Internet Academy

Reading

	Federal Way Public Schools

Comprehension
Lesson 13

Making Inferences or Predictions

Objectives/Vocab/Tips > Examples 1 | 2 | 3 > Practice: 1 | 2 | 3 > Self Check

Example 3:

Instruction:

The American dollar bill looks ordinary to us. We use it everyday. But it holds some interesting secrets. Read, "Mysteries of the American Dollar." If you have a dollar with you, pull it out to examine as you read. The article is linked to the book icon on the right.

The question for this passage asks you to use your thinking skills to draw a conclusion from the information in the article. Get those thinking skills ready.

Question:

Suppose you have a dollar bill with this serial number:

C08824506*

What is a reasonable conclusion to draw about this bill?

Mysteries of the American Dollar

Remember to:

Read the question before reading the passage.
Read the passage carefully. When you find information about serial numbers, highlight the section.
Continue reading. Serial numbers may be mentioned more than once in the article.
After reading the article, go back to the highlighted section or sections and read them carefully again, looking for specific information to help you draw a reasonable conclusion for the question.
Always use information in the text to support your conclusion.

Think:

What are the key words in this question? (suppose, serial number: C08824506*, reasonable conclusion)
What is this question asking me to do? (think about the information presented, and show I can draw a conclusion).
Which choices can you eliminate right away, and which are possibly correct answers? Remember the "YES, NO, MAYBE" tool.

Multiple Choice Answers:

Yes	No	Maybe		Answers
			A.	It is counterfeit.
			B.	It replaced another bill with the same number.
			C.	It was not distributed by a Federal Reserve Bank.
			D.	It is valuable.

First let's review the section of the article about serial numbers. It is the fourth paragraph. Information for our "reasonable conclusion" might be found right in the text.

On either side of President Washington's picture, you'll see a green, ten-character serial number. The number of every bill is recorded by the Treasury Department. If one is damaged in printing, it is destroyed and replaced by a new bill with a star in place of the last letter: are you holding a "star bill"?

The question is asking you to pretend you have a dollar bill in front of you with the serial number: C08824506*. Of course you notice the * at the end. What does it mean? According to the text, a destroyed bill is, "replaced by a new bill with a star in place of the last letter."

If you chose answer B: It replaced another bill with the same number, you are correct.

And you are probably thinking you're ready for some real practice problems. Let's go!

Practice 1 >>