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Let’s Play Detective! Sometimes you will hear or read the term “drawing inferences” as part of a reading test or assignment. That means you have to figure something out from clues. The story you read will only give you clues, and you will have to play detective. It can be fun. Click to the next slide and we’ll start to play detective.

Playing Detective Without Words

Clues At Recess

Pets Make Inferences

Using Clues You smell smoke. You see smoke coming out of a house. You hear the siren on a fire truck. The three clues above suggest that the house is on fire, and someone has already called the fire department.

Finding Clues In A Story. Tommy and Sarah just got off the school bus. Sarah said, “I smell smoke.” Tommy pointed and yelled, “Sarah, look at the smoke coming out of that house!” In a moment they both heard what sounded like a fire engine siren. The passage suggests that – The house is on fire, and someone called to report it. The house is on fire, and no one called to report it. Someone was burning leaves in the back yard. This was a fire drill.

Drawing Conclusions Pretend you are at Wal Mart. As you are walking down the candy aisle, you notice a little boy crying and pulling on his mom’s skirt as she pushes her cart towards the front of the store. The closer she gets towards the front of the store, the louder the little boy screams. Lots of things could be wrong with the little boy, BUT we can probably conclude that— What do you conclude? Click on the speaker below to hear what I think. Of course, I could be wrong.

Another Crying Little Boy Pretend you are at the doctor’s office to get a shot. That same little boy you saw at Wal Mart is sitting there screaming his head off just like he did in the candy aisle. What can you conclude this time? F. He is still angry about not getting the candy. G. He has an ear ache. H. He is scared because he is there for a shot. J. He just cries a lot.

More Clues Pretend you are at the doctor’s office to get a shot. That same little boy you saw at Wal Mart is sitting there screaming his head off just like he did in the candy aisle. His mom is rocking him in her arms. He keeps pulling at his right ear What can you conclude this time? F. He is still angry about not getting the candy. G. He has an ear ache. H. He is scared because he is there for a shot. J. He just cries a lot.

Finding Clues In A Story. Maria was on the flag squad that performed at half time during football games. It was the first game that her grandparents and uncle Luigi attended. Maria waved her flag while looking for her family in the large crowd. Just as she spotted her grandmother, her greatest fear came true. She lost her grip on the flag, and it started to fall. Even though she caught it quickly, Maria’s face became red. She felt as if she had made a horrible mistake and everyone were staring at her. The passage suggests that Maria almost dropped her flag partly because she -- A was thinking about the football game B wasn’t strong enough C was looking for her family D was frightened by a loud noise

Finding Clues In A Story. Maria was on the flag squad that performed at half time during football games. It was the first game that her grandparents and uncle Luigi attended. Maria waved her flag while looking for her family in the large crowd. Just as she spotted her grandmother, her greatest fear came true. She lost her grip on the flag, and it started to fall. Even though she caught it quickly, Maria’s face became red. She felt as if she had made a horrible mistake and everyone were staring at her. The passage suggests that Maria almost dropped her flag partly because she -- A was thinking about the football game B wasn’t strong enough C was looking for her family D was frightened by a loud noise

A Famous Texan Claudia Taylor was born in Texas in 1912. As a young child she was given the name Lady Bird. When she grew up, she married Lyndon Johnson who became president of the United States. Lady Bird wanted to do something to make the country more beautiful. In 1965 she set up a Committee for a More Beautiful Capitol. They met once a month and discussed ideas and made plans. Flowers and bushes were planted all around the city. Everyone was encouraged to plant flowers on their property. School yards and playgrounds were improved. Based on information in the passage, the reader can tell that Lady Bird’s work helped make the country – F friendlier G prettier H louder J bigger

Oak School’s New Band Program HELP OUR SCHOOL Oak school is starting a new band program. We need all kinds of instruments. They can be in any condition. Sam’s music shop has volunteered to fix any broken or damaged instruments. Please check your closets and garage. You might have an old instrument that is just taking up space. The new band program will put it to good use. Thank you. The passage suggests that musical instruments that are “just taking up space” in closets and garages – A are heavy B can be useful C are new D can be harmful

A Quick Review When people talk, they don’t always say exactly what they mean. The listener must figure out what the speaker really means. Inference in reading is when you need to use the clues written in a story to draw a conclusion. In other words, you need to be a “word detective.” You will not always be right when you draw a conclusion from a story, but the more you try, the more skilled you will become. Being a good reader and word detective is a good thing!

Congratulations, You Made It! My brain hurts!