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
If you are looking for some high-interest activities, try using animated shorts to teach inference. Free handouts focus on student learning.
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.
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!
If you are looking for some high-interest activities, try using animated shorts to teach inference. Free handouts focus on student learning.
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...
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.
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.
Understanding the difference between inference and prediction is one of classic challenges in literacy instruction.
6 inference lesson plans that are middle school student approved! Engage your students while helping them practice and develop their inference skills.
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!
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!
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!
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”
Are you ready for the month of March? We are all geared up for some fun learning this month! Our March NO PREP packets are done and we are ready to go!
Looking for the right picture book to teach inferences? Check out my list of making inference mentor texts for the elementary classroom!
$ Money $ 7 Great Titles for Teaching Money 1. Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday By: Judith Viorst 2. "Smart" (poem) from Where The Sidewalk Ends By: Shel Silverstein 3. The Go Around Dollar By: Barbara Adams 4. How the Second Grade Got $8205.50 to Visit the Statue of Liberty By: Nathan Zimelman 5. If You Made a Million By: David Schwartz 6. Money Madness By: David Adler 7. The Case of the Shrunken Allowance By: Joanne Rocklin
Getting Started with Making Inferences Making Inferences or Inferring is a skill that begins in the First Grade. This might sound a little crazy because the level of reading in grade one usually doesn't lend itself to inferring. So... at the beginning of first grade or until they have reached a higher reading level, students
If you are looking for some high-interest activities, try using animated shorts to teach inference. Free handouts focus on student learning.
Free reading sorts for grades 4-5 with idea for implementation! These make perfect reading centers, stations, and independent practice reading activiites.
Download these free inference pictures to help your students work on building their inferencing skills during reading workshop.
Would you like to decorate your classroom with fun, hand-drawn anchor charts/posters? Do you simply not have the time to get them done? Well, you have come to the perfect place! I love making these engaging and appealing anchor charts. I also can draw/create any other topic you would like, just contact me directly and ask! My students absolutely love these posters and references them every day. Many of them are visual learners, so the colorful images really help them connect and remember what they have learned. This particular anchor chart is for readers/writers practicing how to make inferences. My students struggle with this skill every year so this chart really helps them realize that making an inferences is revolved around something that the author has not said yet. It helps them combine what they already know and clues from the text to make their inferences! **These will be copies unless asked otherwise for a custom poster. They are not laminated, and are printed on normal, anchor chart paper. I ship these out ASAP after being ordered, but please keep in mind once shipped, it is outside of my control. Therefore, if shipping does not meet your expectations, I highly encourage you to please reach out to me first, and we have always been able to work something out to make up for anything that may have occurred after I have sent your package, thanks so much!! Hope you love it :)
Using movies, short films or animations in the classroom is extremely engaging for students. I use short films from Pixar Studios to teach a variety of skills
Top 10 Pixar Short Films for teaching middles school literary elements: theme, plot, inference, setting, dialogue, conflict, and more.
Get fun and free inference task cards. They are great as a literacy center station.
There's more to a text than the words themselves.
CONDIZIONE: NuovoSku: PZZLB87468ISBN: 9788832070422Titolo: Piccolo In CittaAutore: Sydney SmithEditore: Orecchio AcerboAnno: 2020Pagine: 44Formato: RilegatoUn bambino attraversa la città. Scende dall'autobus, cammina sul marciapiede ed è piccolo in mezzo a tanti grandi che camminano senza neanche vederlo, frettolosi. Il traffico delle automobili, i grattacieli incombenti e cominciano a cadere anche i primi fiocchi di neve. Una voce fuoricampo accompagna il suo cammino lungo vicoli stretti, inferriate di parchi e davanti a piccoli negozi. Le parole sono affettuosi suggerimenti per chi è piccolo in una città grande: posti in cui trovare qualcosa da mangiare, luoghi in cui trovare un poco di calore o ascoltare buona musica. A chi sa osservare con attenzione, piccoli dettagli si rivelano chiarificatori. Ma il senso ultimo di questo monologo qual è? Un meraviglioso percorso che attraversa una grande città, fatto di palpiti e piccoli passi di bambino, che porta dritto al colpo di scena finale che in una giornata di neve sboccia nel calore di una soluzione piena di tenerezza. Età di lettura: da 5 anni.
Here you will find 4 free pages containing social inferencing, figurative language, social problem solving, social prediction activities targeting older students and teens.These worksheets are part of a larger packet that contains a wider scope of social inferences for our older students.Social infe...
Making inferences worksheets and activities aren't always easy for students, but there are fun ways to teach this challenging reading skill.
Want to do a project centered on emojis? Kids love emojis! Check out this Create Your Own Emoji activity that can be completed in Google Drive.
I started to create an "Inference" pin board on Pinterest recently when I came across a board by Rachel Lynette I repined her pins and started adding others to the collection as well! I couldn't figure out how I could use these pins in my classroom since Pinterest is blocked in my school. (Is it just me or do schools block everything that could be potentially useful besides the boring educational websites?) Then I realized that I could turn my pin board into a PDF file and show it on my promethean board or print a class set and have students make their inferences on separate sheets of paper! In case you do not know how to do this, here are some easy steps! Step one: Pull up your pin board and scroll to the bottom to make sure all the pins have loaded Step two: Click "File" and "Print" in your browser window Step three: When the dialogue box comes up select "PDF" and "Save as a PDF" Step four: Name it something and save it on your computer somewhere safe! Step Five: Locate and open your PDF and feel a sense of accomplishment. The only downside is that sometimes the captions run off on to the next page and I am unsure of how to fix this issue! If you want to check out my Inference Pinterest Board please do! If you are interested in any of my inference lessons: CLICK HERE
Last year, I taught how to make inferences for quite some time. With such an emphasis on close reading, I wanted my students to read between the lines, to dig deeper, and to find out the answer to the question, “what is the author really trying to say?!” I spent a lot of time […]
This post shares 6 read alouds or mentor texts for teaching inferences that are perfect for teaching your students to make inferences.
Unsure of how to teach inference? These fun and engaging inferencing activities for middle school will excite your students!
