Summarizing

Read the paragraph. Answer the questions.

What does it take to be a survivor? Gary Paulsen knows. This well-known

writer had a difficult boyhood and left home at the age 14. He worked with a
carnival, on a farm, on a ranch, and as a truck driver. Hes also been a
teacher, editor, and singer. Today, Paulsen receives more than 4,00 letters a
day from readers who identify with the struggles of the main character in his
award winning books, Hatchet, Brains Winter, and The River. When hes not
writing, Paulsen enjoys sailing and adventure.
1. Who is Gary Paulsen? ____________________________________
2. What has his life been like? __________________________________
3. What is the main Theme of his work? _______________________________
4. The title that best summarizes this paragraph is
A. Reading Gary Paulsens books
B. Why Paulsen left home at 14
C. Paulsen: Survivor in Life and Literature
D. Getting to know book Characters
5. Use your Answers to help you write a summary paragraph.
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Read the paragraph. Answer the questions.

In the early years of the United States, land travel was difficult. Roads were
no more than dirt paths that became rutted and muddy with rain. Finally,
Congress decided to build a National road. Work began at Cumberland,
Maryland, in 1811. After seven years, the road stretched west to the Ohio
River Wheeling in what is now West Virginia. It wasnt until 1852 that the
road reached its end at Vandalia, Illinois. In its time, thousands of settlers
used the road to travel westward.

1. Why was a National Railroad built?

_______________________________________
2. Where and when did it begin and end?
______________________________________

3. Who used the road? ________________________________

4. The title that best summaries the paragraph is
A. Traveling in America
B. Building the National Road
C. Why Dirt Roads Dont Work
D. Who used the National Road
5. Use your answers to help you write a summary paragraph
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