Tom angrily stormed out of a room after clenching his fists, leaving his ten stunned teammates sitting in silence. Hannah excitedly ripped open a present with delight, giggling and squealing. Fred sadly paid for chocolate with a shaking hand after seeing a picture of his wife Molly in his wallet, preparing for a lonely night at home.

1. Inference detectives: Looking for clues
Read the excerpts and write your inferences in the box below.
Think about . . .
• Who the character might be (old, young, sporty, brainy etc) •
• What kind of person the character is (kind, thoughtful, nasty, selfish, etc) •
• How the character is feeling at that moment and why
• Where and when this action is taking place
1 Tom clenched his fists until the knuckles were white. He sighed deeply, stood up and
stormed toward the door without saying another word. He opened the door and slammed it behind
him. His ten team mates sat staring at each other in stunned silence.
- He is angry at his team mates.
- He might of been kicked off the team.
- His team mates were surprised at his angry outburst.
- He is sick of losing all the games.
2 Hannah’s eyes grew as big as saucers and she began to clap her tiny hands together. As
soon as the present was within reach, she grabbed it and began ripping off the paper. She was
giggling and squealing with delight.
- She is small and over-exited
- Her present was one in her dreams
- She is having a birthday or it is Christmas
3 Fred hobbled toward the counter. He reached into his pocket and with a shaking hand pulled
out his old leather wallet. As he got his money out, he noticed the picture of his wife Molly. All of a
sudden his eyes became sad and after paying for his chocolate he quickly put his wallet back into
his pocket. Thanking the shop assistant he left the shop and headed home for a lonely night in
- Fred is an old man
- He likes watching T.V
- His wife died or they got divorced and want to get back together again
- He likes chocolate blocks