Reading Between the Lines Set Two

Inference skills for children aged 8 – 12

Catherine Delamain, Jill Spring

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN: 9781351580304
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

This monograph presents a novel typology of relational and territorial perspectives on legitimacy and identity. This typology is then applied to two different political and historical contexts, namely the trajectories of the metropolitan region Amsterdam in the Netherlands and the metropolitan region Ruhr in Germany. The historical discussion spans 500 years, providing valuable depth to the study. Taken as a whole, the book provides a new perspective within the territorial-relational dichotomy and the geographies of discontent debate. Its key insights are that identity and political legitimacy are embedded in history and that both relational and territorial perspectives on these issues are time and place dependent. This book will be stimulating reading for advanced students, researchers, and policymakers working in political geography, human geography, regional studies, and broader social and political sciences.

Part 1

Object

• Level 1
• Level 2
• Level 3
• Level 4

Level 1

Spot the clues that tell you WHAT’S BEING TALKED ABOUT.

Clues might be about:

• What the thing looks like – big/little, shiny, what colour
• What it is made of/what different parts it has
• What you can use it for/what it can do

It might be a person, a creature, a machine, any other kind of ‘thing’.

Here is an example. The clues are in bold type.

Sam went up the path between the tall trees. He rounded a corner and stared in wonder at what stood in front of him. He could hardly count the windows, there were so many. The chimneys seemed to reach almost to the sky and there was a funny metal thing on the roof, shaped like a fox. It swung round in the wind and Dad said it was a weather vane and it could tell you which way the wind was blowing. A long flight of steps led up to a huge front door, where a brass knocker shone brightly in the sun. Sam thought this place was big enough for a giant to live in.

What was Sam looking at? How do you know? What clues tell you so?

• Sam was walking up a path towards something
• The thing has windows
• It has chimneys
• It has a roof
• There are steps up to a front door
• A giant could live in it
  = It must have been a house

Story 1

Joe couldn’t wait to show off his best birthday present to his friends. He decided not to try to show it in the bus, but waited until they were in school. When everybody else had hung up their jackets in the cloakroom, Joe went in to hang up his own. The he slipped quietly into the classroom, and shouted in his loudest voice ‘Hey everybody! Look at this!’ He flung his arms wide and puffed out his chest as much as he could to give everyone a chance to have a good look. It was bright red, with the big yellow-on-white cross in the middle of the front, and the Man U logo in the top left corner. The sleeves were a bit too long for Joe, but he had turned the cuffs back so it didn’t matter. Everyone thought it was great, especially the Man U supporters.

What was Joe wearing? How do you know? What clues tell you so?

Story 2

McTavish wasn’t really allowed in the room when the family were having their meals. Mum and Dad both said it was hard for him to smell all the yummy food on people’s plates and not to beg. But sometimes he managed to sneak in under the table and he always sat by Oliver. Oliver liked to feel McTavish’s soft furry head pressed against his leg and usually managed to slip him a little scrap of something. He would be thanked by a warm lick from McTavish’s tongue. Oliver thought of McTavish as his best friend and loved the walks they shared in the park. Walking McTavish was the only one of his jobs he really looked forward to – not like cleaning his shoes or emptying the dishwasher!

What or who is McTavish? How do you know? What clues tell you so?

Story 3

Since Grandma had come to live with them, the house was a bit of a squeeze. Sukey had to sleep on a camp bed in Mum and Dad’s room and Kitty on the spare bed in the tiny back room. One day the girls were packed off to have a sleepover with friends. When they got home for tea, Dad said he had something to show them. The door of the little room had a smart new notice on it saying ‘Sukey’s and Kitty’s room’. Dad flung the door open with a flourish. ‘Da-dah!’ he said proudly. Dad had done a great job. The bottom deck was made up with Sukey’s favourite Star Wars duvet and pillows, while the top deck had Kitty’s, with the flower pattern on. Kitty went straight up the ladder to try it out, and arrange her family of cuddly toys.

What had Dad built in the little bedroom? How do you know? What clues tell you so?

Story 4

The best thing about the new house was the garden. It was much bigger than the one at the old house and had enough lawn to practise bowling and batting, also two big trees. One wonderful plaything was already there. It hung on long ropes from the branch of the bigger tree, with a smooth wooden seat. Jacob tried it out at once. With a push or two from Mum to get him going, he was soon swooping up in the air till he could almost touch the branch with his toes and could see into the next door garden. Jacob’s little brother Adam was determined to have a go, but Mum said he wouldn’t be safe. He didn’t know how to hold on to the ropes tightly enough. They might have to get him a smaller one like the ones in the nursery playground, with a special seat and safety bars.

What did they find in the new garden? What clues tell you so?

Story 5

Bella was in the middle of her favourite game. The bedroom light had been turned off and Mum had said goodnight, but Bella could see well enough from the backlighting and was playing under the duvet. She was having a competition with her friend about who could get the highest score on Treasure Trail and she was about to beat her own best so far. One more win and she would be in the lead! She gave a shout of triumph without meaning to and at once heard Mum’s footsteps coming up the stairs. Quickly she turned it off and pulled the duvet up around her ears. Mum opened the door and looked in. ‘I hope you aren’t still playing on that wretched thing’ she said. ‘Now go to sleep.’

What was Bella playing on? How you know? What clues tell you so?

Story 6

Sally was looking for something really special for her best friend’s birthday. There was almost too much to choose from. In the end she settled for something that was all about friendship. She chose one with a winter theme, which had a really pretty box. The shop assistant let her open it to check that everything was inside. There were the cords, the beads and charms like snowflakes or tiny Christmas trees and snowmen. The beads were sparkly silver and white. Sally thought that it was just right for Lucy, as her birthday was in December. She could just imagine Lucy wearing it round her wrist.

What is Sally going to give Lucy? How do you know? What clues tell you so?

Level 2

Story 1

It was the afternoon of Evie’s birthday and she was going to be three. It was her first real party and Mum was decorating the room. She had a big box of them to blow up and was beginning to wish she had a pump for the job, instead of blowing them up by mouth. She had done enough for every child to have three, but every so often one would pop and she would have to start counting again. She had to make sure there were plenty of pink ones, as that was Evie’s favourite colour.

What was Mum decorating the room with? How do you know? What clues tell you so?

Story 2

The one in the playground was the best that Noah and Lewis had ever been on. It was a really big one, with safety netting round it so you couldn’t bounce yourself out and onto the ground. Only two people were allowed on at the same time, which Dad said was a good idea. Both boys could bounce pretty high by now and Noah was trying to turn over in the air and land on his feet. They longed to have one of their own, but the garden wasn’t big enough to fit a proper one in.

What were the boys playing on? What clues tell you so?

Story 3

Millie was thrilled with the present her Uncle Jack had brought with him. Inside the box were little pots of paint, paint brushes and a packet of stencils. The label on the box said ‘Garden Set’. The stencils were of ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Introduction
• How to use this book
• Part 1
• Part 2