When you analyze something, you examine its parts to see how they work together. For example, you might analyze how the parts of a bicycle work to help a person move forward.
Reading involves analyzing, too. When you analyze a text, you sometimes look
at what the text says explicitly, or directly. “The crowd clapped and cheered wildly when the home team won” is an example of explicit information because you know what happened and why. Other times, though, you must make an inference to figure out what the text is really saying. An inference is a reasonable guess based on textual evidence and what you already know.
Find the slowest runner in the picture below. Is he sad about losing? How can you tell?
I love this sport!
Circle
details in the picture that support an inference that the runner isn’t sad about losing. Then complete the chart below to describe what details support this inference.
Text Evidence + Background Knowledge = Inference • The expression on the
runner’s face is
.
• This runner says
.
A person who loves a sport also enjoys participating in it.
The runner is just happy to compete. Competing is more important to him than winning.
To get the most
out of your reading, you must analyze texts to understand what they say directly and make inferences about what they say indirectly. When you find evidence to make and support inferences, you’ll find you won’t get stuck as often trying to figure out what a text is saying—like when a bike is stuck in gear and can’t move forward.
CCLS RI.7.1: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
Explore how to answer these questions: “What is Michael Jordan’s attitude toward competition? What text evidence supports your idea?”
Michael Jordan’s attitude is not stated, so you must use evidence in the text to infer what he thinks.
Look for evidence of Jordan’s feelings about competition. One detail is
shown in the chart below. Write another detail in column 1. Use this information to complete the inference in the last column.
Text Evidence + Background Knowledge = Inference • Jordan was diagnosed
with the flu before Game 5.
•
• Jordan’s team depended on him greatly.
• Playing sports while sick requires determination.
Michael believes that competition
.
What text evidence supports the inference that Michael Jordan is a fierce competitor?
With a partner, find evidence in the article that supports your answer, and write it on the lines below.
Read the first three paragraphs of an article that showcases Michael Jordan.
The Flu Game by Maureen McBride Game 5 of the 1997 basketball playoffs should have been the game that the Chicago Bulls lost. It should, in fact, have marked the Utah Jazz’s first NBA championship win. Michael Jordan, the Bulls’ star player, had spent the previous 24 hours bedridden and dehydrated with
what doctors had diagnosed as the stomach flu. He had lost weight and had missed two key days of practice leading up to the game. It was a recipe for disaster.
But three hours before the start of Game 5, the best player in the history of basketball suited up and appeared on the court.
Though Jordan was visibly weak in the first quarter, he had scored 17 points by the second, putting the Bulls ahead at half time. However, while Jordan spent the third quarter overcome by nausea and
fatigue, Utah managed to reclaim the lead.
Continue reading about Michael Jordan in “The Flu Game.” Use the Close Reading and the Hint to help you answer the question.
Circle the correct answer.
Which sentence from the passage best supports the idea that Michael Jordan is
a talented basketball player?
A “‘In the third quarter, I felt like I couldn’t catch my wind,’ Jordan said. ‘I was just trying to get myself through it.’”
B “In the fourth quarter, Jordan scored 18 more points.”
C “Then, with only 25 seconds left in the game, he scored a 3-point shot, and the Bulls beat the Jazz by only two points.”
D “‘I almost played myself into passing out just to win a basketball game,’ Jordan admitted later.”
Hint Look for the choice that
shows Jordan’s talent, not his dedication or his luck.
Michael Jordan is a dedicated basketball player. Find and write down a sentence from the passage that supports this statement. Then explain your answer.
With a partner, make an inference about why Michael Jordan collapsed into Scottie Pippen’s arms. Support your inference with evidence from the text and background knowledge.
“In the third quarter, I felt like I couldn’t catch my wind,” Jordan said. “I was just trying
to get myself through it.”
In the fourth quarter, Jordan scored 18 more points. Then, with only 25 seconds left in the game, he scored a 3-point shot, and the Bulls beat the Jazz by only two points. At the end of the game, Jordan collapsed into the arms of his teammate Scottie Pippen.
“I almost played myself into passing out just to win a basketball game,” Jordan admitted later. “If we had lost, I would have been devastated.”
Which sentence best shows that Jordan is a
talented player? Find and underline a sentence on this page showing this.
As I read, I’ll look for evidence that tells more about each explorer. Then I can make inferences about what each one was like.
Read the following historical
account. Use the Study Buddy and the Close Reading to guide your reading.
Race to Reach the South Pole: Scott vs. Amundsen by Alarik Fjelstad
1 In 1911, Englishman Robert Falcon Scott and Norwegian Roald Amundsen raced to reach the South Pole first. Scott, captain of the Terra Nova, had nearly made it to the South Pole seven years earlier. He was confident he would succeed this time. Scott publicly announced that he would be using the latest in technology: motor sleds. He recruited
scientists, sailors, and even a paying guest who insisted on bringing ponies to the coldest place on Earth.
2 Amundsen worried that competitors might try to prevent his attempt to reach the South Pole. He refused to share his dream with anyone, including his shipmates. Amundsen finally told his men where they were going midway through the Atlantic. Though he told them they could quit, they decided to continue the journey with him. They were all veteran Arctic explorers trained to use skis
and sled dogs. At this time, Amundsen sent Scott an unsettling telegram telling him he was on his way to Antarctica.
3 Both vessels landed in Antarctica in January of 1911, but Amundsen set up his base camp deep inland on ice, while Scott made camp at the shoreline. With expert planning, Amundsen and his crew arrived at the South Pole with sled dogs on December 15, 1911. Meanwhile, Scott’s motor sleds failed to work in the minus 40 degree Celsius cold, and the ponies died and were eaten
by Scott’s crew. Scott arrived at the Pole 33 days after Amundsen and was shocked to find the Norwegian flag. Disillusioned and weak, Scott and his men died of starvation on the return trip, just 11 miles from their nearest supply station.
Which choice provides evidence that Amundsen was not very trusting?
Hints
What factors led to Scott’s failure? Underline details from the text that show the kind of trouble he and his men ran into.
Close Reading
What did
Amundsen have going for him that Scott did not? Circle details that show Amundsen’s advantages.
