IXL | Read poetry | 5th grade language arts

Read the poem. Then, review the bolded text in the first stanza.

The Trip

That weekend I should have been at the beach—

Playing in the cool, crisp waves,

Laughing in the bright, warm sun.

But instead I had to go on another family trip—

A weekend without any friends,

A weekend without any fun.

I thought the weekend would pass by

Like a snail crawling through the yard.

But in the end it turned out to be

One of the best weekends I ever had.

My grandfather bought me a new guitar

And spent the trip teaching me to play.

Now when school is out, I go to my guitar—

Learning brand new songs,

Playing for all my friends.

My life is full of music—thanks to my granddad.

The bolded text requires an inference, or a guess, about missing details. Based on the text, which sentence is most likely to be true?

The speaker hasn't traveled out of town to visit family members in a long time.

The speaker is upset about not being allowed to bring a friend on the family trip.

The speaker believes that a trip to the beach would be better than visiting family.

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Learn with an example

question

Read the poem. Then, review the bolded text in the second stanza.

My Model Car

The hours piled on,

As I sprawled out on my carpet,

Tinkering with tweezers,

Fiddling with rubber bands,

Trying to make my model car come to life.

Finally, eyes bleary, I went for a walk,

Leaving the car parts behind.

I took in the details of the neighborhood,

The trills and chirps of birds in the trees,

The thick, smoky smell of a grill

Fired up in my neighbor's yard.

I came back and opened my door.

Hoping the car had assembled itself. No, but—

I suddenly saw the parts with new eyes,

My mind clear and ready.

My tools bent and twisted the pieces

Like they'd always known what to do.

The bolded text requires an inference, or a guess, about missing details. Based on the text, which sentence is most likely to be true?

The smell of her neighbor's grill makes the speaker realize that she is hungry.

The sounds and smells of the neighborhood distract the speaker from her problem.

The speaker wishes she could fly away like a bird.

key idea

Poems don't always directly state what the author is trying to tell you. So, you often need to look closely at a poem's text to help you figure out what the poem means.

Sometimes details about a poem's characters or events are missing. When this happens, you may need to make inferences, or guesses, about what happens and why.

At other times, a poem might use unusual words or phrases to describe the characters or events. These uses of language are called figures of speech. Authors often use figures of speech to bring characters to life or to create a certain mood or feeling for readers.

Making inferences and understanding figures of speech can help you understand a poem's theme. The theme is the main message that an author wants you to take away from the poem.

solution

Review the text.

Finally, eyes bleary, I went for a walk,

Leaving the car parts behind.

I took in the details of the neighborhood,

The trills and chirps of birds in the trees,

The thick, smoky smell of a grill

Fired up in my neighbor's yard.

The speaker has gone for a walk for a change of scenery. Now, instead of focusing on her problem, she is paying attention to the sounds and smells along the way.

So, this sentence is most likely to be true:

The sounds and smells of the neighborhood distract the speaker from her problem.

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Teacher tools

Work it out

Not feeling ready yet? These can help:

B.2Draw inferences from a text

H.5Analyze the effects of figures of speech on meaning and tone

B.1Determine the themes of short stories

N.3Read poetry

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