Southern Nevada Regional
Professional Development
Program
RPDP.net
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Reading Strategies
for Nonfiction
Inferences and Conclusions
Created & Developed by Jill M. Leone
Reading Specialist
Copyright © 2006
RPDP Secondary Literacy
A Quick Review
Previously Discussed
• Main Ideas
• Details
• Cause and Effect
• Fact and Opinion
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We will discuss making –
• inferences and conclusions
• predictions
• judgments
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Have you ever watched a ball
game when one of the top players
was injured?
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Was it a high school team, college,
or a professional team?
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What did you think?
Did you think your team would lose?
Why?
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Probably because past
experience has taught
you that losing a key
player has a big effect on
a team’s performance.
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Every day of our lives,
we make inferences or draw conclusions
based on what we already know.
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If the top player is in the
game today,
our team has a better
chance of winning.
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If he’s injured and out of the game,
the team’s chances of winning
probably aren’t as good.
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What is an inference?
To infer means to figure out something.
An inference is a conclusion you come
to after studying the facts.
We base these inferences
or conclusions on
the information we have.
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Here’s an example:
We see a dog wagging its tail as we
walk toward it.
We draw the conclusion that this dog
must be friendly.
We can’t be absolutely sure that we’re
correct. Maybe the dog is wagging its
tail at someone behind us.
However, the dog’s behavior
suggests that it’s friendly.
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And our prior
knowledge has
demonstrated to us
that dogs who are
unfriendly don’t
wag their tails as
we walk toward
them.
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• We use our previous, or prior knowledge,
and connect it to what’s happening now.
• We do the same thing when we read.
• In reading passages, a conclusion is
usually a decision about information
not stated directly in the written material.
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• Sometimes you need to figure
things out on your own.
• Learn how to use everything you
read and connect it to what you
already know.
• That’s what making an
inference means.
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• Making inferences
is one of the most
important reading
and critical thinking
skills you’ll use in
your lifetime.
• Plus, it’s a skill you’ll
use every day for the
rest of your life.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
When You Read
• Expect to look in more than one
place for answers.
• Use your PRIOR KNOWLEDGE to
decide what makes the most sense.
• Make associations; put key ideas into
your own words.
• READ AND THINK!
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For example:
If you’re reading about the common cold,
think about what you already know –
• How do we catch a cold?
• How can we prevent a cold?
• Is there any cure?
• What can we do to treat the
symptoms?
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Clue Words to Help You Draw
Conclusions
• therefore
• thus
• in conclusion
• as a result of
• in summary
• however
• consequently
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Making Judgments
• This skill is related to inferences.
• We often make judgments on the basis of partial
information.
• Example:
We decide if we’ve studied enough for a quiz, or if
we’ve practiced enough to take our driving test.
• We make judgments based on the information
we have.
• Even if we’re not sure, we make
the best judgment we can.
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The speed limit on a street is 45 mph.
However, the traffic is going about 50
and the roads are clear.
We make a judgment that it’s
safe to drive about 5 miles over
the limit to keep up with traffic.
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• We can often predict future outcomes
from what’s happened in the past.
• Sometimes a writer doesn’t tell you the
ending of a story, but you can figure it
out based on the characters and events.
• A store that advertises every Sunday in
the paper, will probably have an ad in
this Sunday’s paper as well.
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• Predictions involve thoughts
or actions that continue
beyond a reading passage.
• Very often reading tests ask
you to relate the information
in the passage to a new
situation not mentioned in
the passage.
• You connect what you read
to what you already know.
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• Good readers always make guesses
about what they’ll find next in a text.
• Making predictions about where a text
is headed is an important part of reading.
• Sometimes we make wrong guesses.
• Wrong guesses are as much a part of
meaning making as right guesses are.
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Questions covering this skill might ask:
• What is most likely to happen to…?
• What probably happened?
• What is the most likely result?
• What is the least likely outcome?
Check for a pattern of events and
use this information to help you figure
out what’s most likely to happen next.
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Remember to connect what you’re
reading to what you already know.
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Let’s try some practice questions.
Use your prior
Knowledge!
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Rosa’s eyes opened wide. “Sam’s taking Lucy to the
party? You must be wrong! We talked about it last
week. He didn’t actually ask me, but we did talk
about it.” Why would he ask Lucy? He hardly knows
her. I know they work together, but that doesn’t mean
anything.”
Rosa is -
A. unconcerned about Sam and Lucy.
B. enthusiastic and excited about the party.
C. trying to convince herself Sam wouldn’t take Lucy.
D. absolutely certain that Sam isn’t taking
anyone to the party.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Rosa’s eyes opened wide. “Sam’s taking Lucy to the
party? You must be wrong! We talked about it last
week. He didn’t actually ask me, but we did talk
about it.” Why would he ask Lucy? He hardly knows
her. I know they work together, but that doesn’t mean
anything.”
Rosa is -
A. unconcerned about Sam and Lucy.
B. enthusiastic and excited about the party.
C. trying to convince herself Sam wouldn’t take Lucy.
D. absolutely certain that Sam isn’t taking
anyone to the party.
How did you do?
RPDP Secondary Literacy
High up in the hills a man lay sprawled with his back
against a rock. The desert sun beat down fiercely and
he licked his dry lips. The last water had gone three
days ago, but he could only search for more by night,
protected from curious eyes by the darkness.
Which phrase is a clue to the fact that the man is
hiding out?
A. …sprawled with his back against a rock.
B. …water had gone three days ago…
C. …protected from curious eyes by the darkness.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
High up in the hills a man lay sprawled with his back
against a rock. The desert sun beat down fiercely and
he licked his dry lips. The last water had gone three
days ago, but he could only search for more by night,
protected from curious eyes by the darkness.
Which phrase is a clue to the fact that the man is
hiding out?
A. …sprawled with his back against a rock.
B. …water had gone three days ago…
C. …protected from curious eyes by the darkness.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
How did you do?
The cage door stood open when the keeper arrived in the
morning. His first action was to pick up the phone and call
the director. His second action was to look carefully near
the cages, in the kitchen, and under the desk in the office.
Fine beads of perspiration stood out on his face. Then he
checked inside all of the cages.
Which is a clue to the fact than an animal may have
escaped from the zoo?
A.
B.
C.
D.
The keeper calls the director.
The keeper is perspiring.
A cage door is open.
The keeper looks in the office.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
The cage door stood open when the keeper arrived in the
morning. His first action was to pick up the phone and call
the director. His second action was to look carefully near
the cages, in the kitchen, and under the desk in the office.
Fine beads of perspiration stood out on his face. Then he
checked inside all of the cages.
How did you do?
Which is a clue to the fact than an animal may have
escaped from the zoo?
A.
B.
C.
D.
The keeper calls the director.
The keeper is perspiring.
A cage door is open.
The keeper looks in the office.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Max nervously watched Mr. Lopez handing back the
math quizzes. He had studied hard for the quiz,
hoping to do well. Mr. Lopez dropped the paper face
down onto Max’s desk. Max stared at the back of the
paper for almost a full minute before he picked it up.
He looked at the mark at the top of the page and
breathed a sigh of relief. His studying had paid off.
Based on the information in the passage, you
can conclude that Max –
A. had the highest score.
B. passed his math quiz.
C. should have studies more.
D. felt confident about succeeding.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Max nervously watched Mr. Lopez handing back the
math quizzes. He had studied hard for the quiz,
hoping to do well. Mr. Lopez dropped the paper face
down onto Max’s desk. Max stared at the back of the
paper for almost a full minute before he picked it up.
He looked at the mark at the top of the page and
breathed a sigh of relief. His studying had paid off.
Based on the information in the passage, you
can conclude that Max –
A. had the highest score.
B. passed his math quiz.
C. should have studies more.
D. felt confident about succeeding.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
When Luis told Delores he wouldn’t go to the concert
without her, she said she was sorry but she couldn’t go
out that evening. She had made a promise earlier to her
regular babysitting clients, and now she had to go there.
True to his word, Luis refused to go without her and gave
the tickets away. Later that same day, Delores called him
to tell him the good news, but he had to tell her that it was
too late.
Delores called to tell Luis that –
A. she never wanted to see him again.
B. she didn’t like concerts.
C. she preferred babysitting to being with him.
D. she could go to the concert after all.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
When Luis told Delores he wouldn’t go to the concert
without her, she said she was sorry but she couldn’t go
out that evening. She had made a promise earlier to her
regular babysitting clients, and now she had to go there.
True to his word, Luis refused to go without her and gave
the tickets away. Later that same day, Delores called him
to tell him the good news, but he had to tell her that it was
too late.
Delores called to tell Luis that –
A. she never wanted to see him again.
B. she didn’t like concerts.
C. she preferred babysitting to being with him.
D. she could go to the concert after all.
How did you do?
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Today we discussed making• Inferences or conclusions
• Judgments
• Predictions
And using our prior
knowledge
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Copyright Notice
Permission is granted to copy (unmodified) all or
part of this PowerPoint for educational, personal,
non-commercial use off-line as long as the
copyright message (Copyright © 2006 by Jill Leone) is
maintained on the title page. This material may not
be sold, duplicated on other websites, incorporated
in commercial documents or products, or used for
promotional purposes.
Copyright © 2006 by Jill M. Leone
RPDP Secondary Literacy