Tom became very angry during a sports game, clenching his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white. He stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him, leaving his stunned teammates in silence. Hannah was opening her birthday present, giggling and squealing with delight as she ripped off the wrapping paper. Fred hobbled to the counter to buy chocolate, but became sad when he saw a picture of his late wife in his wallet, realizing he would spend the night alone 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.
Tom is frustrated maybe because his team lost a game of sport. Maybe got kicked off the
team. He’s so angry he cannot control himself when he is angry.
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 giggling and squealing while ripping open first toy from her birthday. She is
so excited to open her 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
front of the television.
Fred walked shaking with his chocolate bar to the counter .He is sad and lonely because
he opened his wallet and saw a picture of his wife that had died not long ago. He is old.