Making Inferences — Answer Key
Part A: Fix the Sentence
Each sentence has an error. Rewrite it correctly on the line.
1. Fix the sentence:
The nurse took his temperature and listened to his heart, so the boy must be at the playground.
Corrected: The nurse took his temperature and listened to his heart, so the boy must be at the doctor's office.
Nurses, thermometers, and stethoscopes belong in medical settings; you would never find that equipment or someone giving an exam at a playground.
2. Fix the sentence:
Water dripped from her hair and a towel was on her shoulders, so she must have been sleeping.
Corrected: Water dripped from her hair and a towel was on her shoulders, so she must have been swimming.
Wet hair plus a towel is the classic just-out-of-the-water scene; sleeping leaves you dry, but swimming soaks you and you grab a towel right after.
3. Fix the sentence:
The man held out a treat and said "Sit!" to the parrot, so he must be training a dog.
Corrected: The man held out a treat and said "Sit!" to his pet, so he must be training it.
Saying "Sit!" to a parrot is odd — that command is meant for the animal you are actually teaching, so the inference should match training the pet right in front of him.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. The children built a snowman and threw snowballs. The weather outside is cold.
Snow only falls and stays on the ground when temperatures are below freezing, so building a snowman is proof the air outside must be cold.
2. The lifeguard blew her whistle and pointed at the deep end. Someone was not being safe.
Lifeguards only blow their whistles to stop dangerous behavior, so pointing at the deep end means a swimmer there was breaking a pool safety rule.
3. Ella's stomach growled loudly in the middle of class. She was probably hungry.
An empty stomach makes air and juices move around inside, which is what causes that loud growling noise to remind you it is time to eat.
4. The mechanic crawled under the car with a wrench. He is going to fix something.
A mechanic's whole job is repairing cars, and a wrench is a tool used to tighten or loosen bolts — together those clues point straight to fixing something.
Part C: True or False?
Read each statement. Circle True or False.
1. You can infer how a character feels by reading about what the character does.
True False
Authors often show feelings through actions instead of saying them — for example, slamming a door tells you a character is angry without spelling it out.
2. An inference should be a wild guess with no clues to support it.
True False
An inference is a smart guess backed up by clues from the story plus what you already know — without those clues it would just be a random guess.
3. Pictures in a story can also give you clues to help make inferences.
True False
Illustrations show details the words may not mention — a stormy sky, a sad face, or a messy room — so smart readers study the pictures for extra clues too.