Today’s reading lesson: Making Inferences! This is the art of reading between the lines and figuring out something that is probably true. As this unit study explains, “The author doesn’t tell us everything. We can take evidence from the text and combine it with what we already know and say, ‘This is probably true.’ That is an inference.”
You make inferences all the time when you read: You infer that Charlie is a responsible child because he looks around to see if he can return the money. You infer that the story takes place a hundred years ago based on the type of cars they’re driving. Good readers are constantly making inferences to make sense of the text we read, and it’s important to teach your child to make and then notice those inferences when they are reading.
How to teach children to infer meaning
For this lesson, I’ll use The Stranger
As usual, we will first model the skill, then do shared practice, and gradually allow the child to do more and more independently.
Me: Today, we’re going to talk about making inferences. This is when we can guess things that are true based on the text. The author may not say something clearly, but we can figure out what’s going on even though the author doesn’t say it. For example, if I say, “The children stood by their chaperones and waited on the sidewalk. There was a stir of excitement as the yellow bus approached, ‘The bus is here!’ the teacher called out, ‘Please make one straight line!’ Now, can anyone infer what is going on here?
Student: They’re going on a field trip!
Me: Right. Now, how did you make that inference? Did I ever tell you, “The students were going on a field trip”?
Student: Well, they have chaperones and they’re getting on a bus, and I know that that’s what people do when they go on field trips!
Me: Ah, I see! So you took knowledge you already knew, combined it with some information the author gave you, and made an inference. That’s all you have to do. It’s using what you know and figuring out what the author is telling you– even if they don’t say it outright. What if I told you there is new student joining who wrote cards to each of his new classmates, is bringing snacks to share, and loves to volunteer at the pet shelter. What can you infer about this student?
Student: He’s really nice!
Me: Can you give me reasons why you think that? I never told you he was nice.
Student: Well, anyone who takes the time to write cards is nice.
Student: If he’s bringing snacks to share, he’s probably generous, and that’s nice!
Student: Volunteering means you’re doing something for free, so he probably likes animals and isn’t mean to them, so that’s nice.
Me: Good evidence, everybody. I never told you he was a nice person, but you took clues that I gave you and pieced them together to make a good inference. This is the same kind of thing we’re going to do when we read. The author gives you clues and information, and you put that together with what you already know to make an inference like how chaperones and buses usually are part of a field trip. Or how people who write cards, share, or help others are usually nice.
Today, I’m going to read from Chris Van Allsburg’s story The Stranger. Just by looking at the front cover, I can infer that there will be a stranger, and he will probably be eating some food. He also looks surprised, so I’m going to infer that he doesn’t like the food that he’s being served.
Let’s begin:
It was the time of the year Farmer Bailey liked best, when summer turned to fall. He whistled as he drove along. A cool breeze blew across his face through the trucks open window. Then it happened. There was a loud “thump.” Mr. Bailey jammed on his brakes. “Oh no!” he thought. “I’ve hit a deer.”
Hmm. I’m going to infer that Farmer Bailey was in a good mood. He was whistling, and the author says “a cool breeze blew across his face.” Those are usually things that convey a good mood. Let’s keep going.
But it wasn’t a deer the farmer found lying in the road, it was a man. Mr. Bailey knelt down beside the still figure, fearing the worst. Then, suddenly, the man opened his eyes. He looked up with terror and jumped to his feet. He tried to run off, lost his balance, and fell down. He got up again, but this time the farmer took his arm and helped him to the truck.
Interesting! I think Mr. Bailey thought the man had died at first. It doesn’t say that exactly, but it says he was “fearing the worst,” and the worst thing that could happen if you hit a person is that they die, right? I will also infer that Mr. Bailey is a nice man, because instead of letting him run off and pretending nothing happened, he helped him into his truck. I’m guessing this man is also “the stranger” that the book is named after, because we still don’t know his name!
Mr. Bailey drove home. He helped the stranger inside, where Mrs. Bailey made him comfortable on the parlor sofa. Katy, their daughter, peeked into the room. The man on the sofa was dressed in odd rough leather clothing. She heard her father whisper “…must be some kind of hermit… sort of fellow who lives alone in the woods.” The stranger didn’t seem to understand the questions Mr. Bailey asked him. “I don’t think,” whispered Mrs. Bailey,” he knows how to talk.”
Hmmm interesting. Well, for now, I think the whole family is kind of nice. I can infer that from their actions, like how Mrs. Bailey makes him comfortable on the sofa. Also, they whisper when they’re talking about him, instead of saying it in front of his face, so at least they’re making some attempt to be polite.
Mr. Bailey called the doctor, who came and listened to the stranger’s heart, felt his bones, looked in his eyes, and took his temperature. He decided the man had lost his memory. There was a bump on the back of his head. “In a few days,” the doctor said, “he should remember who he is and where he’s from.” Mrs. Bailey stopped the doctor as he left the house. He’d forgotten his thermometer. “Oh, you can throw that out,” he answered, “It’s broken, the mercury is stuck at the bottom.”
Well, that’s curious. Mercury stuck at the bottom. But I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean, or what inferences I can make from it. I can still infer that the Baileys are nice, since they called the doctor which shows they care about the man’s well-bbeing. Also, Mrs. Bailey tried to return the thermometer, so it shows she is an honest person. Okay, now I’d like you to make some inferences as we read. It can be anything you think is true, even if the author didn’t clearly state it.
Mr. Bailey lent the stranger some clean clothes. The fellow seemed confused about buttonholes and buttons. In the evening, he joined the Baileys for dinner. The steam that rose from the hot food fascinated him. He watched Katy take a spoonful of soup and blow gently across it. Then he did exactly the same. Mrs. Bailey shivered. “Brrr,” she said. “There’s a draft in here tonight.”
What do you think? Can we confirm any of our previous inferences or make any new ones?
Student: The Baileys STILL seem nice because they let the stranger stay for dinner and they also lent him their own clothes!
Me: Good point! So we can continue to add evidence to support our inference that the Baileys are NICE. Good. What else?
Student: Well, it’s kind of weird that he seems so interested in the steam. It’s like he didn’t know to blow on it until he saw the little girl do it. Maybe he’s never seen steam before??? Maybe he has never had soup before?
Me: Good observation! He did seem to be surprised by the soup or the steam, right? Originally, when I looked at the front cover, I inferred that he didn’t want to eat the food he was being served. But maybe he’s just never seen something hot like steam before. That would be strange, wouldn’t it? Any other inferences? No? Well, I have a question for you. What do you think it means when Mrs. Bailey says, “There’s a draft in here tonight.” What’s a draft?
(Silence. A couple of hands from kids who already know the word. Mostly silence.)
Hm, let’s read the whole section and see if we can make inferences about what a draft is. “Mrs. Bailey shivered. “Brrr,” she said. “There’s a draft in here tonight.” Hm. Now that we’ve reread that, can anyone make any guesses about what a draft is?
Student: I think it means something cold, because she shivered and said “Brrr.”
Me: Great inference! Yes, the author doesn’t say it’s cold, but if someone shivers and says, “Brrr,” we can guess that they’re feeling cold, right? And you’re right. I’ll tell you now because I know– a draft is like a slight wind or breeze that comes in from the outside. That makes sense in the story, right? So you can use inferences to figure out what new words mean, too! Okay, let’s keep going.
We would continue reading, pausing every so often to talk about inferences they can make. Sometimes, the students will volunteer inferences, and at other times, I would guide their thinking to help them make new types of inferences they might not have tried before, such as realizing they can guess what new words mean with inferences. They use the author’s stated information– Mrs. Bailey shivered. “Brrr,” she said. “There’s a draft in here tonight— and combine it with their background knowledge to make an informed guess. Eventually, when students seem to have the hang of it, I would have them continue reading on their own, sharing the inferences they make with their own texts, with me in the form of a reading letter or on sticky notes.
I always insist that my students give me evidence for their inferences. For example, if a student simply said, “I think the stranger will live with them forever.” I would ask, “What makes you think that?” There may be good reasons, there may not. Either way, their evidence gives me insight into their thinking. Sometimes, students make predictions that seemed completely random to me. I assume they have terrible reading comprehension, because I would never, in a million years, have made that sort of prediction. Yet, when they give me their evidence/reasoning, it kind of makes sense and then I am impressed, instead of dismayed, with their thinking skills. That’s always a relief.
Other times, they have no reason at all to support their predictions and really is just a wild, fantastic story they wanted to share. Those are also important for me to notice, so I can help them make a distinction between creative/imaginative writing vs. making reasonable predictions based on evidence in the text.
How can we use inferences to improve reading comprehension?
Making inferences is extremely important in aiding reading comprehension. The best readers make frequent inferences, revise their inferences as they continue reading (like realizing the stranger didn’t dislike the soup– he just seemed intrigued by it), and improve their understanding of the text as they engage deeply with the text this way. They infer what the author is trying to say, the author’s purpose, themes, and can more comprehensively understand, ask, and answer bigger questions than a literal reader can.
Here are some common ways readers think about making inferences:
- Character Analysis: Making inferences about what a character is like based on their actions, thoughts, or words. For example, “I think the Baileys are a nice family because they invite a stranger into their home and let him sleep in their house even though they don’t even know his name.”
- Predictions: Making inferences about what will happen next based on what has already happened so far, and based on what you know about characters: “I think the stranger will regain his memory soon because the doctor said he would in a couple of days. Also, he doesn’t seem that badly hurt.”
- Vocabulary: Use the context and what you know to make a guess about what a word means: “I think a draft is something cold because Mrs. Bailey shivered and said, ‘Brrr’ before saying there was a draft in the house.”
- Author’s purpose: Use the text and your background knowledge to infer what the author’s purpose was in writing this story: “I think the author is trying to explain something about nature in this story. He talks about nature all the time, and strange things are happening with nature at the Bailey farm. Maybe it has something to do with global warming, because Chris Van Allsburg has another book where he talks about environmental issues, and here it keeps talking about how it’s been summer for longer than usual.”
- Theme: Use evidence from the story to support a possible theme in the story: “I think there is a theme about nature in this book. In the beginning, it talks about the changing seasons. Later, the stranger is interacting with rabbits. He seems entranced by geese, and later on Farmer Bailey keeps talking about the weather and his pumpkins. Later, the author continues to mention the weather and trees. There’s a theme to do with nature throughout this story.”
This is one of the strategies that you can spend the most time on. The types of inferences and the depth of the inferences a student makes is very telling about their thinking while reading. As students reach upper grades, they are expected to make deeper inferences and provide compelling evidence to support it, so it’s important to get them used to the process of making simple ones and providing basic evidence when they’re young readers!
Sources:
Uretsky, Marcia. “Making Inferences from Data.” Teachers For Teachers(2006): 44-98. Web. 8 Aug. 2015. <http://www.qrsd.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/makinginferencesdec2012.7.pdf>.
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Related Posts:
How to Get the Most Out of Reading Time with Your Child
Why Your Child Hates Reading (and How to Change That)
Reading Strategy: Monitor Comprehension
Reading Strategy: Activate Background Knowledge
Reading Strategy: Make Connections
Reading Strategy: Ask Questions
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