To use some of the tips and tools we reviewed, let's examine
several examples of questions about making inferences or predictions.
We'll use stories and poetry we have already read, but you
will want to read them again as we work through the questions.
We have read Birdfoot's Grampa,
by Joseph Bruchac in the previous lessons and
already figured out the theme or message, and
identified a summary statement. Now it's time
for making inferences and predictions. Review
the poem again by clicking on the book icon on
the right. Then keep the poem open while we go
through the question and explanations.
Question:
Who is the "Old Man" in the poem?
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Birdfoot's
Grampa |
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Remember to:
- Read the question before reading the passage.
- Look for the clues or hints in the poem to help you
identify the inference that is accurate and makes sense.
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What are the key
words in this question? (who,
"Old Man")
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Which choices can you eliminate right
away, and which are possibly correct answers?
Remember
the "YES, NO, MAYBE" tool.
Multiple Choice Answers:
- A man the car passes on the road
Think
to yourself:
The
poem says, "The Old Man must have stopped our
car two dozen times to climb out . . . " That
says the Old Man got out of the car. He could not be
a man the car passes if he is a man who got out of the
car. You would choose NO for this response. This
inference would not make sense based on what you know
from the poem.
- Birdfoot's Grampa
Think
to yourself: The
poem does not say the Old Man is Birdfoot's Grampa,
so we would need to find hints and clues in the poem
to make this inference. One strong clue is the title.
Birdfoot's Grampa. The title usually tells us what the
poem is about and the poem is about this Old Man. It
is a reasonable guess, a smart guess, to infer that
the "Old Man" is Birdfoot's Grampa. The second
stanza refers to "his white hair," so there
is another clue that the man is old. A Grampa is old
and would reasonably have white hair. As a final check,
there is nothing in the poem to contradict this inference.
You think this is the correct answer (YES), but
continue to read the other choices to be sure!
- Birdfoot
Think
to yourself: Again, by
looking at the title of the poem, "Birdfoot's
Grampa" you might predict the poem will be
about an old man, a grampa. The speaker of the poem
seems to be Birdfoot. You know this because the poem
is written in first person. It says, "and I
kept saying, You can't save them all," The "I"
must be Birdfoot, so it cannot be the Old Man too. It
doesn't make sense that if Birdfoot is the "Old
Man," then who is the Grampa from the title? This
has to be a NO. It does not make sense given the information
in the poem. B is still the best answer.
- A man the characters meet
Think
to yourself:
Here you can refer back to the thinking you've already
done. There are two characters in this poem - Birdfoot
and the "Old Man." The title tells us this
poem is about the Grampa who stops the car and gets
out. It isn't about someone Birdfoot and his passenger
meet. There is no mention of anyone else in the poem
except Birdfoot and the Old Man. This choice has
to be NO. It doesn't make sense. Eliminate this
answer quickly.
B is the only answer that can be inferred
from the clues in the poem and makes sense from beginning
to end.
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Example
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