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Activate prior knowledge by asking students if they ever wonder what happens to characters in a movie after the movie is over? "Do you ever imagine the story continuing? You are predicting beyond the movie."

will explain that we can also make predictions about what happens at the end of a story, even if we cannot find out whether our predictions are accurate. I will model predicting what happens to the ants in Two Bad Ants by Chris Van Allsburg after they return home. I predict that because there are so many ants, no one really knew the two ants had been gone overnight. I think that the two bad ants were very grateful to be safe at home and never misbehaved again. I am predicting this because the text tells me that the ants were very happy to be home and to give their crystals to the queen.

Ask: How did I make a prediction about what happened after the story ended? Students should respond that you read the text and used the information in the text to make a reasonable prediction about what may have happened after the story.

will read The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins and predict who is at the door at the end of the book (beyond the text). We will explain what evidence from the text helped us make our prediction.

will read the passage “The Two Best Cakes” and write a prediction of what will happen to Mr. Jones and Mr. Diaz. You will explain what evidence in the text helped you make your prediction. (Student Independent Practice is provided below in Teacher and Student Materials.)