MAKING INFERENCES A.K.A. reading between the lines!

“ The men walked down the street to the mine with their heads bent close to their chests. In groups of five or six they scurried on. It was impossible to recognize individuals from the small gaps between their caps, pulled down over their eyes, and the tightly bound scarves tied tightly over the bottom half of their faces.” What was the weather like as the men walked to the mine?

It was cold and windy!!!!!!! Yes. You probably arrived at this answer because you associated hats pulled down and scarves with winter or cold weather. The word “scurried” suggests the men were hurrying to reach their destination.

So, to really understand what you read…. You need to be like Sherlock Holmes and be a first class detective!

Inference can be used in several ways to help you respond fully to a piece of reading. You can infer a general facto or a precise piece of information You can infer a general facto or a precise piece of information You can infer emotions and feelings of characters in a passage You can infer emotions and feelings of characters in a passage You can infer information about the author-his/her opinions, feelings and point of view. You can infer information about the author-his/her opinions, feelings and point of view.

So, what is “making an inference”? Making an inference is the ability to connect what is in the text with what’s in your mind to create educated assumptions about meaning. Making an inference is the ability to connect what is in the text with what’s in your mind to create educated assumptions about meaning. Simply put, it’s “reading between the lines.” Simply put, it’s “reading between the lines.”

Read the passage. Read the passage. Figure out what is going on in the story Figure out what is going on in the story Jot down your ideas. Jot down your ideas. “He put down $10 at the window. The woman behind the window gave $4. The person next to him gave $3, but he gave it back to her. So, when they went inside, she bought him a large bag of popcorn.”

Is this what you thought happened? A man and a woman have gone on a date to the movie. Tickets cost $3 dollars and the man pays for both himself and the woman, getting change back from the ticket cashier. The man’s date tries to give him $3 dollars for her ticket, but he won’t accept it because he’s being nice. So, since she can’t buy her own ticket, the woman buys popcorn to call it even. (It is one possibility!)

Or is this what you thought? · In order to make any sense of this story, you have to make some assumptions about the references of the pronouns. For example, you could infer that the “he”= the man on the date. You also could infer that the “her” and “she” in the third and fourth sentences are referring to a different woman than the “woman behind the counter”, meaning the man, the “woman behind the counter”, and the “her/she” are three separate people. Furthermore, you could infer that the “woman behind the counter” is the movie cashier, while the “her/she” of the later sentences refer to the man’s date. You also could infer that “they” in the last sentence is referring to the man and his date, not the man and the woman behind the counter or a group of other people. (It can get complicated when you think about your thinking, can’t it?)

So let’s simplify it a bit, with a diagram…..

So getting back to the basics…. Reading is not just sitting there. Reading is not just sitting there. Its an active process. Its an active process. Ambiguous pronouns force a lot of assumptions on readers! Ambiguous pronouns force a lot of assumptions on readers! So ask questions. So ask questions. Read with a purpose to focus your thinking and understanding. Read with a purpose to focus your thinking and understanding.

You inference all the time, without even knowing it. Cartoons force you to infer meaning!

What’s going on here? What is about to happen and why? What is about to happen and why? Why is this funny? Why is this funny? Or is it? Or is it?

Get the joke? What happened here? What happened here? Why is this funny? Why is this funny?

This is cute. Turn to a partner and share a few comments about the humor in this cartoon. Turn to a partner and share a few comments about the humor in this cartoon. Raise your hand when you have agreed upon why it is funny. Raise your hand when you have agreed upon why it is funny.

Huh? What’s the deal with this picture? What’s the deal with this picture?

What is it that you infer that makes this picture so incredible?

So, you think you get the hang of it? Great. Because, look out! Here comes the packet! Great. Because, look out! Here comes the packet!