> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://learn-with-alicia.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # What Does the Text Actually Tell Us? - URL: https://learn-with-alicia.ghost.io/what-does-the-text-actually-tell-us/ - Published: 2026-08-28T19:20:57.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-28T19:20:57.000Z - Description: A Grade 6 close-reading workshop where pupils distinguish facts, opinions and assumptions, test interpretations against evidence, and separate what a text says from what a reader adds. - Author: Alicia Lund - Tags: #vbw-grade-6 ### Grade 6 Interactive Reading Workshop ## Short introduction How much can we really know from the information a text gives us? In this Grade 6 Interactive Reading Workshop, pupils read closely, return to the text for evidence, and practise separating facts, opinions and assumptions from ideas a reader may add. The workshop builds directly from the published *Facts and Opinions* lesson and prepares pupils for later work with inference and perspective. Voices Between Worlds · Grade 6 # What Does the Text Actually Tell Us? An interactive reading workshop about evidence, opinions, assumptions, and the difference between what a text says and what a reader adds. Grade 6 Approx. 60 minutes Reading workshop Evidence-focused **Learning objective**I can distinguish facts, opinions and assumptions in a text and use evidence to explain what the text actually tells me. Interactive checks 0 / 12 completed 1 ## Quick retrieval Reactivate the thinking from *Facts and Opinions*. Keep this brief. **A. The classroom has 24 chairs.** FactOpinionAssumption **B. This is the nicest classroom in the school.** FactOpinionAssumption **C. The classroom is empty because everyone has gone home.** FactOpinionAssumption **Reasoning questions**What could we check? · Where is the judgement? · What information is missing? 2 ## Enter the text Notice how quickly a reader can begin filling gaps. Mira looked at her phone while the rest of her group was talking. ### What does the sentence actually tell us? ### What might a reader start to assume? **Reading purpose**As you read, watch what happens to your first ideas when new evidence appears. 3 ## First reading Read for the overall situation first. You will return to the text for evidence. ### The Quiet Table Grade 6 was working in the school library during English. Each group was preparing a small display called **Words That Matter**. They had to choose an English word, explain why it mattered, and find examples of how different people understood it. Mira arrived several minutes after the others had started. She carried a notebook in one hand and her phone in the other. “You're with us,” Theo said, moving a chair away from the table. “We're choosing between *home* and *belonging*.” Mira sat down. “Okay,” she said. Sara showed her a page of notes. “We thought *home* might be easier.” Mira looked at the page, then at her phone. Theo and Sara continued discussing ideas. Mira did not say much. Twice, she put on one earbud and listened to something on her phone. After a few minutes, Theo leaned towards Sara. “I don't think she's very interested,” he whispered. Sara shrugged. “Maybe she's tired.” Mira took off the earbud. “What if we use *home*,” she said, “but compare what different people mean by it?” Theo looked at her. “That's what we're trying to do.” “I know.” Mira turned her phone around. “I asked three people in my family to send me short voice messages. I wanted to hear whether they described home in the same way.” She opened the first recording. A voice said that home was the place where you did not have to explain yourself. The second person described home as people rather than a place. The third talked about a particular kitchen table. Sara smiled. “Those are completely different.” “Exactly,” Mira said. “We could compare them with our own answers.” Theo looked at the notebook beside Mira's phone. Several phrases from the recordings were already written there. “I thought you were messaging someone,” he said. “I was,” Mira replied. “Yesterday. I asked them to help with the project.” A little later, their teacher stopped beside the table. The group explained their idea. “That gives you several perspectives to compare,” she said. “Now decide what evidence you want to include.” After she walked away, Theo picked up a marker. “All right,” he said. “I take back what I said.” Mira looked puzzled. Sara laughed. “We'll explain later.” 4 ## Talk first Discuss before writing. Keep bringing your answers back to evidence. - What did Theo think at first? - What evidence did he have? - What did he not know? - What new information changed his understanding? - Was Theo's first idea impossible — or simply unsupported? **Important distinction**The goal is not “never form an idea.” The goal is to know when your idea goes further than the evidence. 5 ## Interactive Check 1 · What does the text say? Choose **Text says it** or **Reader adds it**. Then use the feedback to return to the text. **1\. Mira arrived after the group had started working.** Text says itReader adds it **2\. Mira was late because she missed the bus.** Text says itReader adds it **3\. Theo thought Mira was not very interested.** Text says itReader adds it **4\. Mira had asked family members to send recordings.** Text says itReader adds it **5\. Mira chose the word *home* because it reminded her of her family.** Text says itReader adds it 6 ## Close reading Follow the movement from observation to interpretation to new evidence. Mira did not say much. Twice, she put on one earbud and listened to something on her phone. “I don't think she's very interested,” Theo whispered. ### Evidence What does Theo actually observe? ### Interpretation What does Theo decide those actions mean? ### Missing information What does Theo not know yet? ### New evidence What later changes his interpretation? **Discuss**Which is stronger: “Mira used her phone twice” or “Mira was not interested”? Why? 7 ## Interactive Check 2 · Fact, Opinion or Assumption? Classify, then explain with evidence, viewpoint, or missing information. **A. Mira brought a notebook and a phone to the table.** FactOpinionAssumption **B. The word *belonging* would make a stronger display than *home*.** FactOpinionAssumption **C. Mira was using her phone because she did not care about the group.** FactOpinionAssumption **D. Three family members sent Mira voice recordings.** FactOpinionAssumption **Reasoning prompts**FACT What evidence supports it? OPINION Where is the judgement or viewpoint? ASSUMPTION What information is missing? 8 ## Assumption investigation Why do assumptions matter? Theo notices real evidence: - Mira arrives later. - Mira says little. - Mira looks at her phone. - Mira uses an earbud. But he turns that evidence into: “She isn't interested.” ### What else could the same evidence mean? With a partner, generate at least three possible explanations. **If several explanations fit the same evidence, what should a careful reader do?**Pause. Look for more evidence. Consider alternatives. Do not treat the first explanation as fact. **Important idea**An assumption does not have to be wrong. It may later turn out to be correct. The problem is treating it as established before enough evidence exists. 9 ## Comprehension through evidence Answer briefly, then compare your response with the evidence guide. **1\. What project is the class working on?**Compare with the text They are preparing a small English display called **Words That Matter**. **2\. Why has Mira asked family members for voice recordings?**Compare with the text She wants to hear whether different people describe *home* in the same way and use the different perspectives in the group's project. **3\. What different ideas about *home* appear in the recordings?**Compare with the text Home is described as a place where you do not have to explain yourself; as people rather than a place; and through the image of a particular kitchen table. **4\. Why does Theo change his mind about Mira? Give at least one piece of evidence.**Compare with the text He learns that Mira had already asked family members for recordings and had written phrases from them in her notebook. This shows that her phone use was connected to the project. 10 ## Final independent assessment Transfer the reasoning to a new text. **Work independently for this section.** Read the text and answer without discussing your classifications with a partner. You may reread, highlight, or use your normal reading support. ### The Poster Tube When Elin arrived at school, there was blue paint on the sleeve of her jacket and she was carrying a long cardboard tube. “You've been busy,” Amir said. Elin placed the tube beside the teacher's desk. “That poster must be for the art competition,” Amir told Liv. Liv looked at the paint. “That blue is a great colour,” she said. “It probably is. And it looks like Elin made it herself.” Elin returned to the table. “The bus was late,” she said. “And the teacher in Room 14 asked me to carry this upstairs because she had too many things.” A few minutes later, the teacher from Room 14 collected the tube. 1\. FACT · Identify one fact supported directly by the text.Evidence: 2\. OPINION · Find one opinion in the text.Why is it an opinion? 3\. ASSUMPTION · Identify one assumption Amir or Liv makes.What information are they missing? 4\. TEXT OR READER? **The text actually tells me…** **A reader might add or assume…** 5\. EVIDENCE CHECK · What new evidence shows that Amir and Liv's first explanation was not supported? Finish assessmentClear assessmentYour answers are not auto-graded. 11 ## Exit sentence Choose one and complete it. **Before I decide what a text means, I should…** **An assumption is different from evidence because…**