Making an
Inference
Reading Between the Lines
What Is an Inference?
• An inference is something that you conclude based
partly on evidence and party on your own
knowledge.
• You read something, add what you know to it, and
draw a conclusion.
• You put “two and two together.”
What I Read +
What I Already Know
A character has tears in his
eyes and is walking with his
head down.
People with tears in their
eyes and who hang their
heads are often sad.
=
What I Infer
The character might feel sad.
Tips for Making Inferences
• Make sure your inferences rely mainly on the
author’s words rather than your own feelings.
Your goal is to read the author’s mind, not
invent your own message.
• Check to see if your inference has been
proven wrong by any statements in the story.
• Identify the statements that led you to your
inference. Remember, an inference is an
evidence-based guess.
Making Inferences When Reading
The school is brightly lit, even though it is 7
p.m. Parents rush from the parking lot into the
front door. Inside the school, the principal and
teachers welcome parents and invite them into
their classrooms. Posters hang on the walls of
the school that say, “Welcome Parents.”
Have parents come to the school for a board
meeting or for open house?
What I Read
+
What I Already Know
=
1. The time is 7:00 p.m..
1. Every year, my school has an open
house where parents are invited to visit
and meet teachers.
2. Parents are coming to the school.
2. Open house is held in the evening.
3. Teachers and principal are there
welcoming parents.
3. (Do I know more?)
What I Infer
Have the parents come for a
board meeting or for open
house?
Inference = Parents have come for open house.
Example
Read the following paragraph and answer the questions that follow.
Soledad crept on her toes. The fifth board on the dining room floor creaked like a bullfrog groaning
in the midnight moonlight. She dodged the floor board, gingerly leaping over it. The hardest part about
moving around with such calculated moves was controlling her breathing. Her breath was held in tight like
a well-concealed hand of poker. It was making her heart race, and her racing heart was making her hot.
Soledad could feel the heat in her ears.
She could make out the back of David's head from the end of the dining room to where he was sitting in
the living room. She knew it was him. He always wore his Mets hat everywhere he went. In fact, Soledad
was sure that she hadn't seen him without the cap in at least three years. It was almost a part of his head.
Bull's-eye, she thought to herself. She noted during dinner that her brother David said he planned on
watching a scary movie before he went to bed. That's when the wheels in Soledad's head started to turn.
It had only been a week since she reached into her dirty clothes hamper only to pull out a rubber snake
instead of a tube sock. Before her scream could even reach her lips, she knew that the prank had David's
fingerprints all over it. The laughing from his bedroom confirmed as much.
As she held her breath, she could still hear him laughing. She slowly and quietly reached into her jeans
pocket to pull out the whistle. She clasped it tight in her hands to keep the ball in the whistle from rattling
around. She imagined the sound would rattle around in David's head the same way. She could hardly
contain herself.
She took the whistle in her mouth and finally took a deep breath. Just as she was about to let the
whistle ring, the hat fell forward. David wasn't even there. He had simply left his cap on the couch's back,
and it looked like he was watching television.
Suddenly, the hall closet flung open. David leapt out waving his hands around screaming,
"Brahahahahaha!" Soledad leapt forward onto the couch screaming and falling on David's hat and the
back of the couch.
"You can't get me," David said, "I'm too good!"
Soledad stomped out of the room and up the stairs.
"Sol," David yelled, "I was just kidding! Don't be mad!"
As she walked up the stairs and out of sight of the living room, she pulled out David's Mets hat. She
placed it on her head. I'm not mad at all, she thought to herself.
Based on the events described in
this story, the reader can infer that
Soledad is
A. sleepy.
B. careful.
C. mean.
D. careless.
Answer: B
Think about the way Soledad acts in her
mission to pull a prank on her brother. She is
calculating about the steps and breaths that
she takes. She takes great care to not make
any noise to give away her location as she's
creeping up on David. Even though it's never
stated, this approach takes a great deal of care
and planning.
What can the reader infer by the narrator's
statement, "He had simply left his cap on the
couch, and it looked like he was watching
television"?
A. David is lucky.
B. David is clever.
C. David is angry.
D. David is bossy.
Answer: B
The passage never directly states that David is
clever, but his actions suggest he is so sly
when planning pranks that Soledad never sees
him coming. David seems to get the best of
Soledad. By placing his hat in a position for
Soledad to think it's him and then turning
around and scaring her, it shows how clever
he is at setting up a prank.