Practice with Making Inferences #1

Suggestion for classroom use: Read the first sentence but in the second sentence, pause right after reading the phrase,
“Sally can infer that _____________” and have students make an inference.

 Sally arrives at home at 4:30 and knows that her mother does not get off of work until 5. Sally also sees that the lights
are off in their house. Sally can infer that her mother is not yet home.
 Bob knows that Baltimore is known for its crab cakes and Bob is going to a seafood restaurant in Baltimore for dinner
tonight. Bob can infer that the restaurant will likely serve crab cakes.
 Sherry's toddler is in bed upstairs. She hears a bang and crying. Sherry can infer that her toddler fell out of bed.
 John hears a smoke alarm and smells burnt bacon. John can infer that his neighbor burnt her breakfast.
 Jennifer hears her mailbox close and her dog is barking. Jennifer can infer that the postal carrier has delivered her
mail.
 Susannah's co-worker took off the day before and comes in with sunburn. Susannah can infer that her co-worker was
at the local beach.
 Norman sees cookie crumbs on the floor and chocolate around his son's mouth. Norman can infer that his son got
into the cookie jar.
 The floor is covered in shreds of newspaper and Susan's dog has newsprint on his paws. It can be inferred that Susan's
dog ate the newspaper.
 Sarah left a Payless Shoes bag on the floor and is wearing shiny red heels. It can be inferred that Sarah went shoe
shopping.
 A woman walks into a store soaking wet and it is raining. It can be inferred that she does not have an umbrella.
 Julia works at a pet store and owns four cats, a lizard, a dog and a rabbit. It can be inferred that Julia is a pet lover.
 John's house smells of soy sauce and used chopsticks are on the table. It can be inferred that John just ate Chinese
food.
 Karen bought six lottery tickets the previous day and quit work the next day. Her co-workers can infer that she won
the lottery.
 When the phone rang and Liz picked it up, she was all smiles. It can be inferred that she was pleased to receive the
phone call.
 At 5 o'clock Jill saw her assistant's office light out and did not hear the sound of typing. Jill can infer that her assistant
went home.
 After her guests went back for second helpings, Mary could infer that they enjoyed her meal.
 Billy looked out of the window. With the storm raging outside and the rain pouring down, he dropped his kite and
began sobbing. You can infer that he really wanted to fly his kite.
 Ted played games, had cake and ice cream, then watched as his friend opened his gifts. One could infer that Ted was
at a birthday party.
 A baby makes a horrible face after eating something new. The parents can infer he does not like it.
 Wilma took a day off from work and comes in the next day with sunburn. One could infer that she went to the beach.
 If you see someone dressed all in black, you could make several inferences: Some may be: they are Goth, they think
black clothes are slimming, or they are going to a funeral.
 You adopt a puppy from the shelter and he seems nervous and scared. He hides from loud noises and had some
noticeable scars. You can infer that he was abused by his former owner.
 There is an open bag of cheesy puffs and orange powder around your friend’s mouth. You can infer he got into the
cheesy puffs and ate some.
 You arrive at home at 5:00 and the house is dark. You remember that Dad gets off at 6:00. You can infer that he is not
home yet.
 Two cars are stopped at a traffic light. The person in the second is honking and waving. You can infer that the person
wants the other car to move.
 The toilet paper in the bathroom is shredded and one cat had bits of paper sticking to her fur. You can infer that she
played with the toilet paper.
 Watching a man run towards the gate at the airport, one can infer that he is running late for his flight.
 Practice with Making Inferences #2
Suggestion for classroom use: Read the complete story and have students make as many inferences as
possible.
 Could have students do this individually, with a partner, or as a turn & talk activity - sharing and comparing their
answers with a partner after completing the activity on their own.
 Students could make a t-chart with the following labels:
What words from the reading
Your Inference:
make you infer that?

 If you think your students would respond better, consider reading it out loud in chunks, stopping your reading
where the breaks are below and having students infer the events that occurred in the story so far. Continue
reading the next chunk.
 When done, students may need to re-read the whole passage at their own pace for clues– display the entire
story for them to see and have them add anything they might have missed.

Conversation Piece
by Ned Guymon, published 1950.

Chunk “No!” Chunk “What now? ”

#1 “Yes.” #3 “Guess. ”
“You didn’t! ” “Police? ”
“I did. ” “Later. ”
“When? ” “Why later? ”
“Just now. ” “Guess again. ”
“Where? ” “Tell me! ”
“Bedroom.” “Look. ”
“Dead? ” “Oh, no! ”
“Yes. ” “Oh, yes. ”
“You can’t! ”
“I can. ”
Chunk “Why? ” “Please! ”
#2 “You know. ” “Don’t beg. ”
“I don’t! ” “Forgive me! ”
“You do. ” “Too late. ”
“Unfaithful? ” “Good God! ”
“Yes. ” “Goodbye. ”
“With whom? ”
“With you. ”
“No! ” “Operator? ”
“Yes. ” “Yes, sir. ”
“She didn’t…” “The police. ”
“She did. ”
“We didn’t…”
“You did. ”
“You knew? ”
“I knew. ”
“How long? ”
“Long enough. ”