Context Clues
Making Inferences
Predictions
Main Idea
Summarizing
100

Vivid
The artist used bright, vivid colors to make the painting look alive and exciting.

What is bright, vibrant,intense?

100
Pete called Ted Tuesday afternoon and invited him to come to his house after dinner to watch a movie. It had been a long, boring day, and Ted was excited to have something to do. After dinner, he hopped on his bike and pedaled over to Pete's house. The house was dark, and when he rang the bell, there was no answer. Ted turned around, hopped back on his bike, and rode home. Make an inference about why Ted rode home.
What is "Nobody was home"?
100
Jay was in a pie eating contest. He wanted to win. The winner would be the person who could eat the most pie in twenty minutes. The winner would get a prize. After twenty minutes, no one had eaten as many pies as Jay. Make a prediction about what will happen in the contest.
What is "Jay will win the contest and get a prize"?
100

There are many different kinds of bears in the world. Black bears live in North America. Grizzly bears also live in North America. They are very dangerous. The white Polar bear lives in the Arctic. The biggest bear is the Kodiak bear that is found in Alaska. What is the main idea of this text passage? 

A. Bears live in North America. 

B. Bears are dangerous.

C. There are many kinds of bears.

What is "There are many kinds of bears."

100
I ate breakfast. I woke up. I rode the bus home. I went to my classroom. Summarize these events in order using transition words.
What is "First, I woke up. Next, I ate breakfast. Then, I went to my classroom. Finally, I rode the bus home."?
200

Reluctant
She was reluctant to try the new food because she wasn’t sure if she would like it.

What is hesitant or unwilling? 

200
Sara walked into the large room. The woman behind the desk smiled at her. Sara looked around. There were hundreds of magazines in the room. There were thousands of books! Other children were in the room, sitting and reading books. Sara walked up to the woman. "Can you help me find a book?" she asked. Make an inference about where Sara is.
What is "Sara is in the library."
200
Julie and her mother went shopping. First, they went to the bank. Inside the bank there was a large box where money was kept. Julie's mother told Julie not to touch the box or an alarm would go off. Julie touched the box by mistake. Make a prediction about what will happen.
What is "An alarm will go off"?
200
Bats are fascinating animals. They are not birds, they are flying mammals. Some bats eat fruit, others eat insects. Bats are experts at flying. They use a system called echolocation to fly quickly in the dark. Which is the main idea of this text passage? A. Bats are flying mammals. B. Bats are fascinating animals. C. Some bats eat fruit.
What is "Bats are fascinating animals."
200
When nobody answered the door, Goldilocks went inside the house. Goldilocks fell asleep in Baby Bear's bed. Goldilocks ate Baby Bear's porridge. Goldilocks was playing in the woods when she saw a cute little house. Summarize these events in order using transition words.
What is First, Goldilocks was playing in the woods when she saw a cute little house. Next, when nobody answered the door, Goldilocks went inside the house. Then, Goldilocks ate Baby Bear's porridge. Finally, Goldilocks fell asleep in Baby Bear's bed.
300

Predict
Based on the dark clouds, I predict that it will rain soon.

What is to say what will happen in the future?

300
Nina held the glass jar very carefully. The teacher told the students to be careful because the experiment could explode. Slowly, Nina poured the green liquid into a glass jar. She wiped the edge of the jar and set it on the table. Next, she picked up the tube of red liquid. She measured one drop of it. Nina then carefully added the red drop to the green liquid. Make an inference about the class Nina is in.
What is "Nina is in science class"?
300
Tami loved biking. She had biked in all kinds of weather. She had been planning this bike trip for weeks. Today was going to be great. She woke up early and looked out the window. It was raining! Make a prediction about whether or not Tami will go on her bike trip today.
What is "Tami will go on her bike trip even though it is raining"?
300
Many types of bacteria are helpful. For example, some are able to take nitrogen from the air. They then put it into the soil. This makes the soil better for growing plants. Some bacteria are helpful in making cheese. Other bacteria are helpful in making vinegar. What is the main idea of this text passage? A. Bacteria puts nitrogen from the air into the soil. B. Bacteria helps make food. C. Some types of bacteria helps humans.
What is "Some types of bacteria helps humans."
300
Airplanes were invented and have become an even quicker way to travel long distances. People traveled by foot or on horseback. The invention of cars allowed people to travel farther distances more quickly. The wheel was invented, and people used wagons and carriages to travel. Summarize these events in order using transition words.
What is "First, people traveled by foot or on horseback. Next, the wheel was invented, and people used wagons and carriages to travel. Then, the invention of cars allowed people to travel farther distances more quickly. Finally, airplanes were invented and have become an even quicker way to travel long distances."
400

Complex
The puzzle was complex, with many pieces that fit together in different ways.

What is hard or difficult?

400
There are many different ways of going to school. Some children go to school by radio. The teacher talks to the children over the radio. The children can talk back to the teacher. In some desert countries, children go to school in tents. They people move across the desert, carrying the tent school with them. In some hot countries, children go to school outside all year long. They do not sit in buildings. The sit on the grass. Make an inference about why children in hot countries go to school outside all year long.
What is "It would be too hot to have school inside a building so they sit on the cool grass"?
400
Rose filled a large glass with some milk for her younger sister, Pamela, to drink. However, Pamela wanted to drink from a smaller glass. When Rose left the kitchen, Pamela got a smaller glass. "I'm going to pour all the milk from the big glass into the small glass," Pamela said. Make a prediction about what will happen.
What is "Pamela's glass will be too small to hold all of the milk, so she will make a mess"?
400
Our solar system is very large. It includes the eight planets that turn around the sun. These planets include Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. There are also hundreds of thousands of smaller planets in this system. They are called asteroids. Each asteroid is much smaller than any of the eight large planets. What is the main idea of this text passage? A. Our solar system is made up of the Sun, the nine large planets and many asteroids. B. Pluto used to be a planet but now is a dwarf planet. C. There are eight large planets in our solar system.
What is "Our solar system is made up of the Sun, the nine large planets and many asteroids."
400
Check over your writing to make sure you have capitals and punctuation. Include supporting details. Organize your ideas. Write a topic sentence. Summarize these events in order using transition words.
What is "First, organize your ideas. Next, write a topic sentence. Then, include supporting details. Finally, check over your writing to make sure you have capitals and punctuation."
500

Observe
You need to observe the butterfly carefully to see how its wings move

What is see or look at?

500
Sparta and Athens were Greek cities. Long ago, the people of both cities sent their children to school. The children learned different things there. In Sparta, the children went to school outdoors. They learned how to jump and run. They learned how to dance. They learned how to play many different games. In Athens, only boys went to school. They learned how to read, write, and speak correctly. They learned how to count and use numbers. Make an inference about schooling for girls in Sparta and Athens.
What is "Girls went to school in Sparta but not in Athens"?
500
The earth's movement of turning around the sun once each year is called the earth's revolution. The four seasons of winter, spring, summer and fall are caused by this action. The four seasons do not always happen at the same time at different places around the world. One reason for this is that the earth is tilted as it moves. Make a prediction about what would happen to the seasons if the earth stopped revolving.
What is "If the earth stopped revolving, we wouldn't have seasons"?
500
Honeybees form large hives. There are thousands of bees in a hive. One bee is the queen. She lays the eggs. Some bees gather nectar and pollen from flowers to make honey. Other bees protect the hive. Some bees keep the hive clean. Still other bees help the queen. Each bee has a special job to do in the bee hive. What is the main idea of this text passage? A. Bees work together to make honey. B. Each bee has a job to do in a beehive. C. The queen is the most important bee.
What is "Each bee has a job to do in a beehive."
500
Skippyjon saved Los Chimichangos from Alfredo Buzzito, the Great Bumblebeeto. Skippyjon Jones got in trouble for sleeping with the birds and was sent to his room. With a walk into his closet, Skippyjon found himself in Old Mexico and became friends with Los Chimichangos. Skippyjon was bouncing on his bed when he realized he was not a Siamese cat, he was a Chihuahua. Summarize these events in order using transition words.
What is "First, Skippyjon Jones got in trouble for sleeping with the birds and was sent to his room. Next, Skippyjon was bouncing on his bed when he realized he was not a Siamese cat, he was a Chihuahua. Then, with a walk into his closet, Skippyjon found himself in Old Mexico and became friends with Los Chimichangos. Finally, Skippyjon saved Los Chimichangos from Alfredo Buzzito, the Great Bumblebeeto."
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