Strong Clue or Weak Clue for a Prediction

Read the story together first, then ask your child to point to the sentence behind each clue before writing. For the strong or weak sort, ask whether the detail would still be true if the prediction were wrong.

Sort six details into strong or weak clues for the prediction that a lost class hamster is in the closet. A prediction is a thoughtful guess about what will happen next. A strong clue points right at the prediction; a weak one does not. The directions on the page read: Read the story. Then, turn the page and answer the questions. On page 2: Use the story on page 1. Circle Strong or Weak for 1 to 6. Then, circle the best answers to 7, 8 and 9. Then, answer 10 on the 2 lines. The answer key covers the questions on page 2.

Yes, both. We made it for 5th Grade prediction, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with prediction clues. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

A prediction clue is a detail the author gives that hints at what will happen next. In the garden story, tiny prints that look like small hands and a half-eaten tomato in the birdbath point to a raccoon. Children copy the clue, then write what it makes them think.

A strong clue points right at the prediction. A weak clue is true but does not help. If the prediction is that the class hamster is hiding in the coat closet, a trail of seed shells leading to the closet is strong, and the fact that Hana arrived first is weak.

Character clues are what a character says, does or feels, like Lena taping the orchestra flyer to her mirror. Setting clues are where and when the story happens, like a closed gas station and clouds piling up behind a mountain ridge.

Yes. All 4 sheets have an answer key. Chart rows and written answers vary, so the key gives a sample answer and other answers to accept; the multiple choice answers are fixed.

A prediction rests on a clue from the story plus what the reader already knows. A guess has nothing behind it. Each sheet asks children to copy the clue first and then write the prediction, so every prediction has a reason.

So children commit to a prediction before they know the ending. On the stop and predict, check and revise sheets, have your child fill in the Stop and Predict box before turning the page or reading on. The next part lets them check.

That is fine and expected. Many sheets ask children to circle whether the prediction was right, partly right or wrong, then name the clue that pointed to the ending or changed their mind. Spotting a clue they missed is the skill that matters.

Yes. All 16 sheets have an answer key. Predictions differ from child to child, so the key gives sample clues and predictions, fixed answers for the multiple choice questions and other answers the story supports.