Making Inferences CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

Look at the photo below. What, literally, do you see?

Now: What can you infer — or make an educated guess about — based on what you see? Why?

??? If you inferred from a few clues (the bathing suit, the open arms, the fact that humans can’t fly) that the photo above shows a diver in mid-dive, you’re right. Today we are going to practice the key skill of making inferences — something all good readers do constantly, mostly without even realizing they are doing it.

Definition: Making inferences means using personal experience or background knowledge as well as information provided in the text to make assumptions about what is not written. Inference = “reading between and beyond the lines” An inference is an idea or conclusion that’s drawn from evidence and reasoning. An inference is an educated guess.

Text clues + What I know = Inference Inference Formula: Text clues + What I know = Inference

Let’s play a little game of…what’s going on in this picture?

What’s Going on in the Picture? What’s the context & what do you know about the context? What clues are given to help you figure out what’s happening in the picture? What’s going on in the picture?

Activating Background Knowledge Your background knowledge is what you already know about a topic. Think about background knowledge as a file folder in your mind. Don’t be afraid to use the term “schema” with your students—they will be able to understand it! This term will help you to develop a common language for talking about what they already know.

Your background knowledge is important! Your background knowledge is very important. When you don’t have background knowledge for a topic, you will not be able to make good inferences.

Building Your Background Knowledge Research does show that there is a kind of snowball effect for prior knowledge— the more that you know coming into a topic, the more you will learn from it. The more you read, the more background knowledge you have. This will help you to learn even more from future texts.

Practice: Questions: Where are these people? Read the following conversations and answer the questions. A: Look at the long line! Do you think we’ll get in? B: I think so. Some of these people already have tickets. A: How much are the tickets? B: Only nine dollars for the first show. I’ll pay. A: Thanks, I’ll buy the popcorn. Questions: Where are these people? What are they talking about? Who are these people?

Making inferences as you read: Use this chart & write down 5 inferences from “MDG” Text Clues (what I see) – include page # Background Knowledge (what I know) Inference (conclusion drawn) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.