Drawing Conclusions – The West Side

5th Grade Standard: Reading Comprehension 2.4

I will draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about the text and support them with evidence from the text and my own prior knowledge.

Text clues / My prior knowledge
(what I already
know) / My conclusion
Pg. 212: What types of things does Juan see and hear after stepping off the bus on Columbus Avenue? / What feelings do I have when I’m in a new place? / How will the West Side make Juan feel about life in the U.S.?
Pg. 214: What is the woman arguing with Sr. Rivera about in the bodega? / Have I ever bought something I thought was expensive? Why did I do it? / Why does the woman buy the Spanish food even though she thinks it is expensive?
Pg. 223: How does Juan do in the stickball game? How does Carlos react? / How has a common interest (fun activity, game, sport) helped me to make friends? / How might Juan’s life in New York change after this afternoon with Carlos?

Drawing Conclusions – The West Side

Characters in a story often draw conclusions themselves. These conclusions may or may not be correct. Let’s evaluate three conclusions characters draw in The West Side. We will use our prior knowledge and clues in the text to decide if the conclusions make sense.

Text clues / My prior knowledge
(what I already
know) / The character’s
conclusion
Pg. 218-219: Why doesn’t Carlos speak much Spanish?
Why does Juan feel foolish after finding this out? / When have I felt like an outsider?
Have I felt like I didn’t belong because I spoke a different language? If not, how do I think I would feel in that situation? / Juan concludes that he’s lost a friend when he realizes Carlos doesn’t understand much Spanish.
Is Juan’s conclusion correct? Explain.
Pg. 219: Why does Juan tell Carlos that he’d “better say good-bye now”? / When I hear about people traveling often, do I draw any conclusions about them? / Carlos concludes that Juan must be rich because he’s going back to Puerto Rico so soon.
Did Carlos draw the correct conclusion? Explain.
Pg. 219:What does Carlos say when he is told that the airline is going to fly Juan back to Puerto Rico for free? / Does it make sense for a business to give out their service for free? / After getting more information from Juan, Carlos concludes that Juan misunderstood the airline.
Has Carlos now come to the right conclusion?