Lesson 2 Short Story Unit

Do Now Write down one thing you notice about the image that cannot be seen. Ex: “The girl in the photo must feel tired because she is running in a race.”

Making Inferences Use clues in the text and your own knowledge and experiences to make an educated guess. When you make inferences about characters, you try to guess what kind of people they are based on how they act, what they say, and how other people respond to them. You might also make inferences about how a character will resolve a conflict or about what motivates a character to behave in a certain way.

It Says/I Say/And So British newspapers have revealed that Prime Minister David Cameron left his eight-year-old daughter in a pub and went home, thinking the little girl was with his wife. His wife Samantha left the pub separately believing her child Nancy to be with her father. Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Cameron was aware they had left their child behind until they met each other at their house. Mr. Cameron said he immediately phoned the pub and heard that Nancy was safe with the bar staff. She was in the toilet when the Camerons left a few minutes apart in different cars. Mr. Cameron's spokeswoman said "the prime minister and Samantha were distraught when they realized Nancy wasn't with them".

It Says (Writer’s Clues) I Say (Own Experiences) And So (Inference) Prime Minister David Cameron left his eight-year-old daughter in a pub and went home. Someone who cannot keep track of their own child is irresponsible. David Cameron should not be the Prime Minister of Great Britain. Wife left thinking Nancy was with her father Someone who cannot keep track of their own child is irresponsible.

“Seventh Grade” by Gary Sotto Page This story is about a 7th-grader named Victor who tries to impress his classmate, Teresa by pretending to be something he isn’t on the first day of school. What do you predict will happen based on what you know about the story from the information above?

After the second paragraph Based on the first two paragraphs what are two character traits that you would use to describe Victor?

Remember, readings can identify character traits in a story by observing their words, actions, and thoughts. In paragraph 2 Victor is afraid of doing the math problems, I infer that he is an anxious person.

The “It Says “ column came right from the text while the “I Say” column came from my own knowledge related to the text (magazines and models) while the “And So” column came from understanding how Michael viewed the models and why he chose to mimic them. It Says (Writer’s Clues) I Say (Own Experiences) And So (Inference) Michael noticed that all the male models in magazines scowl. People who are in magazines are liked, or at least thought to be liked for how they look. Michael thought that girls would like it if he scowled like the models.

Think about it Make an inference about a character in the story, Seventh Grade.” Think about the character traits of Victor and Michael. What does the conversation between the two boys reveal about them to you? On page 264, what can you infer about Victor from the fact that he tries to impress Teresa by pretending he knows French? Identify the traits that Victor and his friend Michael share. In what ways are the two boys different?