Autobiography - Lesson 5 - Developing Inference and Dedication Worksheet

In Lesson 5 of a series aimed at enhancing primary students' reading comprehension skills, the focus is on developing their ability to infer and deduce information from a text. This particular lesson uses the character Captain Hardcastle to teach students how to draw conclusions based on evidence provided in a passage. The worksheet prompts students to infer that Captain Hardcastle suffered from shell-shock, a condition now commonly referred to as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which affected many soldiers during and after wartime.

The evidence given for students to analyse is a description of Captain Hardcastle's physical symptoms: 'the constant twitching and jerking'. By examining this phrase, students are encouraged to deduce that these actions are not voluntary but rather involuntary responses that could be indicative of psychological trauma. The exercise aims to help students understand how to use specific points in a text to support their inferences, thereby enhancing their critical thinking and reading comprehension abilities. It is an important skill that aids in understanding characters' experiences and the underlying themes within a narrative.