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Grade 8: The Earth’s Ransom
Minilesson: Making Inferences
Step 3
Explanation of Cognitive Strategy
Review the following information about Making Inferences:
Students, for Step 3 you will be using the cognitive strategy “Making Inferences” as you
read the websites about the different events that impact the earth. Let’s review what we
know about making inferences.
Review this information and refer to the strategy poster:
What
Inferences are a combination of what the text tells us and what we bring to the text
though our prior experiences and background. When we make an inference, we come up
with a new idea.
Why
Sometimes we have to make inferences because the author doesn’t say everything we
need in order to understand the text so we have to figure it out ourselves!
When
We do this when we want to understand important ideas.
How
Here’s how you do it:
 I think about what the author says about the topic.
 I think about what I already know about the topic.
 Then I tie them together to figure out what I need to know.
Application of Cognitive Strategy
Now let’s apply this strategy to Step 3. Step 3 asks you to explain the causes and effects
of a natural or manmade event from the perspective of your scientist’s role.
As an example let’s look at hurricanes from the role of an anthropologist using the
following website:
http://www.extremescience.com/hurricane.htm
A hurricane is a very powerful type of cyclonic storm. The name "hurricane" is given to storm
systems that develop over the Atlantic or the eastern Pacific Oceans. These same types of
extreme, cyclonic storms also occur in other oceans of the world, but are called by other names.
In the northwest Pacific they're called typhoons, and most of the rest of the world they are called
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cyclones. They all have one thing in common; wind speeds that are usually greater than 75mph,
which travel in an organized pattern, usually a circular pattern with a central depression around
which the storms' energy circulates (called the 'eye of the storm').
These types of storms develop over warm, tropical oceans, deriving their energy from the
evaporation of sea water. Hurricanes weaken as they move over land because they rely on the
warm seas to supply their tremendous energy through evaporation.
http://www.weather.com/encyclopedia/tropical/effect.html provides information about the effects
of hurricanes.
The information in the first website tells me that hurricanes are powerful storms that occur
over warm, tropical oceans.
I know that people do not create hurricanes so I infer that anthropologists will be more
interested in the effects of hurricanes on people.
The information in the second website tells me that the effects of hurricanes include heavy
rains, flooding, storm surges, and strong winds.
I know that these effects can impact people living in the path of a hurricane so I infer that
hurricanes can kill people, destroy homes, and wipe out businesses. Anthropologists would be
interested in studying the impact of hurricanes on people’s lives.
As you determine the causes and effects of these natural and manmade events, keep asking
yourself “What do I know about this information?” and “How does what I know help me to
answer the questions?” Use the website information and what you know to infer your answers.