Inference, author's purpose, paragraph and essay structure

What are context clues?

• Words or phrases surrounding an unknown word that help you determine the meaning of that word.

• Clues that must be researched in a dictionary.

Use context clues to find the meaning of the word: USURP

Though Joseph was the true king, his uncle USURPED the throne and was now ruling the land cruelly.

• Gave up

• Took over

• Surrendered

• Released

The workers wrote an anonymous letter to their boss in which they expressed their GRIEVANCES: long hours, low pay, and dangerous working conditions.

What is the meaning of the word GRIEVANCES

• Great happiness

• Good fortune

• Concerns

• Rich blessings

Miya came out of the bathroom with tears in her eyes. She ran down to the cafeteria and asked the staff if they had any rice. Fortunately for Miya, Ms. Lucille did. Ms. Lucille filled a red plastic cup about half way with white rice grains and handed it to Miya. Miya pulled a damp phone from out of her back pocket and pushed it into the dry rice grains inside of the plastic cup. She sincerely thanked Ms. Lucille and then went back to class. She felt relieved, but she was still a little worried.

Why is Miya upset at the beginning of the passage?

• She was so happy that she had found her phone.

• Someone pushed her in the bathroom.

• Her phone had got wet in the bathroom.

• Her phone was still working.

Otto stuffed another candy bar in his mouth. He lay sprawled on the floor with his back against his bed. Candy wrappers surrounded him. His shirt was caught in the folds of his belly and he had melted chocolate all over his face and hands. "Ugh…" he groaned weakly as he struggled to finish chewing. Suddenly, the front door opened. "Otto, I'm home!" It was his mom. Otto rolled almost gracefully from his sprawled position and began kicking the candy wrappers under his bed. As she walked slowly up the stairs to his room, he managed to get all of the wrappers under the bed and then he threw a blanket over them. She opened the door, took one look at his face, and knew.

Why was Otto acting so guiltily?

• He had forgotten to clean his room?

• He forgot to do his homework.

• He had been caught eating too much candy.

• His mom was upset that he hadn't done the dishes.

What is an inference?

• A wild guess based on instinct.

• A logical guess based on evidence.

• Evidence used to support a wild guess.

What is textual evidence?

• A wild guess based on what you heard from a friend.

• Information you heard in a movie.

• Facts from a text that support your inference

• An opinion voiced on a talk show.

What is "author's purpose"?

• An author's opinion.

• The reason an author writes.

• The way an author entertains a reader.

What are the primary reasons an author writes?

• To sell you something.

• To inform, persuade, or entertain.

• To prove something.

• To communicate effectively.

What is the author's purpose?

A poem about the beauty of Mount Everest as seen from a mountain climber's perspective.

• Persuade

• Inform

• Entertain