on DRAWING CONCLUSIONS AND MAKING INFERENCES

Transcription

1 E on DRAWING CONCLUSIONS AND MAKING INFERENCES

2 To the Student In FOCUS on Drawing Conclusions and Making Inferences, Book E, you will read passages and answer questions. You will practice using the reading strategy called Drawing Conclusions and Making Inferences. You will learn about the strategy on the Learn About pages. You will see a sample passage, sample questions, and sample answer choices on the Lesson Preview pages. Then you will practice using the strategy in twenty lessons. Each lesson has a passage and five questions. After you finish reading the passage, answer the five questions. For the first four questions, fill in the correct answers on the Answer Form on page 53. Or, you may fill in the correct answers directly on the page. For the fifth question, write the answer on the lines provided on the page. Fill in the circle on the Answer Form to show that you have completed the fifth question. Use the Tracking Chart on page 47 to show when you have finished each lesson and to show the number of questions that you answered correctly. After each group of five lessons, you will complete a self-assessment to see how you are doing. So... FOCUS and enjoy! Acknowledgments Product Development Project Developer and Editor: Dale Lyle Writer: Helen Byers Reviewer: Mary McNary Design and Production Project Designer: Susan Hawk Designer and Illustrator: Jamie Ruh ISBN Curriculum Associates, Inc. North Billerica, MA No part of this book may be reproduced by any means without written permission from the publisher. All Rights Reserved. Printed in USA

3 Table of Contents Learn About Drawing Conclusions and Making Inferences... 2 Lesson Preview... 4 Lesson 1 The Strangeness in the Garden... 6 Lesson 2 How to Make a Papier Mâché Mask... 8 Lesson 3 The Abandoned Ear of Corn Lesson 4 Travel Manners Lesson 5 Perdita in Minnesota Lesson 6 Kitty s Corner Lesson 7 The Woman Who Saw Things Lesson 8 Open Invitation Lesson 9 Recipe for Vegetable Soup Lesson 10 The Problem with Sylvester Lesson 11 Mad King Ludwig Lesson 12 Touching Tale Lesson 13 The Legendary Woodchuck Lesson 14 The Mysterious Nazca Lines Lesson 15 Dangerous Invader Lesson 16 The Flying Machine Lesson 17 Jellies, Pumps, and Scorpion Tails Lesson 18 Traveling Light Lesson 19 Great Works of Daniel Chester French Lesson 20 The Rules Tracking Chart Self-Assessment 1, Lessons Self-Assessment 2, Lessons Self-Assessment 3, Lessons Self-Assessment 4, Lessons Self-Assessment 5, Lessons Answer Form... 53

4 Learn About Drawing Conclusions and Making Inferences Not all information is directly stated in a reading passage. Some information may merely be suggested or hinted at. But you can figure out information that is not directly stated. To do this, think about the information that is directly stated. Also think about what you already know. Then you can figure out information that is not directly stated. Figuring out information that is not directly stated is called drawing conclusions and making inferences. Read this passage about Ricardo. As you read, think about the information that is directly stated. Also think about what you already know. Ricardo didn t have the nerve to look, so his fingertips reached cautiously for the back of his neck. Oh no, he groaned. It felt unfamiliar and strangely cold, no doubt because it wasn t used to being so exposed. When the suspense finally became too much for him, Ricardo took a deep breath and peered at the mirror sideways. No-o-o-o-o! he shrieked, for it was much, much worse than he had imagined. The person staring back at him was a hideous stranger seemingly with no hair! Ricardo was horrified! The passage tells you directly that Ricardo was horrified. But one thing the passage does not tell you directly is just what made Ricardo feel so upset. How can you figure this out? What are the hints? 2

5 To figure out information that is not directly stated, think about the information that is directly stated. The passage tells you that Ricardo touched the back of his neck and that it felt unfamiliar and strangely cold because his neck was not used to being so exposed. It also tells you that Ricardo didn t have the nerve to look in the mirror. When he did look, he was horrified. He thought that he looked like a stranger, with no hair. Then think about what you already know. You probably know that the back of your neck might feel unfamiliar and cold if your hair was usually long enough to cover your neck, but now it wasn t. You probably also know that people sometimes hesitate to look at something if they are afraid they won t like it. People often think their hair is too short right after a haircut, and they don t like it. They can feel horrified and think that they look like someone else. Their short hair can seem like no hair at all. From this, you can figure out that Ricardo is upset because he has just had a haircut that he thinks is much too short. From what the paragraph tells you and from what you already know, you can figure out why Ricardo is upset. Details in Passage The back of Ricardo s neck feels unfamiliar and cold. He is afraid to look in the mirror. When he looks, he is horrified and thinks he looks like a stranger, with no hair. What You Already Know Your neck can feel cold if your hair usually covers it. You avoid looking at something horrifying. After a haircut, short hair can seem strange and horrifying, like no hair at all. Conclusion or Inference Ricardo is probably upset because he has just had a haircut that he thinks is way too short. Remember: Figuring out information that is not directly stated is called drawing conclusions and making inferences. 3

6 Lesson 6 Read this advice column from a newspaper. As you read, think about the information that is directly stated. Also think about what you already know. This will help you figure out information that is not directly stated. Kitty s Corner Dear Kitty, My best friend and I disagree about how to communicate with my young cat. My friend says I should talk to it the same way I would talk to a person. I say that a cat is a cat, and cats don t understand English! Can you settle this disagreement? New Owner Dear Owner, To tell the truth, your friend is right. Your cat may not speak English, but that doesn t mean it doesn t understand words, phrases, and names that you repeat. It understands your tone of voice even better. When you talk to your cat, it gets information other than just the exact meaning of your words. For example, your tone of voice tells the cat that it is safe with you, and that you feel affectionate toward it. Your cat can distinguish between when you are addressing it and when you are addressing someone else. The cat can tell when you are calling it, greeting it, asking it a question, praising it, just talking, or scolding it. A cat also learns to read your moods: it can tell when you are happy, sad, nervous, or angry, and it responds accordingly. In fact, the more you talk to your cat, the more it will talk back. You may not speak your cat s language, but you can learn to read its sounds and tones, just as it learns to read yours. For instance, a hiss tells you the cat feels threatened. Different meows tell you that it is hungry, its litter box is dirty, it wants to go outside, or it thinks it s time you got up. A chirp might mean hello, and a yowl might mean Leave me alone! Happily, you probably already know what a purr means. You can also learn to read your cat s body language. A cat s face can look bored, sleepy, interested, surprised, hopeful, worried, hostile, or frightened. When a cat s ears are perked up, it is paying attention. When its ears are flattened, it feels threatened. If the cat stands on its hind legs with its paws on your leg, it is probably asking to be picked up. If its back rises to your hand when you pet it, it wants you to keep petting. If the fur down the middle of its back stands up, and its tail suddenly puffs out, the cat is probably trying to scare another animal away. If its tail twitches back and forth, the cat is alert and about to do something unexpected like pounce! Of course, all cats and all people are unique. How you and your cat communicate will depend on your own ways. Be gentle, be talkative, and you may be amazed. Kitty P.S. It helps to make sounds like a cat! 16

7 Answer these questions about the advice column. 1. Kitty s Corner is probably the name of a town. the title of a book. the title of a song. the title of the advice column. 3. Kitty said that the more you talk to your cat, the more it will talk back. This suggests that your cat will disobey you more often. get meaner and meaner. learn to speak more English words so that you will understand it. use more and more sounds to communicate. 2. You can figure out that the friend of New Owner is probably the author of the advice column. someone who has never owned a cat. someone who has owned a cat before. a cat. 4. At the end of her letter, Kitty added, It helps to make sounds like a cat! What does she probably mean by this? You should hiss, purr, chirp, meow, and yowl. You should talk to your cat in a foreign language. You should talk loudly to your cat in English. You should crouch and pounce at your cat. 5. Kitty says, Happily, you probably already know what a purr means. To Kitty, what does a purr probably mean? 17