This making inference activity and lesson plan will help all of your readers succeed at making inferences and inferring as they independently read in your upper elementary and middle school classrooms. Making inference mentor text included.
If you are looking for some high-interest activities, try using animated shorts to teach inference. Free handouts focus on student learning.
Making inferences worksheets and activities aren't always easy for students, but there are fun ways to teach this challenging reading skill.
This is a fun lesson to engage your kids in making inferences and drawing conclusions. I love to show my kids how what they learn in class relates to the world around them. I start off teaching inferring with lessons about how they already infer all the time with videos, movies, people, etc. Then, w...
Create science notebooks to integrate with your curriculum or Kimberly Scott's Science and STEM Units. We compiled our favorite strategies for before, during, and after the lab to help learn new vocabulary, writing in science and improve class discussions. BUNDLE AND SAVE. The new science standards encourage students to take the lead in their learning. Lessons start with guided questions, which lead to more questions. Notebooking or journaling is a great way to keep everything organized as students investigate the world around them. In our class, we call them Science Brain Folders. They help us organize our new thoughts, vocabulary, and concepts before, during, and after the lab. Included in the Print and Google Slides Bundle Video Tutorial Describes ideas for using the pages. Explains how to create a Science Brain Folder for Phenomenon Based Units. Folder Cover Pages (2 Differentiated Versions with Essential or Driving Questions) My Thoughts Page for students to keep track of new information. Brainstorming Worksheets: KWL, KLEWS, and Brainstorming ABC Vocabulary Activities: Glossary, Discover Activities, Graphic Organizers Observation and Inference Activity Pages: T-Chart, CER Pages, Describing Demos and Pictures from different perspectives. Exit Tickets: 4-Pre-Written and 4-Editable Blank Ones. All worksheets come in PDF and Google Slides. The link for the slides is in each download. We added "Type Here" text boxes to make it easy for teachers to add information ahead of time or for students to complete digitally as a paperless assignment. Please note that the worksheets themselves are not editable. You can type in other information over the worksheets. Teachers will like strategies that help them organize their lessons and give students opportunities to describe new words and concepts in their own way for better comprehension. These strategies are designed to correlate with Kimberly Scott Science and STEM units but can be integrated with any curriculum. Teachers will find them flexible in their teaching. The page margins are set so they can be hole-punched without losing space for the students to write. Students will like having activities that make learning new vocabulary and phenomena fun and accessible. Providing students with a place to store their thoughts helps them be more engaged, review information during labs, improve class discussions, and assess their own learning at the end of the unit. Please see each product description for exact details on what is included. Science Journal Notebook Brainstorming Activity Templates | Graphic Organizers Science Journal Notebook VocabularyActivity Templates | Graphic Organizers Observation and Inference Science Templates | Graphic Organizers | Print Digital Science Notebook Exit Ticket Slips | Print Or Digital | 4 Templates and Editable You might also like Science Themed Group Labels| Table Signs Bins Posters Science Reading Comprehension Passages and Activities Bundle | Digital or Print Science Experiment Journal Template | Digital Or Print | K-8th Grade Bundle Remember, leaving feedback earns you points toward FREE TPT purchases. We love hearing how the activity went. Also, follow us and be notified when new explorations are uploaded and deals. Please contact us with any questions! We are here to help. Yours in Science, Kimberly Scott
If you are looking for some high-interest activities, try using animated shorts to teach inference. Free handouts focus on student learning.
Making inferences worksheets and activities aren't always easy for students, but there are fun ways to teach this challenging reading skill.
With the Common Core Standards in place, students are being asked more and more to use critical thinking skills to analyze literary and informational text. Inference is a prime example of a critical thinking skill used in classrooms today. Students are asked to read text and analyze it by
In today's post, I'll share ideas for teaching inferring through a gradual release of responsibility. Make sure to read all the way through the post, because there are several different freebies you can download and use right away!
Find fantastic resources for teaching inferences (with free mini lesson). The resources are ideal for 4th graders but also features ideas for grades 1-3.
Create science notebooks to integrate with your curriculum or Kimberly Scott's Science and STEM Units. We compiled our favorite strategies for before, during, and after the lab to help learn new vocabulary, writing in science and improve class discussions. BUNDLE AND SAVE. The new science standards encourage students to take the lead in their learning. Lessons start with guided questions, which lead to more questions. Notebooking or journaling is a great way to keep everything organized as students investigate the world around them. In our class, we call them Science Brain Folders. They help us organize our new thoughts, vocabulary, and concepts before, during, and after the lab. Included in the Print and Google Slides Bundle Video Tutorial Describes ideas for using the pages. Explains how to create a Science Brain Folder for Phenomenon Based Units. Folder Cover Pages (2 Differentiated Versions with Essential or Driving Questions) My Thoughts Page for students to keep track of new information. Brainstorming Worksheets: KWL, KLEWS, and Brainstorming ABC Vocabulary Activities: Glossary, Discover Activities, Graphic Organizers Observation and Inference Activity Pages: T-Chart, CER Pages, Describing Demos and Pictures from different perspectives. Exit Tickets: 4-Pre-Written and 4-Editable Blank Ones. All worksheets come in PDF and Google Slides. The link for the slides is in each download. We added "Type Here" text boxes to make it easy for teachers to add information ahead of time or for students to complete digitally as a paperless assignment. Please note that the worksheets themselves are not editable. You can type in other information over the worksheets. Teachers will like strategies that help them organize their lessons and give students opportunities to describe new words and concepts in their own way for better comprehension. These strategies are designed to correlate with Kimberly Scott Science and STEM units but can be integrated with any curriculum. Teachers will find them flexible in their teaching. The page margins are set so they can be hole-punched without losing space for the students to write. Students will like having activities that make learning new vocabulary and phenomena fun and accessible. Providing students with a place to store their thoughts helps them be more engaged, review information during labs, improve class discussions, and assess their own learning at the end of the unit. Please see each product description for exact details on what is included. Science Journal Notebook Brainstorming Activity Templates | Graphic Organizers Science Journal Notebook VocabularyActivity Templates | Graphic Organizers Observation and Inference Science Templates | Graphic Organizers | Print Digital Science Notebook Exit Ticket Slips | Print Or Digital | 4 Templates and Editable You might also like Science Themed Group Labels| Table Signs Bins Posters Science Reading Comprehension Passages and Activities Bundle | Digital or Print Science Experiment Journal Template | Digital Or Print | K-8th Grade Bundle Remember, leaving feedback earns you points toward FREE TPT purchases. We love hearing how the activity went. Also, follow us and be notified when new explorations are uploaded and deals. Please contact us with any questions! We are here to help. Yours in Science, Kimberly Scott
Making inferences worksheets and activities aren't always easy for students, but there are fun ways to teach this challenging reading skill.
The freebies have moved! Instead of having the freebies in a separate resource library, we have put all of our freebies in our shop. You can find the freebies by clicking right here!
Teaching from a book can be quite a challenge. Sometimes you really have to dig to find good examples. Luckily for you, I have made things a bit easier by creating mini passages that feature three built-in inferences each. Don't forget to sign up for the Newsletter to receive a FREE Making Inferences Resource
This resource is an Observation and Photo Inference Activity. There are 10 pictures to complete this activity! For each picture, students will make an observation, an inference and a prediction. Suggested uses: - Independent work - Group activity - Formative assessment - Gallery walk - Virtual learning - Bell ringer Observation and Photo Inference Activity
Making inferences worksheets and activities aren't always easy for students, but there are fun ways to teach this challenging reading skill.
By Presto Plans When you ask students to describe a character’s traits, determine the theme of a story, examine cause and effect, or even to try to guess the meaning of a vocabulary word, you are asking them to infer. Inference is an essential skill in English language arts, but sometimes we overlook the importance of intentionally providing the tools, strategies, and practice that students require to improve this skill. 1. BUILD A FRAMEWORK FOR EXAMINING INFERENCES According to Marzano, there are certain thinking and reasoning processes that have come to be recognized as “foundational to higher-order thinking” and inference is one of them. Not only that, but it is skill that is integral to comprehension in the ELA classroom. Students might not realize it, but they are actually making inferences all the time, which essentially means that they are making assumptions, educated guesses, and/or predictions based on the information they have or know from personal experience or their own background knowledge. Grab these free classroom posters to remind students of the meaning of inference as well as thinking/discussion stems they can use when they are inferring information. In order for students to understand how to infer, they first need to be instructed on what inference is and be given opportunities to practice this skill. The hope is that with this practice, students will hone this skill and begin using it automatically. To build this skill, there are four questions that Marzano suggests teachers pose to students to generate meaningful conversation and instruction around teaching inference: - What is my inference? - What information did I use to make this inference? - How good was my thinking? - Do I need to change my thinking? Weave these questions into your instruction, questions, assignments, and language to help students build capacity in inferential thinking. 2. TEACH STUDENTS TO SHOW VS. TELL Teaching students how to write using the Show vs. Tell method is an excellent way to introduce inferential thinking as it allows them to experience how authors use description and imagery that allow the reader to deduce information. Students will be able to see through the writing process that when an author is showing something, they are relaying thoughts, feelings, emotions, senses, and descriptions in the text in a deeper and more meaningful way. One of my favorite ways to get students to understand the difference between showing and telling is to have students write a paragraph about a time that they felt a very strong emotion (anger, excitement, sadness, joy, disgust, surprise), but tell them that they are not permitted to use that specific word (or synonyms for that word in the paragraph). Instead, they must show the reader this emotion through character, setting, and conflict descriptions. For example, Students will find this exercise challenging, but it will help them understand the meaning of inference and hopefully will have an impact on how they read between the lines of other texts they encounter. 3. INTEGRATE REAL-WORLD INFERENCES Students may not know that they are making inferences about others on a daily basis and, in turn, others are making inferences about them as well. Bringing real-world examples into your classroom activities will help students see that inference is not limited to text analysis. Below are a couple of my favorite ways to do this: - SOCIAL MEDIA A lot can be inferred from a Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram profile. Have students examine random social media profiles to make inferences about the people based on what that person posts, shares, and comments. I like to share these pre-made profiles and have students examine what they read, what they know, and what they can infer. You can also discuss the idea of “vaguebooking” with students. Vaguebook updates are intentionally vague Facebook status updates that prompt friends to ask what's going on. For example someone might post “Ouchhhhh!!! I can’t believe how incredibly clumsy I am… UGH. Off to the ER…” They intentionally are fishing for someone to comment to ask what is going on or, at the very least, are getting their friends to infer what might be happening. This makes for a perfect inference activity as students need to use the information they know about their friend to infer what the post may be about. I share these vague status updates I created as a fun classroom activity to practice making inferences. - MUSIC Another great way to speak your students’ language is to incorporate music lyrics that require inferences into your teaching. There are many songs that tell a story, but what exactly happens is not explicitly stated. These songs are perfect to practice inference as they encourage students to look closely at the lyrics to infer what is going on. Some songs that I like to use are: Two Black Cadillacs by Carrie Underwood Someone Like You by Adele Teardrops on my Guitar by Taylor Swift Some of these songs do have mature content and topics and work best for high school. It’s also important that you look at the lyrics carefully to ensure they are appropriate for your grade level or school community. 4 INCORPORATE VIDEO A unique and fun way to improve inference skills is to have students watch short films that have no words and infer what is happening based on what they’ve watched. One of my favorite video clips to use are the Hungarian Shadow Dancers who were featured on Britain’s Got Talent. Here are two performances you can use: The dances have absolutely no words, but audience members are brought to tears because of what they infer from the performances. Have students create a three column table where they record what they see (consider location, events, people), what they know from their background knowledge and then what they infer from the performance. If you have a younger audience, Pixar makes amazing short, silent, animated films that would also work perfect for this. I recommend starting with the film, Partly Cloudy. 5. INFER INFORMATION FROM IMAGES - WHAT'S GOING ON IN THIS PICTURE? Since 2012, The New York Times has been helping students fine tune their close reading and visual thinking skills through their popular “What’s Going On in This Picture?” feature, with incredible success. Together, with arts education organization Visual Thinking Strategies, they have attracted the interest of—not only thousands of students from all over the world—but the participation of entire classrooms. Here is a curated list of their 40 most popular/favourites to give you an idea if you are unfamiliar. Each week an interesting New York Times photo is selected with all captions and context removed, and students are challenged to look closely and infer what they think is going on in the photo. Students are asked to support their inferences with “evidence”, elaborating on what made them draw the conclusions they did, and to look even closer to see what else they might be able to find. They are also encouraged to consider the observations of others and respond thoughtfully. A few days after the photo is posted each week, more information is revealed about it. Students are then able to reflect on whether knowing more about the photo changes the way they see it, and if so, how. The goal is to get students “engaged in a writing or discussion activity”, and to ultimately foster their “writing, thinking, speaking and listening” skills. - MISSING CAMERA MYSTERY ACTIVITY It’s something you may have seen on social media - a lost camera or even just a memory card has been found, and someone posts the photos online in hopes of returning the presumably priceless memories to their rightful owner. One can make a lot of educated guesses about a stranger based on their photos alone, and in some cases those inferences might even lead to the camera’s return to its rightful owner. For example, you might see a logo on someone’s t-shirt and be able to determine their place of work, you might see a street sign in the background and be able to guess where they live. You might see a photo of a group celebrating a birthday at a popular restaurant or someone enjoying a yoga class at a popular studio. These are all clues that allow one to play detective, and hopefully a successful one. You can easily bring this experience into the classroom by having students play detective by giving them lost pictures from a missing camera and having them make inferences about the owner based on those images. They might be pictures of a wedding day, or grandparents meeting their precious grandchild for the first time; a once in a lifetime family vacation or a milestone birthday celebration. Whatever the case may be, you don’t have to know the people to gather some information on the camera’s owner. 6. USE SHORT STORIES THAT REQUIRE INFERENCE - THE CHASER BY JOHN COLLIER One of my favorite stories to teach inference is The Chaser by John Collier. The story is about a young man named Alan who is desperate to make a woman named Diana fall in love with him. So desperate, in fact, that he is willing to use a love potion! The story requires students make a great deal of inferences to piece together what exactly happens at the end of the plot. - ORDEAL BY CHEQUE BY WITHER CRUE Another great story to use is Visual story Ordeal by Cheque by Wuther Crue. This isn’t your traditional short story as the story is told entirely with images of cheques. Students must interpret the plot line, characters, and conflict based solely on the information shared on the cheques (the date, who it was made out to, who issued the cheque, and the amount it was for etc.). Put students into groups and have them piece together the story and present their inferences to the rest of the class. 7. HAVE STUDENTS SOLVE A MYSTERY Who doesn’t love a good mystery? Your students will love having the opportunity to get their collective Sherlock Holmes on by working together to solve a real-world mystery. One of my favorite real-world mysteries occurred in 1978 when a construction crew uncovered a buried ship underground in the middle of downtown. Students watch a hand-drawn video that tells the backstory, and speculate on the purpose the ship once served, who owned it, and why it remained buried for so many years without being discovered. Another way to have students solve a mystery is to present them with a crime and have them play detective. You can either do this by setting up a crime scene in the classroom and have them infer what happened. You can also share information, evidence, witness testimonies, and have students weave a story together and solve a crime. Try this out for free using my Who Kidnapped the Principal? resource. 8. SEARCH THROUGH THE TRASH Let’s be honest, most people don’t sit around pondering what could be deduced about them based on the contents of their trash. But your trash can actually reveal a lot about your interests, preferences, activities, and household routines. Another fun activity you can use to help students practice inference is to have them examine the contents of someone else’s trash to make inferences about that person based on their own background knowledge. Bring in some bags of "clean trash" and have students create a character sketch of the person it could belong to. Inference is a necessary 21st century skill that many students struggle with, but it can be developed over time, with practice. Inference skills improve the ability to bridge gaps in information and improve reading comprehension. By implementing creative ways to get students comfortable with inferring, they will realize that it isn’t as complicated as they may think. Need other ideas for teaching students to infer? Check out some of the other Coffee Shop blogger ideas below! Black Cat Inferences Challenge by Nouvelle ELA Teaching the Process of Literary Analysis Activities and Strategies by Room 213
Making inferences worksheets and activities aren't always easy for students, but there are fun ways to teach this challenging reading skill.
Inferences are my favorite! There are so many fun ways to teach students how to infer during reading. It requires some higher order thinking skills, so it can be difficult for students to grasp. I have some ways and ideas to make teaching making inferences super fun and engaging! Making inferences is almost like being a reading detective who has to solve a case. The author might not directly state something in a text. The reader has to use the text evidence, along with their schema, to make an inference. Making inferences can also help a student draw a conclusion. Making Inferences Worksheets, Activities, and Crafts I like to kick off the unit with a Pixar short film. (You can find lots of these on YouTube.) I actually show one to kick off each day of the unit as an attention grabber. They are super quick, fun, and get the students thinking. They are inferring and don't even realize it yet. This is a great one to use, but there are tons more out there that would work. You will want to stop throughout the film to ask students inferential questions. As with every new concept, I always make an anchor chart for us to refer to all throughout the unit. I introduce inferences with this chart, and then I have the students talk about it. I then chant the parts of how to make an inference with a motion for each part and have the students echo me. We do this a lot! After about a week of doing that, they will know what an inference is for the rest of the year! It's crazy how it helps them remember! You can just randomly ask them during the year, and they can use the terminology and everything. They're amazing! Since first writing this blog post, I have updated my resources that I use. Here is a new anchor chart I have created that you can print as a poster, along with some posters that you can display during the unit. Another fun activity that I love to do to begin a lesson is the Mystery Bag. I put something in the bag and students have to infer what is in the bag based on the clues I give them. I try to make the object in the bag be something that goes along with the story we are reading. The character on the anchor chart from above is Miss Nelson from Miss Nelson is Missing. That is the first book I use as a read aloud for my students to practice making inferences. Make sure they have not read it before. If someone has heard it, tell them to keep what happens a secret! This book is perfect for making inferences. I use it first because there are always students who have read it before, so I like to use it for the whole group introduction. As I am reading the book, I am completing a graphic organizer, modeling how to properly make an inference and record my clues and schema. Students are filling one out with me on their clipboards at the carpet. You could even make an anchor chart you fill out by sharing the pen, but I like to use one of these to make them familiar with the format. We added the graphic organizer to this fun Miss Swamp craft. I can't help but love Miss Swamp. During my inference unit, I like to incorporate lots of different books and read alouds. These are some of my all time favorites. Chris Van Allsburg may be my favorite author. His books are so mysterious and amazing! So much inferring is required! The following day, I start releasing a little more independence. We, of course, repeat over and over what it means to make an inference using whole brain strategies. We do another story and craft, and then they participate in a cooperative group activity. If time is an issue for you, you could have them do this during small group instruction or even during centers. It would also be a great early finisher activity students could easily grab and work on. I create 3 or 4 case files like the one below and fill each with graphic organizers and a book or passage. Students read the book or passage inside and complete the graphic organizer together. The first time I do this unit, I like to use all picture books. When I do this unit again, I might vary it with other books and passages. The great thing about my inference pack is that you can use it over and over throughout the year. There are too many activities to fit in one week. I like to put a question in which they have to infer in the file. It gives them a purpose and keeps them focused. It's the "CASE" they have to solve! Below are a few different graphic organizers you can use with any read aloud for making inferences. Students wear these little name badges while working. They fit in a name badge holder or you could just paper clip them to their shirts. I also give them bookmarks to use for their independent reading books. I love to incorporate crafts into my instruction. Below are some other books that are great for making inferences. Piggie Pie and Corduroy are great for having students feel like they have to solve a mystery in the story. At the end of each lesson, I try to do some sort of exit ticket to check their understanding. I may read a short passage or story and ask them an inferring question about it. They write their inference on a slip of paper and clip it up. Last year, I had a board for exit tickets. Each student had a clip for their exit ticket. It was quick and simple. It's also really great for observations! I have actually done some of these activities for observations, and my administrators always really love it! I have gotten great scores because of the rigor, pacing, and variety of activities and assessments. I hope this helps you out and makes teaching inferences easier and more fun for you and your students! If you need any of these inference activities, click the pic below. It's been a busy but fun weekend. Fall has definitely been in the air! I went with some teacher friends to the Nashville GoNoodle meet-up. It was so fun! Mr. Catman was there, so that was really cool to sees the man behind the mask! Go Noodle has been a lifesaver in the classroom, so it was really fun to see the people behind such an amazing site. I also went to the Strawberry Patch Barn Sale in Hartsville, Tennessee with my mom, sister, and friend. So many fun booths and yummy food. It definitely made me excited for fall!
Looking for new and fun ideas to help teach making inferences? I've got 5 engaging mini-lesson ideas for you to try in your elementary classroom!
Enhance your core reading program with leveled selections and activities focusing on comprehension, vocabulary, and other essential reading skills. Over 20 stories covering various topics are correlated to specific Lexile levels ranging from 330-480. Reproducible stories are followed by skill pages for group and independent activities. Worksheets cover inferring, drawing conclusions, synonyms, recalling information, critical thinking, writing complete sentences, using picture clues, and more. 156 pages, softcover, with an answer key. Grade 2.
How to teach Making InferencesUsing Reading Between The Lines Inference Activity, students match the Statement Card to the Emotion Card to build their inference skills.As students read, making inferences is one of the reading comprehension skill they will use the most. This activity will help your ...
Making inferences worksheets and activities aren't always easy for students, but there are fun ways to teach this challenging reading skill.
Making inferences is an important skill that learners need to have as they comprehend text. Making inferences takes comprehension to a deeper level than just the surface. Find more comprehension strategies paired with picture books in our Comprehension Reading Strategies series. *This post contains affiliate links. Why Making Inferences Can be Tricky Now, making ... Read More about Making Inferences using “My Lucky Day”
Use this free cut and paste worksheet in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade for your making inferences / inferencing lesson plans.
Make sure your students are being challenged when they are making inferences with these inference worksheets & activities for middle school!
If you are looking for some high-interest activities, try using animated shorts to teach inference. Free handouts focus on student learning.
Need some tips and ideas on how to teach making inferences in your elementary classroom? I've got some great ideas and activities to share!
Unsure of how to teach inference? These fun and engaging inferencing activities for middle school will excite your students!
Free reading sorts for grades 4-5 with idea for implementation! These make perfect reading centers, stations, and independent practice reading activiites.
Are you looking for inference pictures that specifically target looking at how other’s might be feeling? These feelings inference pictures will help your students begin to identify how other’s might be feeling by looking at clues … What’s happening in the pictures? What do their facial expression & body tell us? How do you know the person is feeing that way? What’s included in this Inference Pictures resource? The 20 Inference Pictures come in three different versions: 1.PowerPoint Presentation - Pictures with questions prompts 2.Half Page Pictures without question prompts 3.Half Page Pictures with question prompts Help your students develop empathy and understanding when it comes to other’s feelings and emotions by using inference pictures! Did you know this product is part of my IDENTIFYING FEELINGS BUNDLE?
Making inferences worksheets and activities aren't always easy for students, but there are fun ways to teach this challenging reading skill.
Close Reading Digital Mystery Inference Activity - Who Stole the School Keys?: Engage your students with a captivating digital close reading inference activity that challenges them to explore and find text evidence, make inferences, and read more closely. This resource provides all the necessary materials to facilitate this fun and creative reading activity in your classroom. Students will have the opportunity to work collaboratively, enhancing their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills as they unravel the mystery together. Mr. Smith, a high school principal, is so protective over his school that he doesn’t allow anyone else to have a key to the building. One day, it goes missing, and Mr. Smith begins to panic. Someone stole the school key, and your students need to determine who did it. This is a Google-compatible activity, and students complete all the work on the computer. This works well with distance learning, 1:1 classrooms, remote teaching, Google Classroom, or for online education. This is included in our best-selling full-year reading program: >>> Reading Mysteries Digital Program Included In This Digital Close Reading Inference Mystery Activity: ➡️ Inference Mystery Google Slides: This 15-slide Google Slides presentation serves as the guide for the activity, leading students through the mystery with a captivating backstory, detailed evidence, and thorough explanations for each suspect's innocence or guilt. The slides are crafted to engage students and encourage critical thinking as they analyze the clues and find text evidence. ➡️ Original Narrative Backstory: Use this short story to introduce the mystery. Within the story are hidden clues and subtle hints, and the narrative will engage students' curiosity and initiate the mystery. ➡️ A Variety of Digital Clues and Evidence: Students will receive a variety of texts in different forms that include digital clues and evidence. Students must read the text closely and use their inference skills to analyze each of the clues. ➡️ Text Evidence Digital Graphic Organizer: Students will use the provided digital graphic organizer to organize their findings and evaluate the guilt or innocence of each suspect. This tool encourages students to support their conclusions with text evidence from the investigation. There is a student suspension notice, a formal complaint, a transcript of school announcements, text messages, an email, an intramural sports schedule, and a juvenile detention admittance form. ➡️ Teacher Answer Key: Use the detailed answer key integrated within the Google Slides to efficiently review students' work and share the reasons for each suspect's innocence or guilt. How The Digital Close Reading Inference Mystery Activity Works: Use the Google Slides to guide you through each element of the lesson. The slides will help you introduce the story and evidence to each of the groups. Share all the evidence with students and allow them time to make their predictions and inferences and solve the mystery. Once each group has made their final prediction, use the Google Slides to reveal the culprit and go through each of the suspects to show the evidence of their innocence or guilt. If you like this, you’ll love this resource: >>> Inference Activities Bundle © Presto Plans ➡️ Want 10 free ELA resources sent to your inbox? Click here! ⭐️ Follow Presto Plans on TpT to see what's new and on sale.
Making inferences worksheets and activities aren't always easy for students, but there are fun ways to teach this challenging reading skill.
Making inferences worksheets and activities aren't always easy for students, but there are fun ways to teach this challenging reading skill.
Hi, I'm Magy. I love reading and writing, and I love to teach reading and writing. Currently, I'm a K-8 Reading Specialist, but I've also taught in High
Inferences are my favorite! There are so many fun ways to teach students how to infer during reading. It requires some higher order thinking skills, so it can be difficult for students to grasp. I have some ways and ideas to make teaching making inferences super fun and engaging! Making inferences is almost like being a reading detective who has to solve a case. The author might not directly state something in a text. The reader has to use the text evidence, along with their schema, to make an inference. Making inferences can also help a student draw a conclusion. Making Inferences Worksheets, Activities, and Crafts I like to kick off the unit with a Pixar short film. (You can find lots of these on YouTube.) I actually show one to kick off each day of the unit as an attention grabber. They are super quick, fun, and get the students thinking. They are inferring and don't even realize it yet. This is a great one to use, but there are tons more out there that would work. You will want to stop throughout the film to ask students inferential questions. As with every new concept, I always make an anchor chart for us to refer to all throughout the unit. I introduce inferences with this chart, and then I have the students talk about it. I then chant the parts of how to make an inference with a motion for each part and have the students echo me. We do this a lot! After about a week of doing that, they will know what an inference is for the rest of the year! It's crazy how it helps them remember! You can just randomly ask them during the year, and they can use the terminology and everything. They're amazing! Since first writing this blog post, I have updated my resources that I use. Here is a new anchor chart I have created that you can print as a poster, along with some posters that you can display during the unit. Another fun activity that I love to do to begin a lesson is the Mystery Bag. I put something in the bag and students have to infer what is in the bag based on the clues I give them. I try to make the object in the bag be something that goes along with the story we are reading. The character on the anchor chart from above is Miss Nelson from Miss Nelson is Missing. That is the first book I use as a read aloud for my students to practice making inferences. Make sure they have not read it before. If someone has heard it, tell them to keep what happens a secret! This book is perfect for making inferences. I use it first because there are always students who have read it before, so I like to use it for the whole group introduction. As I am reading the book, I am completing a graphic organizer, modeling how to properly make an inference and record my clues and schema. Students are filling one out with me on their clipboards at the carpet. You could even make an anchor chart you fill out by sharing the pen, but I like to use one of these to make them familiar with the format. We added the graphic organizer to this fun Miss Swamp craft. I can't help but love Miss Swamp. During my inference unit, I like to incorporate lots of different books and read alouds. These are some of my all time favorites. Chris Van Allsburg may be my favorite author. His books are so mysterious and amazing! So much inferring is required! The following day, I start releasing a little more independence. We, of course, repeat over and over what it means to make an inference using whole brain strategies. We do another story and craft, and then they participate in a cooperative group activity. If time is an issue for you, you could have them do this during small group instruction or even during centers. It would also be a great early finisher activity students could easily grab and work on. I create 3 or 4 case files like the one below and fill each with graphic organizers and a book or passage. Students read the book or passage inside and complete the graphic organizer together. The first time I do this unit, I like to use all picture books. When I do this unit again, I might vary it with other books and passages. The great thing about my inference pack is that you can use it over and over throughout the year. There are too many activities to fit in one week. I like to put a question in which they have to infer in the file. It gives them a purpose and keeps them focused. It's the "CASE" they have to solve! Below are a few different graphic organizers you can use with any read aloud for making inferences. Students wear these little name badges while working. They fit in a name badge holder or you could just paper clip them to their shirts. I also give them bookmarks to use for their independent reading books. I love to incorporate crafts into my instruction. Below are some other books that are great for making inferences. Piggie Pie and Corduroy are great for having students feel like they have to solve a mystery in the story. At the end of each lesson, I try to do some sort of exit ticket to check their understanding. I may read a short passage or story and ask them an inferring question about it. They write their inference on a slip of paper and clip it up. Last year, I had a board for exit tickets. Each student had a clip for their exit ticket. It was quick and simple. It's also really great for observations! I have actually done some of these activities for observations, and my administrators always really love it! I have gotten great scores because of the rigor, pacing, and variety of activities and assessments. I hope this helps you out and makes teaching inferences easier and more fun for you and your students! If you need any of these inference activities, click the pic below. It's been a busy but fun weekend. Fall has definitely been in the air! I went with some teacher friends to the Nashville GoNoodle meet-up. It was so fun! Mr. Catman was there, so that was really cool to sees the man behind the mask! Go Noodle has been a lifesaver in the classroom, so it was really fun to see the people behind such an amazing site. I also went to the Strawberry Patch Barn Sale in Hartsville, Tennessee with my mom, sister, and friend. So many fun booths and yummy food. It definitely made me excited for fall!