Hand-Out on Making Inferences: Developing Reading Comprehension Skills

C.N.:______                                                                                  Date:___________

Name:_________________________________________

Vocabulary Study

Directions: Antonyms are words with opposite meanings. Draw a line for each word in column A to its antonym in column B. Use the words in column A to complete the sentences below.

                   

A                                                          B                                    

1. sedentary

2. twilight

3. vague

                       4. gullible 

                       5. descend

            a. dawn

b. clear

c. active

d. rise

e. sceptical

   1.     The driving directions were so _________________ that I got lost on the way to your house.

    2.     People who lead a _________________ lives must exercise to stay healthy.  

    3.     Be careful as you __________________ the narrow, twisted staircase.  

   4.     It is difficult to drive at _________________ because shapes and distances are hard to see.

   5.     Children are warned not to be ________________ when strangers offer them sweets.

Vocabulary Focus: Prefixes in, im-, mis-

What do the prefixes in-, im-, and mis- mean? ü   The prefixes “in-” and “im-” mean “not” or “the opposite of”. ü           The prefix “mis-” means “wrong” such as mistake and misunderstand. When do you use the prefix in-? ü         The prefix “in-” can be used before root words that begin with any letter except l, r, m, and p. Examples of words with the prefix in- are inadequate, incapable, inoffensive, and incurable. When do you use the prefix im-? ü       The prefix “im-” can be used before root words that begin with the letters m and p. Examples of words with the prefix im- are improper, impersonal and immature.

 

Vocabulary practice

Directions: Add the correct prefix to the words below.

   1.     _______ proper

   2.     _______ lead

   3.     _______ capable  

   4.     _______ understand 

   5.     _______ sufficient 

   6.     _______ visible

   7.     _______ dispose

   8.     _______ personal

   9.     _______ mortal

   10. _______ read

Directions: Complete the table below.

1. not modest
2. not adequate
3. not effective
4. not perfect
5. not sufficient

Directions: Add the correct prefix to the boldfaced word to make each sentence correct.

  1.     Understood: I think I’ve __________________________. Could you repeat the directions?

    2.     Informed

He was so angry to find that he had been _________________________.

    3.     Possible

It’s ________________________ to predict the weather in this region.

    4.     Polite

I thought she was very _____________________. She kept on interrupting the speaker.

    5.     Mature

Throwing tantrums in public places is considered a/an ___________________ act.

Preparing to Read

Below are questions that will serve as your guide while reading Chapters VIII-XI of the novel Charlotte’s Web.

1.     What made Mrs. Arable worry about Fern?

2.     What was Charlotte’s opinion of humans’ web-spinning ability?

3.     How did a rotten goose egg save Charlotte and her web?

4.     Why was Chapter XI called The Miracle?

Comprehension Questions

1.     How did Wilbur’s innocence lead him to try an impossible task? Did he succeed in completing the task? Why or why not?

2.     How can you compare and contrast the way Avery and Fern treated animals?

             3.     Why did Charlotte say “Not many creatures can spin webs. Even men aren’t as good at it as spiders, although they think they’re pretty good and they’ll try anything.”? Do you agree with her?

 

MAKING INFERENCES

Authors do not always tell readers everything they want them to know. Good readers infer when they want to understand more than what the author has written. Readers also infer when they have lots of questions that are not answered in the text.  Sometimes authors want readers to think of different possible answers. Good readers ask themselves questions and make inferences based on what they already know and clues from the text

Inferring occurs when readers understand something that is not stated directly. Readers infer when they try to read facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice. Therefore, inferences are conclusions that the reader makes based on evidence from the text and his/her own experience and background knowledge.

Below is the procedure on how to come up with logical conclusions or good inferences.

Activity 1: Making Inferences Graphic Organizer

Directions: Using Chapters VIII-XI of the novel Charlotte’s Web, complete the graphic organizer below.

Making Inferences

Think about what you know, and use what the author tells you to make inferences

Situation	My Background Knowledge: What I Know	Clues I Found in the Text	What I Infer
1. On Sunday morning, at the breakfast table, Fern rambled about the conversation of the animals in Uncle Zuckerman’s farm.
2. Wilbur jumped out into the air and glanced hastily behind to see if a piece of rope is following him to check his fall, just like how Charlotte produces a thin rope that keeps her from falling.
3. Avery was just about to raise his stick to hit Charlotte when he lost his balance. He swayed and toppled and landed on the edge of Wilbur’s trough. The trough tipped up and then came down with a slap. The goose egg was right underneath. Fern screamed. Suddenly, there was a horrible smell.
4. One morning, everything on the farm is dripping wet. The grass looked like a magic carpet. The asparagus patch looked like a silver forest. That morning, each strand of Charlotte’s web was decorated with tiny beads of water and the web glistened in the light like a delicate veil.

Activity 2: Making Inferences

Directions: Read the paragraphs below and answer the questions that follow.

    1.     Jalisa woke up early and ran down the stairs with a huge smile on her face. She had been waiting all night for Saturday to arrive. She ran into the kitchen. On the table was a large pile of hot, steaming pancakes with a candle on them. Dante, Jalisa’s brother, walked in holding a large box wrapped in pretty pink paper and tied with a shiny purple bow. Jalisa beamed and quickly tore off the paper to reveal a box with a beautiful doll on the side. She hugged and kissed her brother and ran to call her best friend. The day was starting off wonderfully.

a.    What was Jalisa waiting for all night?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b.    How did Jalisa feel when she woke up?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

c.    Why did Jalisa’s brother give her the gift?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

   2.     Randa was excited about tonight. Happily, she put on her big, red shoes and bright yellow outfit. Her mom helped Randa paint her face white with a big, red circle on each cheek. Just before Randa ran out the door to meet her friends, she attached her large, squeky nose and placed a light blue, pointy hat on top of her head. She grabbed an empty bag and went out into the night.

a.    What was Randa excited about?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b.    What was Randa dressed as? What words helped you know?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Activity 3: Making Inferences

Directions: Read each situation below. Decide what is happening based on the actions of the characters.

    1.     A runner finishes a race. She looks up at the scoreboard. She smiles and jumps into the air.

What inference can you make about the runner? What made you say so?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    2.     The young man picked up the phone. He looked at a phone number written in pink ink on a slip of paper. He dialled the first five numbers and then hung up. He bit his nails. He picked up the phone again.

What inference can you make about the young man? What made you say so?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    3.    A boy cleaned the whole house. He made all the beds. He made dinner for his parents. Finally, after dinner, he slowly pulled his report card out of his backpack, winced, and quickly looked away.

What inference can you make about the boy? What made you say so?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

     4.     The girl waited until her mother left the kitchen. Then she quickly lowered her plate under the table so the dog could eat her lima beans.

What inference can you make about the girl? What are your evidences?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Activity 4: Making Inferences: Cloze Technique

Directions: Fill in the missing words.

Halloween is a holiday celebrated on the last night of October. On ________________, many people dress up in ____________________ and go trick or ________________. Children _________________ up in costumes and go from house to house around their ______________________ collecting ___________________. Some people dress up in scary costumes (such as a _____________________), some people dress up in magical costumes (such as a _____________________), and some dress up as an ______________________ (such as a bunny).

On Halloween, some people like to __________________ a jack-o’-lantern. A _________________________ is a pumpkin that has been hollowed out and then carved into a scary face; a small candle is then placed ___________________ the pumpkin.

Another Halloween activity is visiting a ___________________ house, a place that has been ________________________ in a spooky way, with pretend ghosts, monsters, spider __________________, mummies, vampires, _______________ cats, and other scary things.