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5th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 16 of 17

Read Closely

Inferences, themes, summaries, comparing characters and points of view.

What your child practices

Your child makes inferences from evidence, finds themes and central ideas, picks good summaries, compares characters, settings and events, and explains how a narrator's point of view or different accounts of the same event shape what we learn.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 5R1; 5R2; 5R3; 5R6 · evidence and inferences, theme and summary, comparing characters and events, and point of view across accounts

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Make inferences from evidence: what do the details suggest?
  2. A summary gives the central idea briefly, without small details.
  3. A character’s actions show traits. Different points of view can make accounts of one event differ.

Example: “Priya checked the sky again, then packed her umbrella.” What can you infer? She keeps checking the sky. She packs an umbrella, which is for rain. Answer: Priya thinks it might rain.

Read Closely in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 16 of 17 in 5th grade English Language Arts, after Talk, Listen and Ask Why and before Stories, Responses and Evidence.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

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

    A story ends with two rivals sharing their prize. Which theme fits best?

    • Rivals are always enemies.
    • Prizes are made of gold.
    • Never share anything.
    • Working together can matter more than winning.

  2. Question 2

    “Even after the third fall, Tia climbed back on her board and pushed off again.” Which trait does the evidence show?

    • determination
    • laziness
    • boredom
    • carelessness

  3. Question 3

    Which sentence does NOT belong in a summary?

    • They practiced every day after school.
    • They won the final game.
    • The team lost its first three games.
    • I think the story was really exciting.

  4. Question 4

    Ana is outgoing and loves crowds. Her twin Bea is quiet and likes reading alone. How are the characters different?

    • Bea loves crowds more than Ana.
    • They are exactly the same.
    • Ana is social; Bea prefers quiet time.
    • Ana and Bea are not related.

  5. Question 5

    “Marcus left his cleats by the door and set three alarms.” What can you infer about tomorrow?

    • Marcus has an early game he does not want to miss.
    • Marcus is going on vacation.
    • Marcus does not play sports.
    • Marcus lost his shoes.

  6. Question 6

    Two characters face the same storm: one panics, the other calmly makes a plan. What does the comparison show?

    • that both characters are the same
    • that storms are not real
    • that the setting is a desert
    • how differently people can respond to the same challenge

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