary may report it as the author's ("Burroughs thinks..."), but it should not add the student's own.
How long should a sixth-grade summary be?
Short: usually three to five sentences for a passage of one page, and never as long as the text. A good summary states the central idea early and keeps only the details that support it, in the order the text gives them.
How is RI.6.2 different from RL.6.2?
RL.6.2 is for stories, poems and plays, and asks about a theme or central idea; RI.6.2 is for informational texts and asks only for a central idea. In nonfiction, the details that convey the idea are facts, examples and observations rather than characters' actions.
What comes after RI.6.2 in grade 7?
RI.7.2 asks students to determine "two or more central ideas," to analyze how they develop over the course of a text, and to write an "objective summary." So grade 7 students track several ideas through a longer text instead of one.
How is RI.6.2 assessed on tests?
Reading tests often ask which sentence best states the central idea of a passage, which detail best supports it, or which sentence would belong in a summary. Written items ask students to summarize a passage or explain how details develop its idea. The quiz on this page practices each kind.
How can parents help a child practice summarizing?
After your child reads an article, ask for the big point in one sentence, then "How does the article show that?" Ask for a short retelling that leaves out what your child thinks, and then, separately, ask what your child thinks. Keeping the two apart is the heart of this standard.
07
Related Standards
5 standards
These standards connect to RI.6.2: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.
Before this lesson
RI.5.2Prerequisite
Determine two or more main ideas, explain how key details support them, and summarize
Lesson coming soon
Alongside
RL.6.2Parallel
Determine a theme or central idea of a literary text and summarize without opinions
