More on inferring

I had an earlier post talking about how my students struggled with inferring. Shortly after, Roque Ehrhardt de Campos from Brazil e-mailed me a story that also showed the importance of proper inferring.

She was in the middle of the road. The noise of my motorbike frightened her and she didn't know which way to run. She just stood there, immobile, watching the motorbike as it came towards her. Suddenly, when we were side by side on the road, she jumped forward in front of me. I tried to stop the motorbike, but it was too late. The motorbike hit her. We fell to the ground and I landed on top of her. For a moment I held her body in my arms. It was warm and soft. She was trembling with fear and her heart was beating fast. In a second, she was on her feet again. She disappeared into the trees at the side of the road. She wasn't hurt  just frightened. I wasn't hurt either but my motorbike was damaged, so I pushed it into the trees and I started to walk home slowly before it became dark. I felt happy and excited. 

Questions you could ask your students.

1. Who did the man hit?

2. What clues does the story give you to let you come to that conclusion?

3. Did you think something different when you first started reading? Why?

4. Why did you decide that your first guess was wrong?

It also reminds me of the riddle

A boy and his father were in a car accident. The father died immediately and the boy was rushed to the hospital. When he arrived the surgeon said, "I can't operate on this boy he's my son." How is this possible?

1. How is it is possible?

2. Why isn't that the first assumption that people come to?

3. Would this riddle be effective in Spanish? Why or why not?

If you by chance don't know the riddle already or need help understanding the first passage just comment and I'll respond with more details.