One Plastic Bag-Making Inferences

"The basket breaks. Isatou kicks the dirt."

What can you conclude about how Isatou's feeling?

• She likes playing in the dirt.

• She's upset.

• She wanted to kick the fruit but instead kicked the dirt.

• She almost tripped over the fruit that fell from the basket.

"I...broke your basket," Isatou confesses. "But I found this."

"Plastic," Grandmother frowns. "There's more in the city."

What can you infer about the feelings Isatou's grandmother has about the plastic bag?

• She's relieved to get her fruit.

• She thinks the bag is ugly.

• She's upset that Isatou dropped her fruit.

• She doesn't seem too happy about the plastic bag.

What can you infer from this statement:

"Day after day, the bag she dropped is still there. One plastic bag becomes two. Then ten. Then a hundred."

• The bags Isatou and the villagers dropped over time turned into piles of trash.

• No one wanted to pick up Isatou's plastic bag.

• The bag she dropped shredded into tiny pieces.

• None of the above.

What can you conclude about Isatou's feelings as she is washing the plastic bags?

• She's happy she doesn't have to smell the dirty bags.

• She's happy that the goats won't die from eating the plastic.

• She feels happy that she is able to help make the village beautiful again by picking up the bags.

• All of the above.

"The women crochet by candlelight, away from those who mock them..."

According to the text, how can you tell that Isatou and her friends are working really hard on the bags?

• They are able to make a lot of bags to sell.

• They are hiding in the dark because the people in the village might laugh at them.

• They are staying up late to finish the bags.

• Because they are crocheting the purses.

"Fingers sore and blistered, Isatou hauls the recycled purses to the city."

Why do you think Isatou's fingers are sore and blistered?

• Her fingers were sore from carrying a lot of purses to the city.

• Her fingers were very dry from washing the bags and it caused blisters.

• The dirty bags caused her to get blisters on her fingers.

• Crocheting the plastic bags caused her fingers to be sore and blistered.

"One woman lays dalasi coins on the table. She chooses a purse and shows it to one friend. Then two. Then ten."

What can you infer about how the people in the city felt about the bags?

• The people hated the bags.

• They loved the bags and they became popular.

• They thought the bags were too expensive.

• The people thought the bags were too cheap.

"When she passes by the pile of rubbish, she smiles because it is smaller now." What can you conclude about how Isatou is feeling?

• She's feeling happy & hopeful that her city will be beautiful again.

• She's glad that she doesn't have to pick up a lot of trash anymore.

• She feels nervous because the trash might pile back up.

• She's surprised to see a little bit of trash left on the ground.