IXL | Draw inferences from literary texts

Read the text.

As they reached the stop sign, Camila heaved a sigh so deep that she nearly spilled off her bike.

Maddie braked gently next to her friend. "Everything okay?"

"It's just such a long ride to the soccer fields," Camila said, staring dramatically into the distance. "Especially all alone. While you go to your secret class at the community center." She turned, pedaling away from Maddie inch by inch.

Maddie hesitated for a beat and then replied, "I mean, you could come if you really want—"

Without even letting her finish, Camila wheeled her bike around, hollering, "Really?! I thought you'd never ask!"

"Just so you know, it's not—" Maddie began, but seeing her friend's enthusiasm, she bit her lip and led the way to the community center.

"So, yeah," Maddie said, opening the door to a back room. "I saw a flyer for this intro-level class a while back and thought I'd try it out. I've actually learned a lot."

Camila stepped in, then cocked her head to one side. One wall was lined with mirrors and had a handrail running along it. Scattered around the room, people of all ages were warming up, flexing their feet and slowly stretching their arms above their heads.

"It's not as fast and furious as one of our pick-up games, but if you want to stay . . ." Maddie said hopefully, pulling out a pair of ballet shoes.

Camila smiled, gently elbowing Maddie, "Just don't laugh if I start tripping over my feet."

What does Maddie most likely feel about her ballet class?

Maddie enjoys the class but worries that Camila won't like it.

Maddie hopes to apply what she learns in the class to soccer with Camila.

Maddie feels pressured by Camila to choose soccer over ballet.

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Learn with an example

question

Read the text.

"I'll take it," I said, holding out my plate. Usually, Bernie loved Pops's homemade pizza, and we always fought over any leftovers. But tonight, Bernie didn't even look up from his plate when Pops offered up the last piece. Weird.

After a quick glance at Bernie, Pops plopped the pizza onto my plate. I dug into the last slice of deliciousness and looked back and forth between Pops and Bernie. What was the deal? They were both being strangely quiet tonight. Pops busied himself cleaning crumbs from the table, and Bernie still gazed at his plate, absentmindedly pushing around the remnants of his pizza crust.

Breaking the awkward silence, I babbled between bites of pizza, "Hey, Bernie, I heard you talking to someone on the phone earlier. Did the coffee shop finally call you back?"

Bernie grimaced and mumbled something unintelligible.

"Huh? I thought that might've been them since it's been almost a week since your interview. You'd think they'd get back to you by—"

Pops cleared his throat loudly, cutting me off. "Ellie, why don't you come help me with the dishes?" He quickly hopped up from his chair and motioned me towards the kitchen.

"But I'm not even finished with my pizza yet," I muttered with my mouth full.

Pops gave a meaningful look toward Bernie, who was staring at his plate, then looked back at me and nodded his head pointedly at the kitchen.

What is the most likely reason Bernie's behavior is unusual tonight?

Bernie is annoyed that Ellie took the last piece of pizza.

Bernie is disappointed about the outcome of his interview at the coffee shop.

Bernie is feeling resentful about an argument he and Pops had earlier.

key idea

Authors don't always tell you everything in a story. As a result, you may need to make

inferences,

or educated guesses, about what happens and why. A good inference combines what the author states in the text with your own background knowledge about how people act or how the world works.

When making an inference, you should be able to support your idea with evidence from the text. You need to look for details that show why your inference is most likely true.

For example, in a story about a girl named Sarah moving to a new town, the following pieces of textual evidence would allow you to make an inference about Sarah's feelings.

Evidence: Sarah glanced from one unfamiliar face to another and started biting her fingernail.

Evidence: "Dad, I'm not sure I can do this," Sarah cried. "The thought of going to school makes my stomach hurt."

Inference: Sarah is nervous about being the new kid at school.

solution

The details in the text support this inference:

green checkmark, Bernie is disappointed about the outcome of his interview at the coffee shop.

These inferences are not supported by details from the text:

red X symbol, Bernie is annoyed that Ellie took the last piece of pizza.

Bernie did not show any signs that he wanted the last slice of pizza, so it's unlikely that he is annoyed that Ellie took it.

red X symbol, Bernie is feeling resentful about an argument he and Pops had earlier.

Ellie reflects that both Pops and Bernie are "strangely quiet tonight," but there is no evidence to suggest that Pops and Bernie had an argument.

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Not feeling ready yet? These can help:

Q.2Identify supporting details in literary texts

G.2Draw inferences from literary texts

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