Making Inferences

What could be the reason your friend left?

you don't smell good

What could you infer?

He/She had to go home earlier

He / She found some better friends

He/She is mad or has a bad day

You did something wrong

Structure

1.What is an inference?

2.How do you make an inference?

3.Why are inferences important?

4.How to teach making inferences?

5.When do you infer?

6.Words to use when you infer

7.Examples of inferences

8.Making Inferences vs. making predictions

9.Sources

10.GAME

1. What is an Inference ?

It was a dark and stormy night

The trees were swaying wildly outside Anne’s window as

she prepared for bed, and the gutters were overflowing

A belief or conclusion that is rationally and logically made, based on the given facts or circumstances

Explicit & Implicit Evidence

Explicit: directly stated in the text

Implicit: not stated directly but the reader understands it because of clues in the text.

2. How do you make an Inference?

Step 1: Identify an inference question

-> suggest, imply or infer

Step 2: Trust the passage

-> let go of prejudices and prior

knowledge and select correct inference

Step 3: Hunt for clues

-> start hunting for clues

Reading Passage

The widow Elsa was as complete a contrast to her third bridegroom, in everything but age, as can be conceived. Compelled to relinquish her first marriage after her husband died in the war, she married a man twice her years to whom she became an exemplary wife despite their having nothing in common, and by whose death she was left in possession of a splendid fortune, though she gave it away to the church. Next, a southern gentleman, considerably younger than herself, succeeded to her hand, and carried her to Charleston, where, after many uncomfortable years, she found herself again a widow. It would have been remarkable if any feeling had survived through such a life as Elsa's; it could not but be crushed and killed by the early disappointment of her first groom's demise, the icy duty of her second marriage, and the unkindness of her third husband, which had inevitably driven her to connect the idea of his death with that of her comfort.

Step 4: Narrow down the choices

-> narrow down answer choices

Step 5: Practice

-> you'll need to practice to make your own inferences

Choices from Reading Passage

Elsa’s prior marriages could be:

Choice A: uncomfortable, but well-suited to Elsa

Choice B: satisfactory and dull to Elsa

Choice C: cold and damaging to Elsa

Choice D: awful, but worth it to Elsa

3. Why are Inferences important?

• help to read between the lines
• help to get to know details about the characters, story, plot and setting which are not exactly stated in the text
• help to understand the authors believes
• help to understand the text
• help to make predictions about the future
• help to be in a dialog with the author

4. How to teach making Inferences?

You can use:

• Pictures
• Wordless books
• Short stories
• Worksheets

5. When can you use them?

EVERYDAY !

-in oral or written language

-it happens unconscious

Information are not always clearly stated, we make inferences to draw our own conclusions.

6. Words to use when you infer

7. Examples of Inferences

– You walk into the room and the teacher tells you to clear your desk and get out a piece of paper and a pencil. → You can infer that an assessment will occur soon.

– Your friend walks past you without smiling. Her head is hanging down. She wipes a tear away from her eye and looks at her report card. → You can infer that your friend did not have good grades on her report card.

– Mary and Beth were excited about Saturday. They had planned a picnic in the park. They would ride their bicycles to the park, play for a while, go fishing and eat the lunches they brought. They were also looking forward to walking around the lake and feeding the ducks. On Saturday morning, Mary hopped out of bed and looked out of her window. Her shoulders slumped and she frowned. → what can you infer?

picture example #1

picture example #2

inferences

8. Making predictions vs. making inferences

- when inferring, you may or may not know the answer to your question by the end of the story

- when inferring, you are making a guess about what a character will do, how a character feels, and other judgements

predictions

- reading between the lines

- (in your head:) filling in what is not written on the page

- when you make predictions, your prediction will be proven by the end of the story

- when predicting, you are focusing on what will happen in the story

- predictions can check your accuracy as you read

9.Our sources

• https://courses.lumenlearning.com/developmentalreading/chapter/making-inferences/
• https://de.slideshare.net/srgeorgi/making-inferences-54737017
• https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-make-an-inference-3211647

Worksheets found on:

• http://theteacherscafe.com/making-inferences-worksheets/

Pictures found on:

• https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Making-Inferences-Strategy-MiniPack-Freebie-2076999
• https://www.google.com/search?q=when+do+you+infer&rlz=1C1CHBF_deDE803DE803&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjqi-mapbHiAhXQdJoKHc_9BTMQ_AUIDigB&biw=1920&bih=937#imgrc=AIBcg0e_ErYICM:
• https://www.google.com/search?q=when+do+you+infer&rlz=1C1CHBF_deDE803DE803&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjqi-mapbHiAhXQdJoKHc_9BTMQ_AUIDigB&biw=1920&bih=937#imgdii=X6JFiQV6_B3iTM:&imgrc=AIBcg0e_ErYICM:
• https://www.google.de/search?q=words+to+use+when+you+infer&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwibsdSSh7_iAhUHb1AKHdn8AswQ_AUIDigB&biw=1536&bih=719&dpr=1.25#imgrc=-AbzVRsz-K3pzM:
• https://www.google.de/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bz-berlin.de%2Fdata%2Fuploads%2Fmultimedia%2Farchive%2F00376%2Fspiegelburg-flennt_376830a-768x432.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bz-berlin.de%2Fartikel-archiv%2Folympia-2012-keine-medaille-fuer-deutsche&docid=9jl2j5QcfEVp7M&tbnid=jC0LQPu5EQVs0M%3A&vet=10ahUKEwjRjvuZ3cDiAhXHyqQKHWh7BEIQMwiKASg-MD4..i&w=768&h=432&bih=719&biw=1536&q=frau%20die%20olympia%20medaille%20gewinnt&ved=0ahUKEwjRjvuZ3cDiAhXHyqQKHWh7BEIQMwiKASg-MD4&iact=mrc&uact=8
• https://www.google.de/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fs3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads.magazin.sofatutor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F3%2F2018%2F07%2FLetzter-Schultag-Ferien-Lehrer-1024x322.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fmagazin.sofatutor.com%2Flehrer%2Fder-letzte-schultag-vom-grossen-glueck-dicken-traenen-und-ferienvorfreude%2F&docid=UAcfGXJP3oLi0M&tbnid=fDMK1vmr2DRWeM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwiFmNLo3cDiAhUGLVAKHRWbAY0QMwiiAShFMEU..i&w=1024&h=322&bih=719&biw=1536&q=letzter%20schultag&ved=0ahUKEwiFmNLo3cDiAhUGLVAKHRWbAY0QMwiiAShFMEU&iact=mrc&uact=8

GAME TIME

Try to fill out the two worksheets by making inferences