Read science fiction with illustrations
key notes:
Sometimes authors don’t explain everything that you need to know in a story. So, you may need to make guesses, or inferences, about what happens and why. Making inferences will help you understand the whole story, even the things that the author doesn’t say openly.
Learn with an example
š±Read the first part of the story.
Blast Off!
Ajay was staring at the Flying Cart Race poster when he heard a voice behind him.
‘So, Ajay, are you entering the race, too?’
Ajay turned around to see his classmate Betsy. ‘I sure am,’ he replied.
‘That’s great,’ said Betsy. ‘I mean, I guess you have a chance to win something. I think everyone who enters gets a free pencil.’
Ajay frowned. Betsy had won first prize in every race since 2050. But this year, Ajay had big plans. ‘I’ve just finished building the fastest flying cart I’ve ever made,’ he bragged.
He didn’t mention that it was also the first flying cart he’d ever built.
‘Good luck,’ Betsy said. ‘I built mine, too, and it’s even faster than the one I built last year!’
‘Actually, I’m still adding a few things to mine,’ Ajay said. ‘It’s going to be really powerful.’
‘Well, at least you know you’ll get a free pencil!’ Betsy said.
What does Betsy think about Ajay’s chances of winning?
- Betsy thinks it’s time for Ajay to win first place.
- Betsy is sure that she’s going to beat Ajay.
- Betsy doesn’t believe that Ajay actually signed up for the race.
- Betsy thinks Ajay’s cart will be a lot faster than hers.
In the story, Betsy has won every race since 2050,and she claims that she has built an even faster cart than last year.She tells Ajay that he has the chance to win something because everyone who enters gets a free pencil.
This suggests that Betsy doesn’t think Ajay has a chance to win anything besides the pencil that everyone gets. So, you can guess that Betsy is sure that she’s going to beat Ajay in the flying cart race.
š±Read the first part of the story.
Adventure on Planet Orbitzu
Cora looked out her bedroom window at the large, bright star that shone down on Planet Orbitzu. She couldn’t believe that it had been only a week since she had arrived with her parents and her brother, Diego. Even though they were far away from Earth, Planet Orbitzu already felt like home to Cora.
Cora poked her sleeping brother. ‘Time to get to work, Diego! Mum and Dad are counting on us to help out.’
‘I don’t want to go out,’ Diego groaned. ‘It’s too dark on this planet.’
‘That’s why we need to go out now,’ Cora said. ‘We’ve only got a few hours of morning starlight.’
Diego pulled the pillow over his head.
‘Aren’t you excited that we’re the first Earth family to live in the Orbitzu research station?’ Cora asked. ‘It’s a real honour.’
‘I don’t need any honours,’ Diego grumbled.
How is Cora different from Diego?
- Cora is more nervous about living on a new planet than Diego is.
- Cora is more unhappy about the darkness on Planet Orbitzu than Diego is.
- Cora is more excited to be on Planet Orbitzu than Diego is.
- Cora is less worried about being on time than Diego is.
In the story, Cora thinks that Planet Orbitzu already feels like home. She says it’s an honour to be the first Earth family to live there. Diego, however, says he doesn’t need any honours. He doesn’t want to get out of bed, and he complains that the sky is too dark. This shows that Cora is more excited to be on Planet Orbitzu than Diego is.
š±Read the first part of the story.
Home Helper
Saturday was spring-cleaning day. I was excited because we had just added Home Helper 2.0 to our house. I remembered that the ad read, ‘Home Helper scrubs your home until it sparkles, so you don’t have to!’ So I was getting ready to hop on my bike and head to the park. But Mum and Dad stopped me.
‘Kelsey, we need you to clean inside,’ Mum said.
‘What? Why?’ I asked in surprise. ‘What about Home Helper?’
‘Home Helper can do some things, but we all still need to help out around the house,’ Dad said. ‘Mum and I are going to work in the garden. Just dust the furniture and clean the windows, and you’ll be done.’
I sighed and dropped my bike on the grass before heading back inside.
š± Why is Kelsey surprised that her parents expect her to help clean?
- She is too young to be in charge of dusting and cleaning the windows.
- Home Helper 2.0 has already done all of the dusting and window cleaning.
- Her parents have never asked her to help with chores before.
- She expected that Home Helper 2.0 would do all the cleaning.
In the story, Kelsey’s parents get a cleaning machine for their house. Kelsey remembers reading an ad that says, ‘Home Helper scrubs your home until it sparkles, so you don’t have to!’When her parents ask her to do chores, she says, ‘What about Home Helper?’
Sometimes people expect the promises in ads to be exactly true. So, you can guess that Kelsey expected that Home Helper 2.0 would do all the cleaning.
let’s practice!
ReadĀ the first part of theĀ story.
AdventureĀ onĀ PlanetĀ Orbitzu
Cora looked out her bedroom window at the large, bright star that shone down on Planet Orbitzu. She couldn’t believe that it had been only a week since she had arrived with her parents and her brother, Diego. Even though they were far away from Earth, Planet Orbitzu already felt like home to Cora.
Cora poked her sleeping brother. ‘Time to get to work, Diego! Mum and Dad are counting on us to help out.’
‘I don’t want to go out,’ Diego groaned. ‘It’s too dark on this planet.’
‘That’s why we need to go out now,’ Cora said. ‘We’ve only got a few hours of morning starlight.’
Diego pulled the pillow over his head.
‘Aren’t you excited that we’re the first Earth family to live in the Orbitzu research station?’ Cora asked. ‘It’s a real honour.’
‘IĀ don’tĀ needĀ anyĀ honours,’Ā DiegoĀ grumbled.