Middle-school reading: support your answer with the passage
Read a short story, distinguish what it says from what you infer, and repair an answer that invents a motive. Try before opening the worked example.
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Read closely before asking AI
Your job is to give a short answer with a supporting sentence, then write one question another reader can answer from the passage. You can finish without an AI account. The optional prompt asks for a hint, not an answer to copy.
This exercise practises evidence and inference, not every part of reading or literary appreciation. A plausible interpretation can be worth discussing, but it must be labelled and supported. If a class requires a particular method, follow the teacher’s instructions. Use this fictional passage first; do not paste a classmate’s work or identifying details.
Read all steps
Read closely before asking AI
Your job is to give a short answer with a supporting sentence, then write one question another reader can answer from the passage. You can finish without an AI account. The optional prompt asks for a hint, not an answer to copy.
This exercise practises evidence and inference, not every part of reading or literary appreciation. A plausible interpretation can be worth discussing, but it must be labelled and supported. If a class requires a particular method, follow the teacher’s instructions. Use this fictional passage first; do not paste a classmate’s work or identifying details.
Read the rain-shelter passage and try one answer
Original fictional passage — keep the labels.
S1. After school, the rain had stopped, but drops still fell from the edge of the shelter.
S2. Mei moved the book-exchange cart under the shelter and wiped a patch of the wooden table.
S3. The sign said: “Wednesday book exchange: until five. On other days, return books inside the library.”
S4. Jun closed a book with damp pages. “I will dry it before I exchange it,” he said.
S5. Mei pointed to an empty space on the cart. “I can keep a place for you next Wednesday.”
S6. Jun put the book in his bag. The passage gives no further reply.
Question: what does Jun say he will do before exchanging the book? Give the sentence label and explain what remains unknown about his feelings.
Try an answer before the next step. You may append it below the passage. Do not invent why the pages are damp, what happens next Wednesday or how either character feels. Later, you will also write one different question that this passage can answer.
Ask for one clue, or locate it yourself
Use only the labelled passage below. Help me answer the reading question without writing the answer for me. First ask which sentence contains Jun’s own words about the book. Wait for my attempt. Then ask me to separate an exact quotation, a paraphrase and an inference about his feelings. Do not invent motives, later events or an author’s intention. If a word is unclear, explain its meaning in this sentence and mark any uncertainty. After I revise, ask for one different question answerable from the passage, without including its answer in the question.
I may continue without AI: underline the character’s spoken words, circle the time expressions, and compare what the sign allows with what the character promises. A hint is a route back to the text, not a substitute for reading it.
Write, then compare with the worked answer
Worked answer — open after your own attempt.
Answer: Jun says he will dry the book before exchanging it [S4]. This reports his stated plan. The passage does not name his emotion or say that wet pages are his only reason for leaving [S4, S6].
Quotation: “I will dry it before I exchange it” [S4].
Paraphrase: he plans to dry the book first [S4].
Possible inference: he may want to look after the book. That is an interpretation of his words, not a stated motive. Another interpretation needs its own textual support.
Wrong answer: “Jun is embarrassed because he ruined the book, so he promises to return next Wednesday.”
Repair: cross out “embarrassed” and “ruined”; neither is stated. The next-Wednesday offer is Mei’s, not Jun’s promise [S5–S6]. Keep only his stated plan to dry the book [S4]. The damp pages do not tell us how they became damp.
My new question: where does the sign tell readers to return books on other days?
Separate answer key: inside the library [S3]. “In the library, right?” would give the answer away.
Brief revision note: I changed a claim about feelings and a promised return into a source-labelled plan. The characters’ later actions remain unknown. Your wording can differ; its claims still need support. Do not copy this whole example as if it were your own attempt.
Check who said it and how certain it is
Review your own draft before ticking the checks. Can you point to S4 for Jun’s plan? Have you accidentally given Mei’s offer to Jun? Did “may” become “must”, or a damp book become a ruined one? Separate what is stated, what you paraphrase and what you only infer.
Try a challenge: “The exchange is open every day until five.” The sign only gives Wednesday exchange hours; other days refer to returning books inside [S3]. Repair the sentence rather than merely adding “probably”.
Include your different question and its separate source-labelled key in the draft. Check that the question itself does not reveal the answer. If vocabulary is still uncertain, keep the uncertainty visible and check an appropriate dictionary or ask a teacher. The checklist records your review, not an automatic score.
Keep the revision and try another passage
Copy your reviewed draft before leaving; the worksheet text is not saved. Keep four parts: your answer, sentence labels, one repaired overclaim, and your new question with a separate key.
Use the reading-explainer Task below for another permitted passage. Start with a different sentence, not the same answer from memory. If you are helping a learner, use the parent-check Task to distinguish a correct response from an explanation they understand. Follow the class rules for assessed work. Completing this page means you reviewed one draft; it does not establish a reading level or improved grades.
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Original fictional passage and authored learning examples, with an English adaptation and a Chinese version. Not a textbook extract, curriculum assessment, recorded AI response or measured learning outcome.
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