Introduction NCSCS RI.5.

1 Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says
explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

Lesson 3
Using Details to
Support Inferences
When you make an inference about a
Learning Target text, you can support it with quotes from
that text.

Read When you read, you can look for what an author says directly.
You can also use what you already know and details from the text to
come up with your own ideas about what the author is saying. This
process is called making inferences.
You should always be able to support an inference with evidence.
Quotes from the text are a strong form of evidence.
Look at the picture below. Make an inference about what just
happened. Then circle any evidence in the picture that supports
your inference.

Where did
my steak go?

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 Theme: Adventures and Discovery Lesson 3

Think What have you learned about making inferences? Use the chart
below to help you develop and support an inference about what happened
to the boy’s steak.

What’s in the Image What I Know

(Evidence) (Experience) My Inference

a boy is wondering dogs eat meat, I think the dog ate

where his steak went including steak, the steak.

a dog is on the floor an animal that eats

below the table too much can get
sleepy
the dog is asleep,
looks happy, and is It;s unclear what else
drooling in the picture could
possible have taken
there is a bone next to away the meat.
him

Talk Share your chart with a partner.

• Did you both make the same inference?
• Did you both select the same evidence in column one?
• What information did you each add to column two?

Academic Talk
Use these words to talk about the text.
• inferences • evidence • quotes

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 Modeled and Guided Instruction

Read Genre: Biography

1
Zheng He
The year is 1405. The place is China, where the Yangtze River empties
into the Pacific Ocean. Floating on the river is the mightiest fleet the world
has ever seen—more than 300 boats with nearly 30,000 sailors. The largest
ships, called Treasure Ships, are more than 400 feet long—far larger than
by Marcus Lim

the greatest European boats of the day. The ships will sail the Indian Ocean,
visiting ports along the lands we know as Indonesia, India, and Africa. Who
commands this fleet? Admiral Zheng He.
2 Born in 1371, Zheng He (pronounced Jung Huh) was forced to join the
Chinese army at age 10. He became not just a soldier and sailor but also a
diplomat1, speaking with foreigners on behalf of the Chinese government.
That is why Zheng He was made leader of the fleet. Not only could he
represent his government politely—he could also back up his politeness
with force.
3 So why did China send Zheng He and his fleet to sea? In the early 1400s,
China was growing rich and hungered for goods from faraway lands. To feed
that hunger, the government built its fleet. But although Zheng He was a
military man, his fleet came to trade, not to conquer. When they left Chinese
shores, the Treasure Boats were heavy with silk and porcelain and jade. They
returned laden with foreign goods: wood, gold, spices, and medicines. They
even brought back odd animals—what we now call ostriches, zebras, camels,
and giraffes. Zheng He took China out into the world, and he brought the
world back to China.
4 Zheng He died in 1433 during his seventh voyage. For reasons Close Reader Habits
not fully clear, a new emperor stopped the trading expeditions When you reread the
and ordered records of Zheng He’s travels destroyed. But enough biography, circle words
information remains to make one fact clear: Zheng He was one of that tell the roles Zheng
the most marvelous sailors of his age. He played, and
underline evidence of
how his travels might have
1
diplomat: a person who travels abroad on behalf of a government
changed the world.

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 Using Details to Support Inferences Lesson 3

Explore What inference can you make about how Zheng He

affected the world’s knowledge of China?

Think For the “What I Know”

column, think about
1 Complete the chart below with quotes and details from the text. It will the roles leaders,
help you support your inferences with textual evidence. diplomats, and traders
play in the world.

What’s in the What I Know

Text (Evidence) (Experience) My Inference

Zheng He: a person who does What is the

commanded “the everything the text INFERENCE, based on
mightiest fleet the describes must have the two other columns?
world” ever saw. had some effect on the
“Not just a soldier and world.
sailor but also a Diplomats are people
diplomat” who visit other places
“fleet came to trade, not and talk with other
to conquer” people.
took seven voyaging Trade is and activity that
along the coast of Africa leads to people learning
and Asia over almost 30 about each other.
years

Talk
2 Share your charts. Did your partner provide evidence in “What I Know”
that you didn’t? If so, what was it? Add details to your chart if needed.

Write
3 Short Response What inference can be drawn about how Zheng He HINT First, state
affected the world’s knowledge about China? Support your answer with your inference. Then
quotes from the passage. Use the space provided on page 44 to write provide quotes from
your answer. the text to support it.

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 Guided Practice

Read Genre: History Article

FI RSTS in
FL IGH T by Edward Castillo

1 People have dreamed of flying since the beginning of time.

An ancient Greek myth tells of a boy and his father who flew
with wings made of wax and feathers. But the invention of the
kite marks the true beginning of flight history. Kites were first
flown in China around 400 b.c.e. Around that time, people
began to study the science of flight.
2 For centuries, inventors built mechanical wings, attaching
them to their arms. These efforts failed, but people still searched
for ways to fly. During the 1480s, Leonardo da Vinci made
more than 100 sketches of flying machines, which would later
influence other inventors.
3 In 1783, the Montgolfier brothers built the first hot-air
balloon. The balloon’s passengers were a sheep, a rooster, and
a duck. The brothers solved the problem of lift, but the balloon
did not allow riders to move forward or steer.
4 In the 1850s, George Cayley hoped to achieve controlled
flight. His glider designs shaped the work of Otto Lilienthal.
In 1891, Lilienthal became the first person to launch a manned
glider. He wrote a book about his experiments, which inspired
two brothers from Ohio, Orville and Wilbur Wright.
5 The Wright brothers tested many flight theories with
balloons and kites. Their 1902 Wright Glider could be controlled Close Reader Habits
with a movable tail. But their greatest accomplishment was
adding an engine to lift their glider into the air. Do the ideas and actions
6 On December 17, 1903, at Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina, of inventors influence
other, later inventors?
the Wright Flyer first flew. Orville Wright was the first to
Reread the article.
successfully pilot a motorized flight. Underline details that
tell how some inventors
influence other inventors.

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 Using Details to Support Inferences Lesson 3

Think Use what you learned from reading the history article to respond to
the following questions.

1 This question has two parts. Answer Part A. Then answer Part B. Use quotes to
Part A support your
Which inference is best supported by the passage? inferences. Otherwise,
your inferences will
A Inventors learn from the work of others. seem like guesses.
B Inventing is much easier than it used to be.
C Most inventors try to keep their ideas from being stolen.
D Some inventors are geniuses who don’t need help from others.
Part B
Which two sentences from the text best illustrate the inference in Part A?
A “People have dreamed of flying since the beginning of time.”
B “In 1783, the Montgolfier brothers built the first hot-air balloon.”
C “His glider designs shaped the work of Otto Lilienthal.”
D “In 1891, Lilienthal became the first person to launch a manned
glider.”
E “He wrote a book about his experiments, which inspired two
brothers from Ohio, Orville and Wilbur Wright.”
F “Orville Wright was the first to successfully pilot a motorized flight.”

Talk
2 The technology of flight improved greatly in less than 150 years. What
evidence from the passage supports this idea? Use the chart on page 45
to collect quotes from the passage and organize your thinking.

Write
3 Short Response What evidence from the passage supports the idea HINT First, restate
that the technology of flight improved greatly in less than 150 years? Use the idea from the
quotes from the passage in your response. Use the space provided on question. Then
page 45 to write your answer. provide the evidence
supporting that idea.

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 Modeled and Guided Instruction

He
Write Use the space below to write your answer to the question on page 41.

Zheng HINT First, state

your inference.
Then provide
3 Short Response What inference can be drawn about how
quotes from the
Zheng He affected the world’s knowledge about China?
text to support it.
Support your answer with quotes from the passage.

Check Your Writing

Did you read the prompt carefully?
Did you put the prompt in your own words?
Don’t forget to Did you use the best evidence from the text to support your ideas?
check your writing.
Are your ideas clearly organized?
Did you write in clear and complete sentences?
Did you check your spelling and punctuation?

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 Guided Practice

F I RSTS in F L IGH T
2 Use the chart below to organize your ideas and your evidence.

What’s in the Text What I Know

(Evidence) (Experience) My Inference

Write Use the space below to write your answer to the

question on page 43.
HINT First, restate
the idea from the
3 Short Response What evidence from the passage supports the
question. Then
idea that the technology of flight improved greatly in less than
provide the evidence
150 years? Use quotes from the passage in your response.
supporting that idea.

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