Making Inferences To infer as we read is

Making Inferences

• “To infer as we read is to go beyond literal interpretation and to open a world of meaning deeply connected to our lives. ” • • ~ Ellin Keene Author of Mosaic of Thought

What is Inferencing? Making an inference is “Reading between and beyond the lines. ” • Finding clues • Putting them together • Solving the problem • Like a jigsaw puzzle

Inference • Take what you know and make a guess! • Draw personal meaning from text (words) or pictures. • You use clues to come to your own conclusion.

When proficient readers infer, they create a meaning that is not necessarily stated in the text. Inference is a tough strategy to master because it involves many processes and requires the reader to hold several ideas in his/her mind. When we infer, we use a combination of ~ Questioning Making Connections Background Knowledge (Schema) Predictions Imagination/Visualization Analysis of Text: Interpretation Judgments Drawing Conclusions

Making Connections Questioning Drawing Conclusions Background Knowledge (schema) Inference Predictions Analysis of Text: Interpretation/ Imagination/ Elkhart Community Schools Judgment Visualization 6

Make an Inference! • What does this image tell me?

Question… • What did I already know that helped me make that inference? • Did I use picture or written clues?

Help Me Make an Inference!

More Questions… • Did you use words, graphs, or picture clues to help you make a guess about what that cartoon meant?

Try Again! • Can he draw more than tigers? • Look up words you don’t know!

Make 1 more Inference

How Do Good Readers Make Inferences? • 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. They use: Word/text clues Picture clues Define unknown words Look for emotion (feelings) Use what they already know Look for explanations for events ASK themselves questions!

Make Another Inference • Ms. Smith has recess duty. Jacob finds a frog, picks it up, and runs over to show it to Ms. Smith screams, jumps, and runs as fast as she can into the school. • What can you infer from this passage? • What are the “clues” in this passage?

Authors vs. Readers • Authors Imply, Readers Infer. • Authors make implications that readers have to infer. • What do I mean by these statements?

Authors vs. Readers • Good Readers are Detectives who are always looking out for clues to help them better understand stories and pictures.

Here are some Synonyms • • deduce figure out guess interpretation read between the lines understand reason drawing conclusions

Finding Clues What Should We Look For? • PLACES • TIME • COLORS • TEXTURES • BODY LANGUAGE • ACTIONS • SITUATIONS OR CONTEXT

Visual Clues • What clues do you see? • What do we know about the product? • What do we know about the company? • What do we know about the person who drank the drink?

Situational Clues • What do we know about this picture? • What clues do you see? • What can we infer from the clues?

Location Clues • What do we know about the event in the photo? • What is the mood of the event? • What other activities may be occurring at the same time or later?

Word Clues • It’s clear • It’s round • It’s made of glass, metal and plastic • It has a handle • It makes things look bigger • What is it?

Body Language Clues Are they having the same conversation? How do you know?

Remember… Be a great Detective and Read between the lines searching for clues to the author’s implied meanings