Making Inferences
The student woke up. He glanced at the clock, blinked and glanced again in disbelief. Minutes later he was out the front door, running, panicking, and all the while, buttoning his shirt. What can you infer from this short narrative?
The student overslept.
Show-and-tell was a mandatory part of class when I was in fourth grade. I cannot even tell you how annoying it was. My house, when I was growing up, was a square box with small windows and yellow chipped paint. I wore clothing that my cousins had grown out of, or that my mother bought at discount stores. I had a few toys, but nothing shiny or electronic. I never went on vacations except to Cincinnati, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania one time.
What can we infer about the narrator?
A) They traveled around a lot. B) They did not have a lot of money. C) They are from Cincinnati D) They like the color yellow
B) They did not have a lot of money.
What is annotation?
Adding notes to a text to explain, summarize, or question.
Floods can cause tremendous damage. They can ruin houses, roads and buildings. Floods can take down trees and cause mudslides. It often leaves mud, sand and debris behind. It can take months to clean up after a flood
What is the main idea of the passage? A) floods can cause lots of damage B) floods cause mudslides C) floods damage houses and roads D) flood damage may takes months to clean up
D) flood damage may takes months to clean up
The baker removes the pastries from her oven. A judge approaches. He cuts into a pastry, examines the middle, and places it back onto the baking sheet. He moves away, and the woman hangs her head. She looks over at her baking timer: five minutes remain. She bites into one of her pastries. The inside is doughy rather than crisp. What can you infer?
The woman under-cooked her pastries.
Our family raises honeybees. This spring one of our ten hives was destroyed. Recently, a bear was sighted in our neighborhood.
You can infer that that: A) the bear destroyed the hive. B) the bees swarmed. C) a storm destroyed the hive. D) She was scared of the bear.
A) the bear destroyed the hive.
What is the difference between a mood and tone?
Mood is the atmosphere or feeling created by the text, or how the text makes the READER feel.
Tone is the author’s attitude toward the subject matter or the "tone of voice" the author writes in.
Radiation helps treat cancer. Some patients can't resist it. It can make the patients ill. On the other hand, some patients do well with the radiation. Radiation is beneficial to cancer patients. What is the main idea? A) Radiation can treat cancer. B) Radiation hurts all of the patients. C) Radiation cures the cancer. D) Radiation doesn't help at all.
A) Radiation can treat cancer.
A: Look at the long line! Do you think we’ll get in? B: I think so. Some of these people already have tickets. A: How much are the tickets? B: Only nine dollars for the first show. I’ll pay. A: Thanks. I’ll buy the popcorn. Where are these two people?
At the movies.
Virgil slammed his fist against the locker. The hallway had been packed one minute ago, but now most of the students had filed into their classes. The bell would ring shortly. Virgil looked around urgently but saw no friendly faces. He faced the locker again and started spinning the lock, first right, then left, then right. He took a deep breath and pulled the lock. It held tight. Virgil cursed under his breath at the exact moment the bell rang. He grabbed the handle of the locker and yanked it repeatedly in a fit of frustration. He threw his arms against the locker and burrowed his head into his arms. Finally, he pushed himself off of the locker and went to look for a custodian.
Why is he upset and why did he look for a custodian?
He's frustrated because he can't open his locker, making him late to class, so he is looking for a custodian to help him get his locker unstuck.
What is an inference?
A logical guess based on evidence from the text.
Some people say that the White House has ghosts. The most famous ghost is Abraham Lincoln. He is often seen standing in his room looking out the window. Even Eleanor Roosevelt said that she saw him. There is a legend that old Abe walks back and forth all night before something terrible is about to happen. This paragraph mainly tells: A) What Lincoln's ghost is like B) When Eleanor Roosevelt's ghost walked C) How many ghosts the White House has D) That some people think Lincoln's ghost haunts the White House.
D) That some people think Lincoln's ghost haunts the White House.
A: When did this happen? B: Yesterday. I was playing soccer and I fell down. A: Can you move it at all? B: Only a little. A: Can you walk on it? B: No. It hurts too much. A: I think we’ll have to take an X-ray. B: Will I be able to play in the game tomorrow? A: I’m afraid not. What are these people talking about? Where are they?
An injured leg, ankle or foot At the hospital
Warren pushed the back door open with his elbow. He was dragging a heavy plastic sack behind him. Thud, thud, thud. The bag thumped each stair Warren descended. Thud, thud, rip, drip, drip. The bag had gotten caught on a nail and a foul, odorous juice poured out, splashing Warren's leg. "Ew...gross!" Warren shouted as he adjusted the bag. He walked out to the alley and deposited the bag in a large, plastic container, closing the lid behind him as he left, still muttering about his pants.
Why does Warren get so angry when the bag spills, and how do you know?
He gets angry because he's taking out the trash and gross, trash liquid spills on his leg. Evidence to prove this includes "The bag had gotten caught on a nail and a foul, odorous juice poured out, splashing Warren's leg."
What is text evidence?
Information from a text that supports a claim or argument. When you quote (and cite!) word-for-word from the text to support your own arguments or ideas.
Yesterday was my birthday. When I woke up, I noticed my brother Josh hung up a big sign that said,"Happy Birthday, Charles!" Mom made spaghetti for dinner.
It's my favorite food in the whole world. My friend Dave came over and handed me a wrapped gift. I wondered what it was. It was a new basketball! I had a great day.
What is the main idea of this paragraph? A) Josh got lots of gifts B) Charles got a lot of gifts C) Charles had a great birthday D) Josh had a great birthday
C) Charles had a great birthday
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating. Why is Della crying?
She is short on money.
Mr. Johnson looked up at the sky. It was clear as far as the eye could see, except for the cruel sun. The insatiable sun drained the land of all moisture. He cursed the sun. Mr. Johnson ran his fingers through one of the rows of dirt and grabbed a handful. It was bone dry, almost powdery. He let the dirt sift through his fingers and it turned to dust in the wind. He put his hands on his hips and surveyed the field. It was well seeded, that he knew. He had seeded it himself, yet nothing sprang from the dirt. "Well, there's only one thing left to do," he said to himself. Mr. Johnson headed to the church.
What does Mr. Johnson do for a living and why is he cursing the sun?
He is a farmer, and he's worried because there's a drought and he doesn't want his crops to die.
What is "plot," and what are all 5 parts that make up "plot"?
The sequence of events in a story, including exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
On Wednesday, the Senate passed a $1.35 trillion tax cut package. This is the biggest reduction in twenty years. The measure lowers all income tax rates. The package now goes to a House-Senate conference committee. In the committee, Congressional and White House negotiators will quarrel over the size and timing of the tax cuts. In the final tally, 62 senators voted for the bill and 38 voiced against it. All 50 Republicans and 12 Democrats joined in support of the package.
What is this news story mainly about? A) Negotiators will argue about the timing. B) The vote on the tax cut was 62 to 38. C) The Senate passed a large tax cut. D) Taxes are way too high in America.
C) The Senate passed a large tax cut.