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Grade 8 · English Language Arts · Unit 3 of 12

Reading Detective

Predict, infer and summarize

What your child practises

Making and checking predictions, choosing a strategy when reading gets tricky, drawing local and global inferences from clues, and summarizing the main ideas of complex texts.

Alberta Curriculum learning outcome: General Outcome 2 · reading strategies for complex texts

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    What does the flickering light most likely signal?

    The Night Market

    Stalls glowed under strings of lanterns, and the air smelled of grilled corn and sweet dough. Ana held her brother's hand tightly as the crowd pushed past.

    “Stay close,” she said. A moment later, the lights flickered, and the music stopped.

    • Ana is winning a prize
    • the corn is ready
    • a change or problem is coming
    • the market is closing for the season
    Show answer

    a change or problem is coming

    Hint: Authors use sudden changes to build suspense.

  2. Question 2

    While reading, you realize you cannot explain the last page. What should you do?

    • skip to the end
    • read faster
    • memorize the words
    • reread and ask yourself questions
    Show answer

    reread and ask yourself questions

    Hint: Monitor your understanding and fix problems.

  3. Question 3

    What is the main idea of the passage?

    Why Bees Matter

    Bees spend their days moving from flower to flower, collecting nectar. As they travel, grains of pollen stick to their bodies and are carried to the next flower. This process, called pollination, allows many plants to make fruit and seeds.

    Without pollinators, farmers would grow far fewer apples, blueberries and almonds. That is why many communities plant wildflowers and avoid certain sprays that harm bees.

    • Wildflowers are bigger than apples.
    • Bees pollinate plants, which helps food grow.
    • Farmers do not need pollinators.
    • Bees make honey in the winter.
    Show answer

    Bees pollinate plants, which helps food grow.

    Hint: The main idea covers the whole passage.

  4. Question 4

    You reach a word you do not know in a science article. Which strategy should you try first?

    • reread the sentence for context clues, then check the glossary
    • stop reading
    • guess any meaning
    • skip the whole article
    Show answer

    reread the sentence for context clues, then check the glossary

    Hint: Use the text first, then a reference.

  5. Question 5

    Which question helps you check a prediction?

    • What colour is the cover?
    • Did what happened match what I thought would happen, and why?
    • How many pages are there?
    • Who published the book?
    Show answer

    Did what happened match what I thought would happen, and why?

    Hint: Compare your guess with what the text says.

  6. Question 6

    Which detail best shows Ana is careful?

    The Night Market

    Stalls glowed under strings of lanterns, and the air smelled of grilled corn and sweet dough. Ana held her brother's hand tightly as the crowd pushed past.

    “Stay close,” she said. A moment later, the lights flickered, and the music stopped.

    • The music played.
    • Lanterns hung over the stalls.
    • She held her brother's hand tightly.
    • The air smelled of grilled corn.
    Show answer

    She held her brother's hand tightly.

    Hint: Look for an action that shows she wants to keep him safe.

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