Making Inferences

AKA – Being a reading detective

 “Writers give
clues, but readers
have to amass the
evidence and draw
conclusions for
themselves.“
 What is an “inference”?
• Taking what you know and making a guess!

• Drawing personal meaning from text (words) or pictures.

• Inferences are often referred to as what you “reading
between the lines.”
• Inferences are what the author implies or suggests.
• When the author implies something, the reader has to
infer.
You can use clues to come to
your own conclusion.
 When Do We Infer?
All the time!!
• feeling empathy for characters
• laughing at a joke
• discovering an answer to a riddle
• getting a sense about the setting of a story
• reacting to facts
• solving a mystery
How do you MAKE an INFERENCE?
What you

SEE
(Textual/Visual
Evidence)

Your
INFERENCE
(Conclusion/
Prediction)
What you already

KNOW
(Prior Knowledge)
 How do you make inferences?
• Take what you SEE
– (textual/visual evidence)
• Add it to what you ALREADY KNOW
– (prior knowledge)
• Making an INFERENCE includes…
– Drawing a CONCLUSION/GENERALIZATION
– Also—making a PREDICTION
Making Inferences Practice!
For each image you see, use the
INFERENCE PROCESS
to make an inference…
 What you
SEE:

Your INFERENCE
(Conclusion/Prediction):

What you already

KNOW:
 Make an Inference!
What does this image tell you?
 Question…
• What did I already know that
helped me make that inference?
• Did I use a picture or written clues?
 (bumper sticker)

Imagine this bumper sticker on the back of a car—

What can you INFER about the car’s owner?

Imagine this bumper sticker on the back of the SAME car--

What ELSE can you INFER about the car’s owner?

Help Me Make an
Inference!
 More Questions…
• Did you use words, graphs, or
picture clues to help you make a
guess about the meaning of the
cartoon?
Imagine THIS bumper sticker, too—on the back of the SAME car…

What ELSE can you INFER about the car’s owner?

 cc licensed flickr photo by greggoconnell: http://flickr.com/photos/greggoconnell/194691862/
Here’s a picture of the CAR’S OWNER:

•What can you INFER about the owner from this picture?
•WHERE do you think his car is PARKED?
 Try Again!
Can he draw more
than tigers?
Lets do another one!
Look at this book’s cover—and make some inferences:
-What type of story do you think it is? (genre)
-What might it be about? (plot)
 A Simple Inference
If the skies suddenly grow very cloudy
and the wind begins to whip around
your legs, how do you infer?
• You have seen this weather pattern before.

• You have background knowledge about storms.

• You make connections between your

background knowledge and the current
weather pattern.

• Based on these connections, you make a

prediction.
 How Do Good Readers
Make Inferences?
They use:
1. Word/text clues
2. Picture clues
3. Define unknown words
4. Look for emotion (feelings)
5. Use what they already know
6. Look for explanations for events
7. ASK themselves questions!
 What Happens When You Read?
• While you read, your mind:
• Makes guesses

• Finds connecting points

• Asks questions

• Makes predictions

• Personalizes the reading

• Uses background knowledge to interpret

 Mrs. Williams and the Frog
Mrs. Williams has lunch duty. Jacob finds a
frog, picks it up, and runs over to show it to
Mrs. Williams. Mrs. Williams screams, jumps,
and runs as fast as she can into the “E”
building.

• What can you infer from this passage?

• What are the “clues” in this passage?

 Authors vs. Readers
• Authors Imply, Readers Infer.
• Authors make implications that readers
have to infer.
• What do I mean by these statements?
• Good Readers are Detectives who are
always looking out for clues to help them
better understand stories and pictures.
 Now let’s play a game.
1. Divide into equal groups with the teachers in
the room. Approximately, 6 students per
teacher.
2. Then, pick a partner in your group.
3. Finally, your teacher will give you a game
packet for you to play with a partner in your
group.