Making Inferences

Compare Simple Guess Inference I think it will rain on July 3, 2025. I see some clouds there. I think it will rain soon. Maybe Justin Bieber’s favourite colour is blue. I see that my teacher always wears green. I think it is her favorite color. Maybe Cindy is 180cm. Joe is 200cm. Cindy looks a bit shorter. I think she is 195cm.

What is inference? I have chosen a magic number between 1 and 100. Can you guess it? With your partner, choose a number. The number IS: 89

What is inference? When you guessed this number, you are just guessing. You are not using any other knowledge to help you. 89

What is inference? Tell your partner: Why is this lady annoyed?

What is inference? If you said “because of the child”, you are making an inference. You are using what you see and your past knowledge to help you guess the meaning. That lady looks annoyed. There is a crying child in front of her. Crying children are normally loud. This can be annoying. Maybe the lady is annoyed because of the child!

These numbers go up by 2 each time. What is inference? 2, 4, 6, 8 …. What comes next? If you know math, you know that 10 is the next number. Again, you are making an inference. These numbers go up by 2 each time. 8+2 = 10. The next number is 10!

What is inference? An inference is when you use your background (past) knowledge to help you understand what you are seeing, hearing, or reading.

What is inference? Many readings don’t explain everything. Why is she crying? Hmm… This character must be crying because she’s sad. Many readings don’t explain everything. Students often need to infer to understand these readings.

What is inference? In Canada, we teach all students how to infer so they can understand readings. You should also make sure you know how to do this!

MAKING INFERENCES INCREASING YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF READINGS

Guessing Word Meanings You can do this by: Using conjunctions Using context Using definition signals Using word forms Using prefixes and suffixes

A B C D 1- Using Conjunctions Conjunctions show us how ideas are connected. “so” tells us the RESULT or CAUSE “but” tells us that these two ideas are opposites “or” tells us that the ideas are SIMILAR CHOICES A B C D

1- Using Conjunctions Conjunctions show us how ideas are connected. “so” tells us the RESULT or CAUSE “but” tells us that these two ideas are opposites “or” tells us that the ideas are SIMILAR CHOICES His disease is chronic, so he’ll have it for the rest of his life. Your shoes are deteriorating, so you should get new ones. I lost all my money, so I’m destitute.

1- Using Conjunctions Conjunctions show us how ideas are connected. “so” tells us the RESULT or CAUSE “but” tells us that these two ideas are opposites “or” tells us that the ideas are SIMILAR CHOICES He’s hideous, but his eyes and smile are very cute. She’s introverted, but with time she’ll become brave and speak. I should be happy, but I’m despondent.

1- Using Conjunctions You can fix your problem, or you can wallow. Conjunctions show us how ideas are connected. “so” tells us the RESULT or CAUSE “but” tells us that these two ideas are opposites “or” tells us that the ideas are SIMILAR CHOICES You can fix your problem, or you can wallow. You can procrastinate with your homework, or you can do it now. Fix problem Wallow Do it Now Procras- tinate

2- Using Context Sometimes the other sentences show us the meaning of a word. Sentences will ALWAYS be connected. Some people think that abortion should be illegal. These people believe that a baby has a life inside of its mother. They say that killing the baby before it is born is very bad.

2- Using Context Another Example: Caffeine is found in coffee, tea, and chocolate. It helps you stay alert for a long time. Truck drivers take caffeine pills to drive for 10 or more hours.

3- Using Definition Signals The author often shows us the definition of a word. They might use: Signal words Appositives Punctuation Examples

3- Using Definition Signals The author often shows us the definition of a word. They might use: Signal words Appositives Punctuation Examples Students often procrastinate, or wait to do something boring later. When you see “or” like this, this means the author is explaining the word in a different way.

3- Using Definition Signals The author often shows us the definition of a word. They might use: Signal words Appositives Punctuation Examples He has elephantiasis, which is a disease that makes you grow big arms or legs. “Which + be” often shows you what the word means.

3- Using Definition Signals The author often shows us the definition of a word. They might use: Signal words Appositives Punctuation Examples Most countries have embassies, buildings that belong to the governments of other countries, to help travellers. Appositives are often definitions inside of commas.

3- Using Definition Signals The author often shows us the definition of a word. They might use: Signal words Appositives Punctuation Examples If you grab a microscope – a machine that helps you see very small things – you can see these small animals. - - and () usually show definitions!

3- Using Definition Signals The author often shows us the definition of a word. They might use: Signal words Appositives Punctuation Examples If you grab a microscope (a machine that helps you see very small things) you can see these small animals. - - and () usually show definitions!

3- Using Definition Signals The author often shows us the definition of a word. They might use: Signal words Appositives Punctuation Examples Self-destructive behaviour, such as drinking or eating too much, smoking, and cutting your skin, can be very unhealthy. These examples help show us what the big category word means.

4- Using Word Forms You know that a normal sentence goes: S + V + O. You know that articles go before nouns. This situation exacerbated our problem. Motivational pictures can help us stay happy. I am moderately angry.

5- Using Affixes “un-”: not “anti-”: against “re-”: again “pre-”: before remake preview review anti-homework

5- Using Affixes “-er”: person/adjective “-ion/tion”: process/act “-ive”: adjective “-less”: without “-ed/ing”: verb/adjective hopeless creation active actor, robber, teacher created/creating