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Interactive Skills
for Students
How to Make Inferences
and Draw Conclusions
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How to Make Inferences and Draw Conclusions
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Why Learn This Skill?
 To infer means to arrive at a conclusion using context clues or information you already know.
 Writers cannot include every detail about a topic or may not always directly state everything you need to know. They expect their readers to make inferences.
 Effective readers must make inferences to help them understand what they are reading.

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How to Make Inferences and Draw Conclusions
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Learn It!
 Read the text.
 Think about what you read and what you already know.
 Use clues from the text, along with your own knowledge to infer, or figure out, the author’s meaning.

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How to Make Inferences and Draw Conclusions
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Apply It!
Read the text. Then, practice making inferences.
St. Augustine
King Felipe II of Spain decided that the French were trespassing on Spanish lands. He ordered the governor, Pedro Menéndez, to build a colony in Florida and drive out the French. On September 8, 1565, Menéndez established up a settlement. He called it San Agustin, or St. Augustine. St. Augustine became the first permanent settlement in what would later become the United States.

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How to Make Inferences and Draw Conclusions
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Apply It!
What can you infer about how effective Pedro Menéndez was in driving out the French?
St. Augustine
King Felipe II of Spain decided that the French were trespassing on Spanish lands. He ordered the governor, Pedro Menéndez, to build a colony in Florida and drive out the French. On September 8, 1565, Menéndez established a settlement. He called it San Agustin, or St. Augustine. St. Augustine became the first permanent settlement in what would later become the United States.

6. Apply It! What information is clearly stated in the text?
How to Make Inferences and Draw Conclusions
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Apply It!
What information is clearly stated in the text?
St. Augustine
King Felipe II of Spain decided that the French were trespassing on Spanish lands. He ordered the governor, Pedro Menéndez, to build a colony in Florida and drive out the French. On September 8, 1565, Menéndez established a settlement. He called it San Agustin, or St. Augustine. St. Augustine became the first permanent settlement in what would later become the United States.
What you can read here:
A colony was established to drive the French out of Florida.

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How to Make Inferences and Draw Conclusions
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Apply It!
Next, look for clues in the text that can help you answer the question.
St. Augustine
King Felipe II of Spain decided that the French were trespassing on Spanish lands. He ordered the governor, Pedro Menéndez, to build a colony in Florida and drive out the French. On September 8, 1565, Menéndez established a settlement. He called it San Agustin, or St. Augustine. St. Augustine became the first permanent settlement in what would later become the United States.
Text Clue:
The colony that was founded is considered the first permanent settlement in the United States.

8. Apply It! Finally, use what you already know. St. Augustine
How to Make Inferences and Draw Conclusions
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Apply It!
Finally, use what you already know.
St. Augustine
King Felipe II of Spain decided that the French were trespassing on Spanish lands. He ordered the governor, Pedro Menéndez, to build a colony in Florida and drive out the French. On September 8, 1565, Menéndez established a settlement. He called it San Agustin, or St. Augustine. St. Augustine became the first permanent settlement in what would later become the United States.
What you may
already know:
Florida culture has many Spanish influences.

9. How to Make Inferences and Draw Conclusions
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Apply It!
Now you are able to make an inference and draw a conclusion about how effective Pedro Menéndez was in driving out the French.
What you can read here:
A colony was established to drive the French out of Florida.
Text clue:
The colony that was founded is considered the first permanent settlement in the United States.
What you may
already know:
Florida culture has many Spanish influences.

10. Inference and conclusion:
How to Make Inferences and Draw Conclusions
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Apply It!
Now you are able to make an inference and draw a conclusion about how effective Pedro Menéndez was in driving out the French.
What you can read here:
A colony was established to drive the French out of Florida.
Text clue:
The colony that was founded is considered the first permanent settlement in the United States.
What you may
already know:
Florida culture has many Spanish influences.
Inference and conclusion:
The colony established by Pedro Menéndez might
have helped drive the French out of Florida.

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How to Make Inferences and Draw Conclusions
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Apply It!
In order to make inferences and draw conclusions, I will:
Read the text.
Look for information that is clearly stated.
Look for clues in the text that provide hints to the author’s meaning.
Think about what I already know.
Then I will be able to make educated guesses about ideas or information that the author wants me to know but does not clearly state.

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How to Make Inferences and Draw Conclusions
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Remember
 When you infer, you are arriving at a conclusion using context clues or information you already have.
 Effective readers make inferences in order to better understand what they are reading.
 Making inferences and drawing conclusions is also an important skill to help you analyze what you read.