Tom became angry at a baseball game, clenched his fists until they turned white, took a deep sigh, and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. His ten teammates sat in stunned silence. Hannah, upon receiving a present, grew excited with delight, her eyes widened as she began clapping and giggling while ripping off the wrapping paper. Fred sadly paid for chocolate at a shop with a shaking hand, noticing a picture of his wife in his wallet, before leaving for a lonely night watching TV.

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.
Sporty,young,mad at a base ball game
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.
Super happy,young,kind at mum’s place
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
front of the television.
Sad,old,miserable at a club/bar