North Dakota Grade 6 English

Write an Objective Summary

Write an objective summary of an original Grade 6 information text, with North Dakota English references, a worked model, and printable practice. Connect this activity with the school’s wider literacy sequence.

Curriculum reference: North Dakota English Language Arts Content Standards, June 2023, from the NDDPI English Language Arts standards page.

North Dakota Grade 6 references for this activity

NDDPI’s current English Language Arts page links the June 2023 K–12 standards. The document organizes literacy through foundations, communication, reading, writing, and inquiry/research; foundations apply through Grade 6, while later grades extend reading, writing, communication, and inquiry. Selected references here use the state document’s own grade and strand codes. Read the school’s complete course sequence alongside the full standards rather than treat one activity as an entire literacy program.

These selected reference labels identify an activity focus, with the correct grade and PDF page linked separately. Read the complete standards selected by the school and its learning sequence, including reading, writing, language, speaking, and listening. This short original example does not fulfill the entire curriculum or establish a student’s grade-level proficiency.

The trial delivery box

This original classroom example is separate from official assessment questions.

A library tested a delivery box for returning books outside its opening hours. During the first week, returned books sometimes caught on the narrow inner ledge. Staff widened the ledge opening and added a sign asking users to place one book at a time. They planned a second week of observations before deciding whether to keep the box. The trial record does not include results from that second week.

Try the activity

Write a short objective summary. Include the purpose, the observed problem, the response, and the unresolved decision. Which sentence would turn your summary into an unsupported evaluation?

Follow the reasoning

An objective summary could say: A library tried an after-hours return box, found that books sometimes caught on its inner ledge, and changed the opening and directions before planning another observation week. It had not yet decided whether to keep the box. This retains the main sequence and relevant details without praise or blame. “The staff made a brilliant design that solved the problem forever” would add an evaluation and an outcome not reported. The source states a revision and a future check, so the summary should preserve that uncertainty. Removing the unresolved decision would make the trial appear more complete than the passage supports.

Notice what needs more practice

An objective summary can include a reported problem without criticizing the people involved. It can also report an author’s evaluation when clearly attributed, but this text supplies none. A short summary selects important information rather than copy every sentence. These trial events are invented; no actual library performance is reported.

Use the next session to build independence

1. Identify the central purpose and development.
2. Select details necessary to understand the trial.
3. Check the summary for opinions and unsupported outcomes.

Summarize a teacher-selected information article. Mark which details are essential to its central explanation and which can be omitted. Preserve qualifications or unresolved findings that change the meaning.

For more general reading and writing resources, visit the Grade 6 English Online Center.

North Dakota Grade 6 English: useful planning questions

Must a summary include every detail?

No. Include relevant details that preserve the text’s central explanation and limits. Omit minor details without changing the meaning.

Which standards does the school use?

NDDPI’s current English Language Arts page links the June 2023 K–12 standards. The document organizes literacy through foundations, communication, reading, writing, and inquiry/research; foundations apply through Grade 6, while later grades extend reading, writing, communication, and inquiry. Selected references here use the state document’s own grade and strand codes. Read the school’s complete course sequence alongside the full standards rather than treat one activity as an entire literacy program. The school’s sequence also includes reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language work beyond this example.