Details from the story + prior knowledge Inferences Details from the story + prior knowledge

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 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. Let’s Play Detective!

Playing Detective Without Words Why is this baby crying? Playing Detective Without Words

Pets Draw Conclusions

You be the detective. What can we infer about these girls?

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. Using Clues

Oak school is starting a new band program 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

What can you conclude about the narrator? I have deliberately turned my back on the house. It is three rooms, just like the one that burned, except the roof is tin; they don't make shingle roofs any more. There are no real windows, just some holes cut in the sides, like the portholes in a ship, but not round and not square, with rawhide holding the shutters up on the outside. This house is in a pasture, too, like the other one. What can you conclude about the narrator?

When people talk, they don’t always say exactly what they mean 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! A Quick Review