Infer What Happened Offstage in a Story About a Muddy Rug

After reading, ask your child what the story does not say out loud, then which sentence gave it away. Have your child read each quoted clue aloud before writing what it shows, and check that the answer fits the clue rather than matching the key word for word.

Use clues like muddy paw prints and dug up tulips to infer what happened offstage in a story about a rug. An inference is an idea you figure out from clues. Something that happens offstage happens when the story does not show it. The directions on the page read: Read the story. Then, turn the page and answer the questions. On page 2: Use the story. Fill in chart rows 1 to 3. Then, circle the best answer to questions 4 and 5. Then, answer question 6 on the 4 lines. The answer key covers the questions on page 2.

Yes, both. We made it for 3rd Grade making inferences and predictions, 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 making inferences. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

An inference is an idea you figure out from clues, the details in a story, plus what you already know. If Amira holds her bag strap so tightly that her fingers turn white, you can infer that she feels nervous, even though the story never says so.

Each chart row gives a sentence from the story with its paragraph number. Children write what the clue shows, such as how a character feels, where the story happens or what happened offstage, and how the clue shows it.

That can be fine. The key lists other answers to accept, so check whether your child's answer fits the clue. Ask which words in the sentence led to the idea, and reread the paragraph together if the answer does not fit.

Yes. All 16 making inferences sheets have an answer key, and the story sheets give sample answers and say what to accept.

An inference is an idea about what is true right now that the story does not say, like how a character feels. A prediction is a smart guess about what will happen next. Both come from clues in the story plus what you already know (RL.3.1).

Point out clues in everyday life and ask what they tell you, like wet umbrellas by the door or a sibling's slammed door. Then ask how your child knows. Giving the clue along with the idea is the same habit these sheets build.