Tom stormed out of a room angrily after a game, leaving his stunned teammates behind. Hannah excitedly ripped open a present while giggling and squealing with delight. Fred sadly paid for chocolate and noticed a picture of his late wife in his wallet, realizing he faced 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.
Maybe they lost a game of some sort
Tom was definitely enraged
Tom’s team was surprised at his behavior
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.
Hannah was young
She was exited
It was an awesome present
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
Maybe he has lost his wife to death
Fred was sad
Fred was lonely