Making Inferences
Inference
• Take what you know and make a
guess!
• Draw personal meaning from text
(words) or pictures.
• You use clues to come to your own
conclusion.
Make an Inference!
• What does this image tell me?
Question…
• What did I already know that
helped me make that inference?
• Did I use a picture or written clues?
Help Me Make an
Inference!
More Questions…
• Did you use words, graphs, or
picture clues to help you make a
guess about what that cartoon
meant?
Try Again!
• Can he draw more
than tigers?
• Look up words you
don’t know!
Make 1 more Inference
How Do Good Readers Make
Inferences?
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They use:
Word/text clues
Picture clues
Define unknown words
Look for emotion (feelings)
Use what they already know
Look for explanations for events
ASK themselves questions!
Make Another Inference
• Miss White has recess duty. Jacob finds a
frog, picks it up, and runs over to show it
to Miss White. Miss White screams,
jumps, and runs as fast as she can into
the school.
• What can you infer from this passage?
• What are the “clues” in this passage?
Authors vs. Readers
• Authors Imply, Readers Infer.
• Authors make implications that readers
have to infer.
• What do I mean by these statements?
• Good Readers are Detectives who are
always looking out for clues to help them
better understand stories and pictures.
Drawing Conclusions
Drawing Conclusions
• Authors don’t always tell you everything. They may give you a
few details about what happens in the story or about the
characters.
• You can use the details and what you know to draw
conclusions.
• A conclusion is a decision you reach that makes sense after
you think about the details or facts that you have read.
Wash Publishing Co. 2009
Drawing Conclusions
• A conclusion is a decision or judgment based on
information. Good readers try to draw conclusions as
they read based on the information the writer gives
and on what they know from their own experiences.
• We use our observations as well as what we already
know to draw conclusions.
• Authors don’t usually tell readers what to think
about a story’s facts and details.
• Let’s look at a situation…
Drawing Conclusions
• Situation: Brad said, “The smell of
popcorn filled the air. I heard the
audience laughing. “
What conclusion can you draw?
Did you conclude that Brad
was at the movies?
Drawing Conclusions
• Brad added, “People were buying
peanuts and cotton candy. They
cheered for the man with the ball.
Does this new information change things?
What is your conclusion?
Did you conclude that Brad was at a
baseball game?
Drawing Conclusions
• Brad added, “I even heard loud roars
that sounded like lions. The elephants
marched around the ring.”
What is your conclusion now?
You can conclude that Brad is at
the circus!
Drawing Conclusions
• When we draw a conclusion, it is based on
evidence and our knowledge about things.
• Sometimes, one piece of information isn’t
enough to make a correct conclusion.
• Brad could have been at the movies. But then
we learned more. He could have been at a
baseball game. With our new evidence, we
can draw the conclusion that he is at the
circus.
You draw conclusions every day about
incidents you witness, information you
gather or about texts you read.
If you see smoke filtering out of the
kitchen and the smoke alarm is buzzing,
what conclusion would you draw? There
is a fire in the kitchen!
Read the following paragraph carefully so you will be able to draw conclusions:
A crash of thunder had awakened Allison. She couldn’t go back to
sleep, so she decided to go to the kitchen to make some cranberry
muffins. Wouldn’t her family be surprised with such a breakfast
treat! Allison felt her way along the darkened hallway. When she
got to the kitchen, she flicked on the light switch. Nothing
happened!
Why didn’t the lights go on?
The storm must have caused a power failure.
How did you reach this conclusion?
Allison was awakened by thunder.
What time of day was it?
Early morning
How did you know?
Allison was asleep; hall was dark; wanted to surprise family with breakfast