Inferences are conclusions a reader has reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning. Inferences are made by taking what the text says (or image/movie shows) and adding your own prior knowledge about life.
Good Readers make inferences all the time. Great readers write their inferences down in annotations (as we learned earlier this quarter). Check out the example below of what those annotated inferences might look like:
Guided Practice:
1. Inference: What are three things you can tell about the person who these feet belong to?
2. Inference: What do you think is in this person’s backpack? Why do you think so?
3.Inference: What do you think the dog did? How do you know?
4.”Like a tank, the old woman made her way up the hill, stopping frequently to rest or pick a wildflower. She huffed and puffed, sometimes seeming to crawl.”
Inference: What can you tell me about this woman’s speed? How do you know?
5. I sat on the bench while Mother and Punch went into the room. I was a little worried about Punch, but I knew that he would get good care. As I waited I watched a tiny puppy wander toward the lady with a cat in a crate. The lady at the desk talked to a man with who was buying medicine. Inference: What is happening in this story? How do you know?
6. The room was dark and quiet. We heard Carl and his mother come in the front door talking. I heard two girls in the corner giggle nervously. Another girl told them to be quiet. I hid behind the table where the cake and presents were set out. The tension in the room grew as we waited for them to open the door. Inference: What is happening in this story? How do you know?
7. Inference: What does the grad think is his graduation gift? What is his gift? How do you know.
8. Inference: What does the boy think when the car starts? How do you know?
9. Inference: Based on the picture below, how would your footsteps sound if you walked this path? How do you know?
10. When Dorothy stood in the doorway and looked around, she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side. Not a tree nor a house broke the broad sweep of flat country that reached to the edge of the sky in all directions. The sun had baked the plowed land into a gray mass, with little cracks running through it. Even the grass was not green, for the sun had burned the tops of the long blades until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere. Once the house had been painted, but the sun blistered the paint and the rains washed it away, and now the house was as dull and gray as everything else. Inference: What is the most common color of the area around Dorothy’s home? Does this sound like a pleasant place?
11. The road was smooth and well paved, now, and the country about was beautiful, so that the travelers rejoiced in leaving the forest far behind, and with it the many dangers they had met in its gloomy shades. Once more they could see fences built beside the road; but these were painted green, and when they came to a small house, in which a farmer evidently lived, that also was painted green. They passed by several of these houses during the afternoon, and sometimes people came to the doors and looked at them as if they would like to ask questions; but no one came near them nor spoke to them because of the great Lion, of which they were very much afraid. The people were all dressed in clothing of a lovely emerald-green color and wore peaked hats like those of the Munchkins. Inferences: What is the most common color of the area around Dorothy’s home? Does this sound like a pleasant place? **TODAY’S CHALLENGE: compare 10 and 11 – What do you think the author is trying to say about these two places?
Additional Online Practice: