1. MAKING INFERENCES What are they? How do you make them? What is textual evidence? Copyright © 2015 The Teacher Writing Center, a division of SG Consulting, Inc.  www.grammargallery.org

2. Warm-Up Look at the picture. What do you see? From Grammar Gallery, www.grammargallery.org. Copyright 2014, The Teacher Writing Center, a division of SG Consulting, Inc.

3. Discuss Responses How do you think the man feels? How do you think the cat feels? From Grammar Gallery, www.grammargallery.org. Copyright 2014, The Teacher Writing Center, a division of SG Consulting, Inc.

4. You just made some inferences! You used your prior knowledge and looked at the information in the image to make inferences. From Grammar Gallery, www.grammargallery.org. Copyright 2014, The Teacher Writing Center, a division of SG Consulting, Inc.

5. What is an inference? It’s an educated guess that’s based on your knowledge and experience in combination with the information (or facts) you have in front of you.

6. You Make Inferences Constantly  When you’re talking with others  When you’re reading  When you’re listening to music  When you’re watching TV

7. What inferences can you make about the photograph of this girl?  What does your prior knowledge tell you?  What facts are in front of you?  What is your inference about what is happening?

8. Inferences and Reading Readers must make inferences as they read literature or informational text. That’s because writers don’t tell you everything. They want readers to think about what they are reading.

9. Read the text and make an inference A lexis was excited. She loved the new pants and shirt her mom bought her. She carefully arranged her hair and put on a pair of sandals her brother surprised her with this morning. It was her special day. She wanted to wear some make-up, but her mom said, “Not until you’re in high school!” Alexis heard the doorbell ring. Her little sister ran to the door and yelled, “Paulette and Lucy are here. They have presents for you.” Alexis ran to greet her friends. The house was decorated with balloons and streamers. The doorbell rang again. “It’s going to be a wonderful party,” Alexis thought.

10. To make an inference from a reading, you need to consider textual evidence. The information you get from a text is called “textual evidence.”  We use textual evidence to make inferences.  The information in the text that lead to your inference is your textual evidence.

11. What do you infer Alexis and her friends are celebrating? Prior Knowledge+ Facts = Inference  What is your prior knowledge?  What are the facts from the text?  What is your inference?

12. Answer Key Slides 2-3 The man is sleeping on a couch. The cat is sleeping on his lap. It is probably the man’s cat because cats are usually not relaxed around strangers. Both the man and cat seem completely relaxed and content.

13. Answer Key Slide 7 This is a girl or young woman seated in front of a book. She looks bored, confused, or frustrated. She is holding her face in her hand. She is probably a high school or college student because she looks like she is a teenager, and she has a large book in front of her and is wearing jewelry on her wrist. She is probably studying for a test or trying to do her homework and is frustrated that there is too much to do or she doesn’t understand the material.

14. Answer Key Slides 9-11 They are probably going to celebrate Alexis’ birthday at a party. The text says that Alexis’ mom bought her the new clothes she is going to wear, and Alexis is arranging her hair carefully. Friends arrive with gifts, and the house is decorated with balloons and streamers.

15. For Reference and More Practice … Refer to the Making Inferences Student Reference Sheet.Making Inferences www.grammargallery.org