Read realistic fiction: set 1
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. Be sure to base your inferences on details in the story.
Learn with an example
🐱Read the story.
Call Me A. J.
Kyle started playing the trumpet with his school band in primary school. At
first, he was uncomfortable with people hearing him play, especially when he got notes wrong. To help Kyle, his mum signed him up for private lessons at the music school in town.
Kyle’s music teacher was different from his regular teachers at school. He didn’t make Kyle call him ‘mister’ or anything. Instead, he just said, ‘Call me A. J.’ It only took a few lessons for Kyle to get more comfortable with the trumpet. A. J. would play a song on his trumpet, and Kyle would try to copy him. Sometimes, Kyle did not sound anything like A. J., and they would both
Based on paragraph 2,
How does Kyle probably feel about A? J.?
- Kyle likes A. J.
- Kyle thinks A. J. is a bad teacher.
- Kyle thinks A. J. makes good jokes.
- Kyle is afraid of A. J.
In paragraph 2, Kyle’s trumpet teacher asks to be called A. J. instead of ‘mister’. This makes him sound more relaxed than other teachers.
When Kyle and A. J. play together, they laugh when Kyle makes mistakes. When Kyle plays well, A. J. smiles.This suggests that Kyle and A. J. have fun playing together.
People usually like someone who is relaxed and fun to be around. So, you can guess that Kyle likes A. J.
🐱Read the story.
On the Train
Jeremy closed his book and stared out the window at the passing trees, houses, and farms. Jeremy had already been traveling by train for what felt like forever, and his phone had died a while before. Now that he had finished his book, he wasn’t sure how he was going to pass the hours that remained.
He glanced at the older man and woman who were sitting across from him. They were both reading thick books that looked dull.
Earlier, when they had first sat down across from Jeremy, the woman had raised her eyebrows at the man and smiled. They probably thought that
Based on paragraphs 2 and 3,
Why doesn’t Jeremy want Clyde and Ellen to ask him questions?
- He thinks that they will try to sell him a new book.
- He is afraid of talking to people he doesn’t know.
- He thinks that they will treat him like a child.
- He would rather keep reading his book.
Look at the text in bold from paragraph 3.
Earlier, when they had first sat down across from Jeremy, the woman had raised her eyebrows at the man and smiled. They probably thought that Jeremy was too young to be travelling without an adult. But Jeremy was thirteen years old and had taken the train alone before. It upset him when adults treated him like a little kid. Either way, Jeremy hoped that the man and woman wouldn’t ask him any annoying questions.
These details show that Jeremy expects Clyde and Ellen to treat him like a child. The details also show that he does not like being treated this way. So, you can guess that Jeremy doesn’t want Clyde and Ellen to ask him questions because he thinks that they will treat him like a child.
🐱Read the story.
Butter and Rex
Butter sat on the top step and gazed at the garden. He sniffed the air and purred happily. Everything was in its place. The birds and squirrels stayed up in the trees, while the foxes remained on their side of the fence. Butter could lie on the soft grass and nap in the sun in peace.
Butter liked spending his time outside nowadays. Inside the house, there was a new puppy. The woman called him Rex. Rex was noisy, he chewed everything and he chased his tail. He also tried to play with Butter. Butter, on the other hand, went out to the back garden whenever he saw Rex. He was glad that Rex didn’t come outside often.
🐱Based on paragraph 2,
How does Butter probably feel about Rex at the beginning of the story?
- Butter is curious about Rex.
- Butter is scared of Rex.
- Butter is friendly towards Rex.
- Butter is annoyed by Rex.
Look at the text in bold from paragraph 2.
Butter liked spending his time outside nowadays. Inside the house, there was a new puppy. The woman called him Rex. Rex was noisy, he chewed everything and he chased his tail. He also tried to play with Butter. Butter, on the other hand, went out to the back garden whenever he saw Rex.
These details show that Butter thinks Rex is too loud. They also show that it bothers Butter when Rex tries to play with him.
This suggests that Butter does not like how Rex behaves. So, Butter is probably annoyed by Rex.
let’s practice!
Read the story.
Call Me A. J.
Kyle started playing the trumpet with his school band in primary school. At first, he was uncomfortable with people hearing him play, especially when he got notes wrong. To help Kyle, his mum signed him up for private lessons at the music school in town.
Kyle’s music teacher was different from his regular teachers at school. He didn’t make Kyle call him ‘mister’ or anything. Instead, he just said, ‘Call me A. J.’ It only took a few lessons for Kyle to get more comfortable with the trumpet. A. J. would play a song on his trumpet, and Kyle would try to copy him. Sometimes, Kyle did not sound anything like A. J., and they would both laugh. But whenever Kyle got the notes right, A. J. would smile and exclaim, ‘That’s it!’
Kyle’s friend John took lessons from A. J., too.
‘A. J. says I’m doing really well,’ John said. ‘I’m going to play in the music-school concert.’
‘Me too!’ Kyle said. ‘A. J. says I’m ready.’ But he kept thinking about how much better John was at trumpet. Kyle still got more notes wrong than John did.
‘By the way, do you know what “A. J.” stands for?’ John asked.
Kyle thought about it. ‘No. Do you?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know either. I asked him, and he said I had to guess. I get one guess every lesson if I can get through an entire song without stopping,’ John replied.
Kyle started to wonder about A. J.’s name, too. At his next lesson, he decided to ask about it. ‘What does “A. J.” stand for?’ Kyle asked.
A. J. smiled. ‘Well, if you can play this,’ he said, raising his trumpet, ‘I’ll let you have a guess. Think of it as motivation.’ Then he played part of a song.
Kyle matched every note, and then he made his guess. ‘Is it . . . Anthony James?’ Kyle asked.
‘Nope!’ A. J. said. ‘But I want you to play just like that at the concert.’
At the concert, Kyle and John sat next to each other. Kyle was nervous, but he got through the show without making any big mistakes. When it was over, all the parents clapped. John grinned and gave him a high five.
As everyone got up to leave, Kyle went to stand next to his mum and dad. Soon, A. J. found them. ‘Hi there. Kyle was great, wasn’t he?’ A. J. said.
‘He sure was! We’re so proud of him,’ Kyle’s dad said. Kyle let out a deep breath and relaxed his shoulders.
‘Arthur Jerome!’ a woman’s voice called from across the room. A. J. turned around to look through the crowd. ‘That must be my mum,’ he said. ‘She’s the only person who calls me that.’