1. Citing Evidence to Support Inferences
ELA State test prep

2. Prior Knowledge
You will be working on a lesson about citing text evidence to support inferences
What is an inference?
An informed guess
What would you think if you someone crying?
The person is sad or upset about something
No one directly told you this
You used clues and your own experience to figure it out

3. Continued…
What can you do when you need to figure something out in a text that the author does not directly state?
Use text clues and consider what you already know from your life experiences
You can use your own experiences to help you understand what you read
For example, if you are reading about a situation with children, you might use your knowledge about a younger sibling to help you understand the feelings expressed in the text

4. Continued… What is text evidence?
Facts, examples, and other information from the text
Quoting from a text is a powerful way to offer evidence, or proof, to support an inference
Making inferences and citing evidence to support inferences will help you better understand fictional text

5. Lesson 5 – Page 45
Read aloud the paragraphs that include the definitions of analysis, explicit, and inference
Read the passage and underline any details that tell you how the main character in the passage is feeling
The chart shows the process of supporting an inference
Read the first and second columns, and use the details you underlined in the passage and your own background knowledge to help fill in the blanks

6. Continued…
Pete “clinched his fists and stomped out of the room”
Pete had “planned on spending the afternoon reading his new comic book not mopping floors and dusting shelves”
When people clench their fists and stomp out of a room, these are signs that they feel angry
Complete the inference in the third column by filling in the blank
Pete is angry about having to do extra chores
Discuss why the inference is reasonable, based on the text evidence and background knowledge in the chart

7. Lesson 5 – Page 46
What did you learn on the previous page about making inferences?
You will practice making inferences when you read
Read aloud, “The Ransom Red Chief”
Read the prompt, “Use details from the passage to predict whether Sam and Bill’s plot will succeed”
It is too early to be certain whether Sham and Bill’s plot will succeed, but you can make a prediction about their chances

8. Continued…
A prediction is a type of educated guess, and is based on both your prior knowledge and specific evidence, which means it is a type of inference
Just like an inference, you need evidence to support a prediction
In the second paragraph, read that the boy is “throwing rocks at kitten on the opposite fence”
In the fourth paragraph, read that “the boy catches Bill neatly in the eye with a piece of brick”
This is evidence that meshes well with background knowledge that you have – that people throw rocks at cats and people are mean and can be hard to deal with

9. Continued… Look at the chart
Remember this shows the process of making an inference, and look at the first piece of evidence
Add text evidence to the chart
“The kid was in the street, throwing rocks at a kitten on the opposite fence”
“The boy catches Bill neatly in the eye with a piece of brick”

10. Continued…
Based on the knowledge and evidence from the text, a predication can be made about whether Sam and Bill’s plot wills succeed
Fill in the blank in the third column and complete the chart
Share your answers
I predict that Sam and Bill’s plot will fail because the boy will be too hard to deal with

11. Lesson 5 – Page 47
You will continue reading about Sam and Bill’s plan to get a ransom for “Red Chief”
Close reading helps you identify and remember important evidence
The Hint will help you look for specific evidence in each answer choice
Read the text and underline two details that are clues to Bill’s feelings about the boy, as directed by the Close Reading
Share the details you underlined

12. Continued… Answer the question
“I never lost my nerve yet till we kidnapped the two-legged skyrocket of a kid…”
“Bill begged me tearfully to make the ransom fifteen hundred dollars instead of two thousand”
Answer the question
The correct answer is C because Bill suggests “it ain’t human” for someone to pay so much money to get a “freckled wildcat” back
He implies that the boy’s parents must recognize how difficult he can be
“Forty-pound chunk” implies the boy is still small and young, but solid.
“Freckled wildcat” implies that the boy is cute, but “wildcat” imples that he acts like a wild animal and is uncomfortable

13. Lesson 5 – Page 48
Read the passage aloud without referring to the Study Buddy or Close Reading text
Discuss the following questions:
What does the boy’s father mean when he says, “You are a little high in your demands?”
His understatement means that the kidnapper’s ransom request is ridiculous, given the boy’s behavior
What is the father’s counter-proposition?
The father proposed that the kidnappers pay him two hundred and fifty dollars to take the boy off their hands

14. Continued…
Why are the kidnappers paying money to Dorset at the end of the story? How do you know this, since it is not clearly stated?
They want to go get rid of the troublemaker, so they agree to the father’s terms. It can be inferred from their comments. Bill claims that the boys will send him to Bedlam, and Sam says the boy is getting on his nerves, too.
Read the rest of the story
Answer the questions on page 49

15. Lesson 5 – Page Share the answers #1 – The correct choice is D
The word imprudent shows that Sam is initially angry. Then he sees Bill’s face silently pleading with him to accept Dorset’s counter-proposition
#2 – The correct choice is B
It gives the father’s demands and shows that it is Dorset who sets the final terms of the ranson

16. Continued… #3 – Sample Response:
Ebenezer Dorset says, “You had better come at night, for the neighbors believe he is lost, and I couldn’t be responsible for what they would do to anybody they saw bringing him back.” This phrase from Dorset’s counter-proposition supports the idea that no one would willingly pay to take back such a troublemaker.
Homework: Complete the Common Core Practice (Pages )
#4 – GRASP (Separate writing grade)