Drawing Conclusion

Understanding what you read is one thing, but what if an author doesn't tell you everything you need to know about a story in writing? Using story details to draw conclusions is an important part of comprehension, and helps hone critical thinking skills. Help your third grader practice this skill by completing 5 brief stories with a logical ending.
example

The family dog hid behind the sofa as a storm roared outside. There was lightning and thunder. The dog whimpered each time it heard the thunder. Dad tried to coax the dog out, but it wasn't going anywhere.
You can guess that     
                            .

a.                   Dad was afraid of storms

b.                  The dog was playing hide and seek

c.                   Storms made the dog afraid

Video gaming is one of the largest industries in America. Each day more and more children are getting addicted to video games. There have been many video game opponents accusing the industry of becoming too violent. It is not uncommon to play a shoot'em up game where ten people are getting killed every minute. Yet, despite pressures of society to eliminate violent video games, as each day passes, more gamers are getting hooked.

What conclusions can you draw about the video game industry?]

a.                  As time goes on more and more children will play video games

b.                  As time goes on the video game industry will lose money

c.                   As time goes on more parents will prevent their children from playing violent video games

d.                  As time goes on, pressure to make games less violent will decrease the number of shooting games

He had always wanted to serve his country, but this seemed like madness. He was supposed to fight a war in a foreign land, helping to protect people whom he didn't even know. Michael had a strong sense of patriotism, but he was worried about the bombs, death, and carnage that could await him in Iraq. He pondered whether he would ever see his family again.

What conclusions can you draw about how Michael is feeling about going to war?

a.                   He feels proud of his country

b.                  He is looking forward to the challenge of being in the military

c.                   He is afraid of going into battle

d.                  He regrets joining the military


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