Inference & Main Idea
The dog wagged its tail and jumped when its owner walked in.
What can you infer about how the dog feels?
The dog feels happy or excited to see its owner.
Because the sidewalk was icy, school started late.
What caused school to start late?
The icy sidewalk caused school to start late.
Dogs make good pets because they are loyal and can be trained.
What is the author’s claim/opinion?
The authors claim is that dogs make good pets.
After the long hike, the campers were exhausted.
What does exhausted mean?
Exhausted means very tired.
I think school should start later.
What is missing to make this a stronger opinion?
Reasons or evidence would make this a stronger opinion.
Maria reread the directions, circled key words, and checked her work twice.
What does this tell you about Maria? Use evidence.
Maria is careful or responsible because she checks her work.
The power went out after strong winds knocked down power lines.
Identify the cause and effect.
The cause is strong winds.
The effect is the power went out.
The author says recess should be longer and gives examples from a student survey.
What evidence supports the opinion?
The evidence of the student survey supports the opinion.
The coach instructed the team to jog, or run slowly, around the field.
What does jog mean?
Jog means to run slowly.
Students should recycle because it helps the Earth.
What word connects the opinion and the reason?
The word "because" connects the opinion and reason.
An article explains how wind turbines create electricity and includes labeled diagrams.
Who is the most likely audience, and what is the purpose? (P: Persuade I: Inform E: Entertain)
The audience is students or learners.
The author's purpose is to inform readers.
When farmers do not rotate crops, the soil loses nutrients. As a result, plants may not grow well.
Explain the cause-and-effect relationship.
Not rotating crops causes poor soil, which affects plant growth.
The author says recess is important and explains that kids focus better after playing.
What is one reason the author gives?
One reason the author gives to support their opinion is that kids focus better.
The desert is arid, with very little rain during the year.
Which words help you understand arid?
The words that help me understand arid is "very little rain."
She is reading a book.
What is the progressive verb tense?
The author explains how bees pollinate plants, then describes why fewer bees would affect food production.
What is the main idea?
The main idea is bees are important because they help plants grow and support food production.
A bridge closed for repairs, so drivers had to take longer routes. This led to more traffic and delays.
How does the author elaborate on the effects?
By adding multiple effects like longer routes and traffic delays.
Bees pollinate plants. Many foods come from plants. Without bees, food would be harder to grow.
What is the main idea?
The main idea is bees are important because they help food grow.
The scientist made an observation by watching the ants carefully.
How does the sentence help explain observation?
The sentence helped to explain observation by stating, "watching carefully."
I read a book. The book explained how volcanoes erupt.
Combine the sentences using who, which, or that.
I read a book that explained how volcanoes erupt.
The forest was silent. Broken branches covered the ground, and leaves were scattered everywhere.
What likely happened before this scene? Explain using details.
A storm or strong wind likely happened because of the damage.
Plastic waste enters rivers. Fish mistake it for food, which harms them and reduces fish populations.
Explain the chain of cause and effect.
Plastic causes fish to eat it, which harms them and lowers populations.
Recycling helps protect the Earth. When people recycle paper, fewer trees need to be cut down. Recycling plastic keeps trash out of oceans and rivers, which protects animals. It also saves energy because factories do not have to make new materials from scratch.
Which two details best support the main idea?
Two best details that support the main idea are
Recycling paper saves trees from being cut down.
Recycling plastic keeps trash out of oceans and protects animals.
The word transport has the root port, which means “carry.”
How does this help you understand the word?
Transport means to carry something.
Yesterday, we walk to the park and are playing soccer. We had fun and laugh a lot.
Fix the verb tenses so they are consistent.
Yesterday, we walked to the park and played soccer. We had fun and laughed a lot.