Read realistic fiction: set 2
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.
Pasta Amanda
As soon as Amanda read the invitation, she started jumping up and down.
She could hardly believe her favorite cooking show had invited her to try out! Her hands shook as she dialed the number for her best friend, Joanna.
‘This is so awesome, you just can’t imagine!’ Amanda shouted. ‘I got an invitation to try out for Kids Cook! I need to send in a cooking video, so can you please help me record it? Please, please?’ Joanna was thrilled, and she agreed to record the video at Amanda’s house the next day.
When Joanna arrived with her camera, Amanda was setting up in her
🐱Based on paragraph 1,
How does Amanda probably feel about getting the invitation to the cooking show?
- She is scared.
- She is uncomfortable.
- She is excited.
- She is calm.
In paragraph 1, Amanda jumps up and down when she sees the invitation. People usually jump up and down when they’re happy about something. She also decides to call her best friend. People often call their friends to share good news.
These details show that Amanda is excited about getting the invitation.
🐱Read the story.
The Ruling Robots
Anna, Greg and Ethan sat around the table. Anna was reading from a paper that explained the rules of the robot competition for their science class. Anna, Greg and Ethan had been sick when teams were picked. So although all the other students had been allowed to choose their teams, Mrs Talent had put the three of them together.
They had named their team the Ruling Robots. So far, that was the only thing the three of them could agree on. Anna started reading the rules again while Greg tapped his fingers on the table and Ethan looked up at the ceiling.
🐱Based on paragraphs 1 and 2,
How do Anna, Greg, and Ethan probably feel about each other at the beginning of the story?
- Anna, Greg, and Ethan are all excited to work together on their robot.
- Anna, Greg, and Ethan don’t get along with each other very well.
- Anna is friends with Greg, but she isn’t friends with Ethan.
- Anna thinks that Greg and Ethan are nice, but they don’t feel the same way about her.
Paragraph 1 says that Anna, Greg and Ethan didn’t choose to be on the same team.Their teacher put them in a group together. Paragraph 2 says that the only thing they can agree on is their team’s name.This suggests that they disagree with each other a lot.
So, you can guess that Anna, Greg and Ethan don’t get along with each other very well at the beginning of the story.
🔥Read the story.
Ella’s Room
Ella threw herself onto her unmade bed with a flop. Her parents had said she needed to straighten and clean her entire room before she could go anywhere or do anything fun.
Ella groaned as she looked around at the mess everywhere. She didn’t spend much time in her room except to sleep, so she’d lost track of all her stuff.
Her gaze landed on her favorite hoodie, which she’d been looking for the day before. “That’s where you went! I guess I shouldn’t have waited so long
🔥Based on paragraphs 1 and 2,
How does Ella probably feel at the beginning of the story?
- She is happy to finally spend some time in her room.
- She is excited to look for things she had lost in her room.
- She is worried that she won’t have enough time to clean her room.
- She is upset that she has to clean her room.
In paragraph 1, Ella throws herself on the bed ‘with a flop.’ This suggests that Ella is not in a good mood. She is also not allowed to do anything fun until her room is clean. So, she would probably prefer to be having fun instead of cleaning her room.
In paragraph 2, Ella groans after looking at the mess in her room. This also suggests that something is bothering Ella.
Using these clues, you can guess that Ella is upset that she has to clean her room.
let’s practice!
Read the story.
The Ruling Robots
Anna, Greg and Ethan sat around the table. Anna was reading from a paper that explained the rules of the robot competition for their science class. Anna, Greg and Ethan had been sick when teams were picked. So although all the other students had been allowed to choose their teams, Mrs Talent had put the three of them together.
They had named their team the Ruling Robots. So far, that was the only thing the three of them could agree on. Anna started reading the rules again while Greg tapped his fingers on the table and Ethan looked up at the ceiling.
‘Okay, so the robot has to be fast, and it has to pick things up,’ said Anna.
‘As I said before,’ Ethan started, ‘let’s put together a robot arm, wheels and a motor. The arm should be tall so that it can easily pick things up.’
‘But it has to go around corners quickly,’ Greg said. ‘A tall robot might fall over when it goes around corners. We need to make it like a race car, small and long and close to the ground, so it’s fast.’
Ethan rolled his eyes. ‘That idea is absurd,’ he said. ‘There’s no way a robot like that would be able to pick anything up!’
Greg crossed his arms and frowned.
‘How about a disk shape?’ Anna offered. ‘Its base would be wide enough to support a tall arm, and it could still go around corners quickly. It’s a bit of both ideas.’
Greg and Ethan sat up and looked at each other. They said together, ‘That’s perfect!’
With only two weeks to complete their task, the Ruling Robots got to work. They worked on their robot every day after school. They took turns bringing music and snacks for each meeting. The time they spent together seemed to fly by.
Finally, it was the day of the competition. The Ruling Robots watched the other teams’ robots run through the course. One team had built a tall robot, which fell over when it zoomed around a corner. Another team had created a robot that looked like a race car, but its arm wasn’t tall enough to pick up one of the objects. Anna looked at her teammates and smiled.
Then it was their turn. They steered their robot through the course and made it lift different objects with its arm. The robot stayed upright and finished the course with the best time. The Ruling Robots won the competition!
When Mrs Talent asked them who came up with the winning design, the boys looked at Anna. Anna looked back at them and smiled. ‘We all did,’ Anna said. ‘None of us could have done it alone!’