1. How to Cite Evidence and Make Inferences: Back it up with proof!

2. How to not clean your room by citing evidence
Have you ever been in this argument?
You: “Mom, I don’t want to clean my room!”
Mom: “Why? It’s very dirty, and you can’t play until it’s done.”
You: “Because I JUST DON’T WANT TO. YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND. YOU CAN’T MAKE ME!”
Is this one better or worse?
You: “Because I have a lot of homework to do, and I’m tired because I didn’t sleep well last night.”

3. Why is the second one better?
You are backing up your opinion with evidence!
This is a skill you will need for the rest of your school career, and also in life.
Buddy buzz when you might need to back up your opinion with proof in real life, and why it might help in that circumstance.

4. Citing Evidence! What does that mean?
Citing evidence means proving your answers from information you found in the text.
Here’s what it looks like:
I can tell Charlie is angry because on page five he said, “I was madder than a mosquito in a mannequin factory” (pg. 5).
Now that you are in 7th grade, you must also write the page number you find it on (in parenthesis at the end of the sentence).
The evidence you find goes in “quotation marks”.
Evidence = not my ideas; strictly from the text
Cite = Including this evidence in my writing

5. What Does Making Inferences Have to do with This?
Making inferences means making an educated guess on what is really going on in the story, even if it is not exactly said by the author.
Inference = a conclusion I have made + background knowledge
It has to do with citing evidence because you make an educated guess, then cite evidence to prove it!

6. Let’s Practice 
Jade shivered as she walked slowly down the cold and windy road. She had no where to go, and no one to get to. The gray, dark sky matched how she felt on the inside. On a day like today, she wondered if anyone would care if she just disappeared.
What can you INFER about how Jade is feeling? Cite evidence!

7. This is my inference!
How’d You Do?
Based on the text, I can infer that Jade is feeling sad or lonely. I know this because the author says the “gray, dark sky matched how she felt on the inside”, and “she wondered if anyone would care if she just disappeared” (Pg 1).
This is my evidence!

8. Why is it important to know how to make inferences and cite evidence?
Tell your group some reasons you think it is important to back up your inferences with citations
Do you think you can do this with non-fiction (true) and fiction (made-up) text?
What are the four parts citations need?
Inference
Evidence
Quotations
Page number in parenthesis
PRACTICE!

9. Brain Break!

10. To Recap: A citation ALWAYS needs…….
An opinion or inference
A citation that gives evidence
This backs up your inference
“Quotations” around your evidence
The page number you found it on in (parenthesis)

11. Let’s Practice some more! 
David had waited all summer for today. The night before, he had barely slept at all, thinking about all the events he would be participating in at summer camp. His heart leaped and a smile came to his face knowing that it was just a matter of minutes until the bus arrived at Camp Aravapi, where he would spend his summer with his best friends.
What can you INFER about how David is feeling? Cite evidence!

12. This is my inference!
How’d You Do?
Based on the text, I can infer that David is feeling excited. I know this because the author says the “he had barely slept at all, thinking about all the events he would be participating in at summer camp”, and “his heart leaped and a smile came to his face” when he thought about spending the summer with his buddies (Pg 1).
This is my evidence!

13. Do I always have to use quotes?
No! You only use quotes if you write the exact phrase or sentence from the text.
If you state the same sentence in your own words, you only need to put the page number you found it on.
Let’s look at an example:

14. This is my inference!
Citing without quotes
Based on the text, I can infer that David is feeling excited. I know this because the author says that he hadn’t slept much and that when he thought about camp, he smiled and his heart raced(Pg 1).
This is my evidence!

15. One more time. You can do it!
What can you INFER about what is being described? Cite evidence!
It woke me up again last night. The light tap, tap, tapping on the roof that slowly turned to a pounding. I walked outside to feel the cool breeze, and smell the clean, fresh soil. The hot summer needs it most, especially here. It calms the fire we all must deal with. Just when you think you cannot stand it, it happens. This is why I love the desert, it is so much more a gift here than other places.

16. This is my inference!
How’d You Do?
Based on the text, I can infer that the author is talking about rain in the desert, or the monsoon. I know this because the author describes a “light tap, tap, tapping on the roof that slowly turned to a pounding”, and “the hot summer needs it most, especially here” (Pg 1).
This is my evidence!