Little House on the Pavement: Inference 101

Comprehension Skill - Making Inferences

Learning Goals:
1. I will use text details and life experiences to make inferences about
characters, their feelings, and how those feelings affect their behaviour.
2. I will learn academic language: inferences - the act of reasoning from factual
knowledge or evidence.

Things to remember:
1. Authors do not spell out everything for the reader.
2. The reader must use clues from the text and their prior knowledge to make
inferences.
3. As the reader gets new information, they need to adjust their inferences.

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What does it mean to make an inference? So how do you make an inference?

First, you have to know what one is. An inference is an assumption made based on specific evidence. Someone might say to you, "Nice hair," and you make the inference that the person is being rude and is really insulting you because it was said with a smirk. You infer the implied meaning – the meaning not said directly.

Here is another example, based on a story that we are all familiar with:

One more...

And one more (because I can't resist and I LOVE sticky notes)!

Inference Practice (please read)

Most people are pretty good at figuring out mysteries. If you aren’t you might have trouble answering inference questions. Inference means reading all the clues and making your best guess. You will be surprised at how easy inference can be.

Read the following paragraph then choose the best answer.

Pete and Jeff were hot and sweaty as they sat outside the principal’s office. Dirt smeared both of their faces, and they could hear their teacher’s voice as she gave Mr. Jones her account of what had happened. Pete sneered at Jeff, and Jeff returned the angry glare. As Miss Brown left Mr. Jones’ office, the boys hung their heads so they wouldn’t have to look her in the eye.

From this paragraph you can infer that,

a. Pete and Jeff had disappointed their teacher.

b. Pete and Jeff are sworn enemies.

c. The principal, known for being hard on students, would yell at them both.

A is the correct answer. How do we know that? Let’s look at the clues:

We know the boys were mad at each other, because Pete sneered at Jeff, and Jeff returned the angry glare.

We can guess that they had been fighting, because dirt smeared both of their faces, and they were sitting outside the principal’s office. The biggest clue is in the last sentence: "The boys hung their heads so they wouldn’t have to look her in the eye." They had disappointed their teacher.

Why are the other two answers wrong?

Well, reread the paragraph. It does not say that the boys were best friends, but it doesn’t say they were NOT best friends either. We don’t really know. All we know about the principal is that his name is Mr. Jones. He might be a nice guy, but the paragraph doesn’t give us a clue about what kind of person he is.

The only answer we can infer is that the boys felt that they had disappointed their teacher, because they didn’t want to look her in the eye.

So let's practice our inferring, shall we? Try your hand at the practice inference questions below.

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Inference Assignment

Part 1
Your Task: First, start a new blog post titled "Inference 101". Write a
definition for making an inference. Next, copy and paste this
assignment onto your blog. Using your best inference strategies, make
an inference about the following statements. Please include your
inference as well as the text clue that led you to your decision. The
first two are done for you.

1. I wouldn't eat after that two-year-old if I were you.

Inference: The two-year-old probably did something gross to the food you were
about to eat, or has a cold and you could catch it. Something bad will
happen to you if you eat it because he "I wouldn't" sounds like a
warning!

2. For Valentine’s Day, my fantastic neighbor gave his wife a poem that took him
about two seconds to write. Sheesh.

Inference: My neighbor is not very considerate since he didn't take his time
writing the poem, the text clue that led me to this decision was the
"Sheesh". People usually say "Sheesh" when they are annoyed or
frustrated.

3. A man ran after a retreating bus, waving his briefcase frantically.

Inference:_________________________________________________________________

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4. If she died, I wouldn’t go to her funeral.

Inference:_________________________________________________________________

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5. Jake almost wished that he hadn’t listened to the radio. He went to the closet
and grabbed his umbrella even though he would feel silly carrying it to the bus
stop on such a sunny morning.

Inference:__________________________________________________________________

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6. Hey! What happened to all the school construction money taken from the
taxpayers? It paid for this toilet the money was flushed down.

Inference:___________________________________________________________________

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7. As you give a speech in front of a large audience, you realize that people are
laughing behind their hands and pointing to the region below your waist.

Inference:___________________________________________________________________

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8. No, Honey, I don’t want you to spend a lot of money on my birthday present. Just
having you for a husband is the only gift I need. In fact, I’ll just drive my
old rusty bucket of bolts down to the mall and buy myself a little present. And
if the poor old car doesn't break down, I’ll be back soon.

Inference:___________________________________________________________________

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9. A woman walks into a hospital clutching her abdomen and cursing out her husband,
who trails behind her carrying a large bag.

Inference:___________________________________________________________________

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10. You're driving on the highway, listening to the radio, and a police officer
pulls you over.

Inference:__________________________________________________________________

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Part 2

Underneath your work for part 1, copy and paste a minimum of 3 of the photos displayed below. Please be sure to include a written inference to accompany each of the photographs.

After you have completed that, you are done!! Give yourself a pat on the back, and take some time to visit your classmates' blogs to see their inferences.

Photograph #1