Even when I'm travelling, I never stop reading and writing. Today, I'd like to teach you about another skill that smart readers do. It's called "inferring". Inferring is using clues in the story, along with what you already know in your brain, to figure things out.
Authors use words to paint a picture in our minds, but they don't tell us everything. As smart readers, we have to use clues from the story and what we already know to infer (or figure out) other information that is important to the story.
For example, read this sentence:
Mr. Price had to duck his head to fit through the doorway.
I didn't describe Mr. Price, but from the sentence, you could infer that Mr. Price must be very tall. Additionally, I didn't say that Mr. Price is a man, but the title, "Mr." gives you a clue that he must be a man.
Try some more. What information can you infer from each sentence?
The children jumped up and down on Christmas Day.
-How do the children feel?
-Why do you think they are they jumping?
My neighbor's yard has a swingset and toys in the yard.
-What could you tell me about the family next door?
Grandma came in the door shaking her umbrella and wiping her boots.
-What is the weather like? How do you know?
Amy hid the peas under her mashed potatoes.
-Do you think Amy enjoys eating peas? What gives you a clue?
The policeman put up his hand and blew his whistle.
-Why is the policeman putting up his hand? What is he doing?
Jake had to stay home from school and rest in bed.
-Can you make 2 statements about Jake?
Did you use your brains and clues in the sentences to infer things about each sentence? Great job!
Here's a story I've written for you about a woman who decided to travel down the coast in her boat, just like we are doing on ANNA. As you read the story, make a picture in your head. At the end of the story there will be some questions that you can only answer by inferring. Give it a try!
Nonni Brown and the Warbler
On the windy coast of Washington State, in a seaside town called Indigo Cove, there lived a woman with a long silver braid down her back. Her twelve grandchildren called her Nonni Brown. And after a while, so did everyone else in the small, friendly town. Nonni Brown's home was a pale yellow cottage that she built with her own hands. That is, her own hands and the hands of many friends helping.
Her cottage had ocean cliffs in the front and green, shady woods behind. Nonni Brown had two favorite things that she loved to do at home: one was gazing out upon the vast, powerful ocean and the other was studying the many different species of wild birds that came to feed on the berries and seeds in her lush backyard.
There were wild woodland birds of all kinds: wrens and sparrows, goldfinches and chickadees, warblers and nuthatches, swallows and vireos and more. In the spring, Nonni Brown took care to cultivate the berries, bushes and plants that her bird friends most liked to eat. By summer, her backyard was alive with plump, twittering, happy birds that kept her company from sunrise to sunset.
Many of the birds were summer friends. They arrived with the warm breath of summer; played, ate, and raised their chicks during the long, warm days. With the first chill of autumn, she could tell by their nervous chirping that the seasonal birds would soon be gone. Birds like blue-headed vireos or chipping sparrows never stayed through the cold winter. They would leave every fall, flying thousands of miles to Mexico or South America where the weather stayed warm in the winter. Every autumn they would leave and every autumn Nonni Brown would feel sorry to see them go.
She looked out to the sparkling ocean waters beyond the cliffs and thought, "Someday I should go south, too." You see, Nonni Brown was, among other things, a fine sailor. Many days when the weather was warm and the breeze was fresh, she would hop in her cozy but sturdy boat and sail among the waves all day. Nonni felt perfectly at home in the black-hulled wooden yawl she named "Sugar". For years she worked on the boat, keeping it tidy and seaworthy. And through all those years she kept wondering about her traveling bird friends. What new things did they see on their journey to far away lands? What great adventures did they have along the way? What interesting companions would they meet?
One crisp, clear day when the leaves began turning to gold and red, Nonni noticed the seasonal birds in her backyard beginning to sing their excited autumn songs. She felt the familiar sadness creeping upon her. But at that same moment, Nonni said to herself, "This time, I shall go, too."
Nonni spent the next several days preparing her boat, Sugar, to set sail. She checked all the lines and the sails, stocked up on food and water, and made her boat cozy for living. Then she plotted a course on the chart that would take her boat south, like the birds. South down the formidable coast of Washington, south past rocky Oregon, south along the golden California coastline, south into colorful Mexico, and south still.
It was a perfect sunrise when Nonni and Sugar turned the corner out of Indigo cove, heading south. The light on the waves seemed to beckon to Nonni: Come offshore! Come and play!
Nonni made her course a line about 40 miles offshore, roughly paralleling the coast. She sailed where the ocean swell got bigger, but gentler. Sugar, with her sails up, glided happily over blue rolling hills of sea water. Nonni sailed all day and into the night. When she got tired, she would sleep lightly for short periods at a time. She was sharply attuned to the sounds Sugar made as she sailed happily along. When the wind shifted, or the seas changed, Sugar would gently rattle the rigging or flap a sail to let Nonni Brown know that her attention was needed.
Days passed. Nonni and Sugar sailed on without seeing another person or another boat. They were so far from land, that they couldn't even see the cliffs anymore, or the beach. Nonni began to feel a little sad and lonely. "I wonder if I'll ever see my bird friends again. How I used to love watching them in my green backyard!" Just then, a fluffy, yellow Warbler flew a circle around Nonni's boat, then landed right on the deck! How could it be? What would a warbler be doing out here on the ocean? Nonni could scarcely believe what she was seeing. But suddenly a thought struck her that made her laugh out loud. "Of course! You're flying to your southern home; Mexico or Panama! You must be getting tired, since you can't stop on the ocean--Warbler's can't swim! Come, Warbler. Rest here on Sugar for as long as you like!
But the warbler was a wild bird. She wasn't used to being near people. She walked in circles around Sugar's decks, keeping a wide distance between herself and Nonni Brown. Her chest was beating rapidly. She watched Nonni with her sharp, black warbler eyes. She chittered nervously. She shook her feathers as if she might take flight at any instant. But the warbler didn't leave. She was tired from her long flight over the ocean waters. She needed to rest.
Nonni Brown continued her activities just as before, but she took care to move gently, so as not to frighten the warbler. She hummed a slow and quiet tune. After a long time, the warbler
's chest beat more evenly. She hopped closer. She fluttered to the side of the cockpit, closer to where Nonni Brown was guiding the tiller. She nestled in behind a coiled rope. For a while she kept a nervous eye on Nonni Brown, but eventually, exhaustion overtook her. The warbler closed her eyes, allowing herself to sleep.
All through that day and into the night, the warbler stayed close to Nonni's spot at the tiller, but she wouldn't come any closer. Then, just as Nonni leaned sideways to check her compass heading, the warbler hopped right up onto Nonni's head! Nonni didn't scream or jump. She laughed quietly and continued sailing the boat. By the time the warbler finally flitted off of Nonni's head, Nonni had nearly forgotten she had been wearing a warbler!
The two friends continued in this way for two days. Then on the third day, as the sun began to rise over the horizon, the warbler hopped over to the railing, chirped a tiny song, and flew off ahead of Sugar's path through the water. Nonni watched the warbler go until it seemed to disappear into the lightening sky. But she wasn't sad this time. She knew she'd be seeing many of her friends soon, in the warm places they spent their winters.
Nonni put her hand on her head and smiled. "See you soon, Warbler", she said. "Come on, Sugar! Let's go find our friends." And they did just that.
Busy Brains Challenge:
Try answering these questions from the story.
Hint: You will need to use the skill of inference to answer the questions. Explain what information helped you figure out the answer.
1. Is Nonni Brown a teenager or an older woman?
2. Why did Nonni Brown plant berries and bushes in her backyard?
3. What season was it when the leaves in Nonni's backyard began turning gold and red?
4. Why was Nonni sad when she heard the birds singing their autumn songs?
5. Why did the warbler keep away from Nonni when it first arrived on the boat?
6. Do you think the warbler felt different about Nonni after a while?
Here's how to share your answers with other Busy Brains:
1. First, click on the title of this post.
2. Go to the bottom of the post and click on the words "Post a comment".
Come on! It's easy and fun! You'll be able to see your answer posted with the other answers on the next Busy Brains posting!
