M AKING I NFERENCES WITH T EXTUAL E VIDENCE … 1/15/2015

M AKING I NFERENCES We make inferences all the time whether we realize it or not. Good readers make inferences while reading when we predict what will happen next or ask ourselves why character is behaving a certain way. An inference is an educated guess that we make based on what we see or, while reading, the information provided in the text combined with our own experiences.

W HAT CAN YOU INFER ABOUT THE FOLLOWING PICTURES : 1.) ______________________________ 2.) ______________________________ 1.) ______________________________ 2.) ______________________________

T EXTUAL E VIDENCE Textual Evidence is specific information from a text that we use to support our inferences. **We use textual evidence to prove that our inferences are logical and accurate.

R EAD THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE AND ANSWER THE QUESTION THAT FOLLOWS. Kyle ran into his house, slamming the door behind him. He threw his book bag on the floor and plopped on the couch. After six hours of playing Grand Larceny VII, he ate some pizza and fell asleep with a slice in on his belly and his feet on his book bag. When Kyle came home from school the next day, he was noticeably distraught. He balled up his report card and placed it inside of a soup can in the garbage. He then flipped the soup can upside down and relocated garbage from other parts of the can, arranging over the soup can. He then plopped down on the couch and picked up his controller.

(S UPPORT YOUR ANSWER WITH TEXT FROM THE PASSAGE.) 1. Why is Kyle distraught? How do you know this? 2. Why does Kyle put the report card in a soup can? How do you know this? 3. Was Kyle’s report card good or bad and why was it like that? How do you know this?

R EAD THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE AND ANSWER THE QUESTION THAT FOLLOWS. W hen Dorothy stood in the doorway and looked around, she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side. Not a tree nor a house broke the broad sweep of flat country that reached to the edge of the sky in all directions. The sun had baked the plowed land into a gray mass, with little cracks running through it. Even the grass was not green, for the sun had burned the tops of the long blades until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere. Once the house had been painted, but the sun blistered the paint and the rains washed it away, and now the house was as dull and gray as everything else.

1.) W HAT CAN YOU INFER ABOUT D OROTHY ’ S LIFE ON PLAINS ? Make at least 2 inferences. (Support your answer with text from the passage.)

S TAGE D IRECTIONS AND DIALOGUE When reading a play Stage Directions help the reader visualize what it might look like if they were watching the play rather than reading it. Stage directions tells where a person is standing on stage, how the might sound when they say particular line—also how they might react to a situation. Dialogue is the conversation between two or more characters in a play. Dialogue is what carries the storyline forward in a play.

C HARACTER MOTIVATION Motive is the reason for which a character does something. Characters are usually motivated by a feeling, need, or want. You can usually determine the motive by asking WHY. Why did the character do whatever it is he/she did? What drove them to/caused/made them do that? Powerful motives include: Love Anger Jealousy Desperation Fear

S UMMARY When we try to fill in the gaps between what is explicitly said and what is implied, we are making inferences. We do this by making logical guesses based on what we observed and our own prior knowledge. When reading a play, the dialogue tells us explicitly what is happening (or how a character feels). Stage directions are unspoken bits of the story that help the reader to understand a character’s motive (i.e. feelings, wants, or needs). Motive is the reason why a character behaves/reacts in a certain way. When we try to determine the character’s motive we are making an inference.