To make an inference or infer is often described as "reading between the lines." This is clearly not an adequate definition for our primary readers. Making an inference involves using background knowledge combined with information from the text and illustrations to draw conclusions about what is implied but not directly stated (Pinnell & Scharer, 2003). In other words, sometimes an author does not come right out and tell something but uses words or illustrations to show readers so they can draw their own conclusions and make logical predictions.
In Reading Power, Adrienne Gear (2006) describes inferring as "filling in, in your head, what is not written on the page" (p. 82). She explains that she helps young readers understand the strategy of inferring by telling them a secret. The secret is that authors sometimes don't tell everything; they leave things out because they want readers to figure some things out for themselves. According to Harvey and Goudvis (2000), many readers' questions are not explicitly answered by the author but through inferences made by the readers. Harvey and Goudvis explain that proficient readers create meaning based on the implicit notions they infer and that readers would not be able to grasp the deeper meaning of texts without inferring.
Think about the well-known character of Goldilocks. The authors of the many versions of Goldilocks and the Three Bears do not explicitly state that Goldilocks does not think of others' feelings before acting. We can infer this, however, from information in the text. For example, Goldilocks enters the bears' house uninvited, eats their food, breaks their things, and takes a nap in their beds. This does not sound like the actions of a little girl who thinks about the feelings of others. We are able to back up this inference with evidence from the text.
Inferring Feelings Charades
In Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension to Enhance Understanding, Harvey and Goudvis (2000) describe an inferring game used with kindergarteners. This game is a good one to use to introduce the idea of inferring. In the game, one student has a feeling word taped on her (or his) back so that she cannot see it but the rest of the class can. Classmates then give clue statements to help the student infer what feeling is on her back. For example, if the feeling is "angry," student clues might include statements similar to the following:
My brother blamed me for something he did, and then I got in trouble!
I missed my recess for no good reason!
I was the only person who did not get the color of lollipop that I wanted!
After several clues are given, the student must infer what feeling word is on her back.
Variation of Inferring Feelings Charades
Role-play several different feelings and ask students to make inferences based on your actions. For example, pretend to walk in the door, slam it, slam your books down on the table, and sigh loudly. Point out to your students that you didn't tell them how you are feeling, but ask them what they can infer. They should support their inferences with specific actions from your role-play.
After role-playing several examples, break the class into small groups and allow the groups to plan their own examples. Allow 15 minutes for the groups to plan and practice. Be certain to move from group to group to monitor and support as needed.
During whole-group sharing, record inferences on a simple two-column inference-evidence chart that you created on the board or on a large piece of chart paper.
Inference-Evidence Chart
| Inference |
Evidence |
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|
 |
Think-Aloud
The think-aloud allows students to hear the kind of self-talk, problem solving, and thinking that effective readers use when inferring; it demonstrates thought processes the students can practice. During a think-aloud, allow the students to hear everything you are thinking while problem solving and using strategies.
Example
Read aloud the poem "If I Were in Charge of the World," by Judith Viorst, from
If I Were in Charge of the World and Other Worries: Poems for Children and Their Parents. The poem can be found at
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/if-I-were-in-charge-of-the-world. After reading the poem and allowing students to discuss what they might do if they were in charge of the world, model, through a think-aloud, what it looks like to make an inference:
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In this first stanza, the speaker of the poem does not come right out and say that he (or she) does not like oatmeal, but I can infer this because he says he would cancel oatmeal. I can't imagine canceling anything that I like to eat, and so I am making the inference that the speaker of the poem does not like oatmeal. |
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In the second stanza, the speaker says, "There'd be brighter night lights" if he were in charge of the world. From this, I make the inference that the speaker is afraid of the dark. When I was little and afraid of the dark, I always used a night-light. The speaker does not come right out and say that he is afraid of the dark, but the fact that he wants brighter night-lights makes me infer this. |
Record your inferences and the phrases that led to those inferences on a simple two-column inference-evidence chart (the same chart shown in the section above) that you created on the board or on a large piece of chart paper.
Nonfiction and the Think-Aloud
Find a short nonfiction article that has text features such as photographs, diagrams, maps, or charts, and give each student a copy. Use the think-aloud to show how to gain information and make inferences from the text features. An example of success: After listening to a think-aloud that focused on text features, students in a third grade class were given an article about humpback whales. The author did not come right out and tell the readers that the whales migrate to warmer waters, but by studying a map in the article, the students were able to make this inference.
Think-Aloud Mini-Lesson
Present a whole-group mini-lesson that defines and models inferring for students. According to Gay Su Pinnell and Patricia Scharer (2003) in Teaching for Comprehension in Reading, Grades K–2, a mini-lesson has four components: introducing the strategy, explaining why the strategy is important to readers, demonstrating the strategy, and clearly stating what readers should do. This mini-lesson should be interactive and invite student engagement.
Example
Introducing the Strategy
Adrienne Gear (2006) introduces the strategy of inferring as the following secret:
I'm going to tell you a secret that will help you learn to infer. Are you ready? Here's the secret—not all authors tell you everything. But they didn't not tell you because they lost their pen or ran out of paper. They didn't tell you everything because they wanted you, the reader, to figure it out for yourself. (p. 82)
Clarify with a simple definition of
inferring written on chart paper, such as:
Inferring means using what you already know plus what the author says or shows to figure things out on your own. You use inferring to figure things out when the author has not directly told you.
Explaining Why the Strategy Is Important to Readers
Explain to students that authors don't always come right out and tell us everything, and so it is important that readers infer so that they can better enjoy and understand what they are reading.
Demonstrating the Strategy
While reading aloud
Yo! Yes? by Chris Raschka, stop on pages 5 and 6 where the text reads,
"You! Me?" and think aloud for the students your own inferring process. It may look similar to the following:
The author does not come right out and tell me anything specific about the little boy in green, but I can make the inference that he is shy because of the way he is standing in the first few pages (refer to his body language and facial expressions on the first few pages). When I feel shy, this is how I might look. The author also gives me some clues that the boy in green is shy with the size of print on the first page (look back at page 2). See how it is small—like he is talking very quietly. If you look at page 6, you can see he looks surprised that the other boy is talking to him. Even though the author does not come out and tell me the little boy in green is shy, I infer this because of all the clues or evidence in the words and pictures. Do you see how this works?
Clearly Stating What Readers Should Do
Remind students that good readers make inferences while reading. Ask them to help you chart language that shows a reader is inferring such as:
I think...
I bet...
Maybe it means...
I'm guessing that...
When the author says..., it makes me think...
Additional Mini-Lesson Topics Related to Making Inferences
Here are some other mini-lesson ideas about making inferences that you can explore with your students:
- Previewing a book before reading can help us make predictions and inferences related to what we will be reading.
- Sometimes we can make inferences about the theme of a book. We can infer what the bigger picture is, what message the author wants us to take from the book even if he or she does not directly state it.
- Our inferences may change as we encounter new information.
- Good readers support inferences with evidence.
- Illustrations, charts, tables, diagrams, maps, and graphs can help us make inferences.
- Using what we know about characters, we can infer how they might act in or respond to situations that are not actually in the text.
Familiar Stories
A familiar story has a "high inference value" by virtue of that familiarity. The students can focus on the inferences since they already know the story—and know what is not directly stated. You might have the students themselves recount the story. Then you can pose the inference you want the students to understand and support. As noted at the beginning of this reading strategy, most children are familiar with the story of Goldilocks and the three bears. After the students retell the story, ask them to suggest evidence for the inference that Goldilocks didn't think about the feelings of others before acting. Write the evidence on an inference-evidence chart. Below is a partially filled-out chart using the Goldilocks example:
Inference-Evidence Chart
| Inference |
Evidence |
| Goldilocks does not think about the feelings of others before acting. |
Uninvited, Goldilocks enters the bears' house, eats their food, breaks their things, and sleeps in their beds. |
Another graphic organizer that would prove useful here is a web. Since much inferring is done about the characters in texts, you could create an inference web that includes an inference about the character as well as evidence to support the inference. Here is the information about Goldilocks organized into a web.
From the ORC Website
The AdLIT reading strategy "
Making Inferences" provides definitions and activities about inferring for adolescent readers. It would be especially helpful for third grade to fifth grade elementary teachers looking to extend the strategy.
Guided Practice
Immediately following a mini-lesson or think-aloud, provide guided practice in which students have an opportunity to practice inferring with the support of the teacher and peers. This is a promising tactic with both fiction and nonfiction.
Example of Guided Practice After Think-Aloud with Yo! Yes?
Select two to three other pausing points while reading aloud
Yo! Yes? Allow students to talk to a partner or pair-share about the inferences they make about the characters. Allow several pairs to share with the whole group.
Example of Guided Practice After Mini-Lesson Using "If I Were in Charge of the World"
Reread the second stanza of "If I Were in Charge of the World," and allow students to discuss with a partner what inference they can make from the sentence in which the speaker wishes basketball baskets were forty-eight inches lower. Allow students to share responses with the whole group. Record responses on the class inference-evidence chart started during the mini-lesson.
Allow students to read the third stanza with their partner, make one to two inferences, and share them with the class. Record their inferences on the class inference-evidence chart.
Finally, hand out individual inference-evidence sheets, and ask students to read the last stanza independently and record one inference on the sheet. A
template of an inference-evidence sheet is provided here for your convenience.
Instead of using an inference-evidence sheet, you might ask students to record their inferences and evidence in a double-sided journal.
Following Guided Practice: Nonfiction Example Using Facts from the Text
The next step is to let students try their wings—to practice what they have just learned. Give students, working in pairs, about 10 minutes to read an article or section of text and then discuss any inferences they can make. They can record their facts and inferences on a facts-inference sheet like the one below or share their facts and inferences with the whole class.
Facts-Inference Sheet
| Facts from the Text |
Inference |
| Saber-tooth tigers have short legs and cannot run fast. |
They must sneak up on their prey. |
Following Guided Practice: Nonfiction Example Using Text Features
After you and your students have completed a guided practice that focused on text features, let the students try a similar reading on their own. Give students about 10 minutes to work with a partner to first study the photographs, diagrams, maps, charts, or other text features in a simple article and then discuss any inferences they are able to make. Ask the partners to share their inferences and evidence with the whole group.
Independent Practice/Marking Inferences in Independent Reading
Remind students that good readers are always inferring. Give them each two Post-it notes, and ask them to keep these with them during independent reading, buddy reading, and managed independent learning (center time). If they make an inference, they should mark the pertinent page in the book. Allow time for sharing daily as students practice inferring at the independent level.
Create a Reminder Book Mark
Review with students what it means to make an inference. Direct them back to any definitions or charts you have constructed together. On a sturdy book mark or page in their reading journal, ask them to make a quick sketch or write a few words or ideas that will help them remember the strategy of making inferences.
Discussion/Sharing
During whole-group discussion, allow individuals to share the inferences they made while reading independently or with buddies. Ask them not only to share their inference but to support their thinking with illustrations or text.
Guided reading: In guided reading, the teacher works with a small group of students who have similar strengths and needs and who are at the same or a similar instructional level. The ultimate goal is comprehension. Texts are selected based on the specific level and needs of the group. The structure of a guided reading lesson is as follows: selecting the text, introducing the text, reading the text, revisiting and discussing the text, and teaching for processing strategies. Working with words and extending the meaning of the text through writing are optional components that the teacher includes or excludes based on student needs (Pinnell & Scharer, 2003, p. 42).
Guided practice: According to Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis (2000, p. 13), guided practice involves a gradual release of responsibility to students. Immediately after a strategy has been modeled, the teacher and students practice together. The teacher scaffolds student attempts, provides feedback, and allows students to share with peers.
Making inferences: Readers go beyond the words in the text to draw conclusions about what is implied, not stated (Pinnell & Scharer, 2003, p. 18).
Mini-lesson: A short, often whole-group, lesson in which the teacher introduces a strategy, explains why the strategy is important, demonstrates the strategy, and invites readers to try it, and clearly states what good readers do (Pinnell & Scharer, 2003, p. 176). The mini-lesson is interactive and based on student needs.
Pair-share: Following a mini-lesson, think-aloud, or specific teacher prompt, a pair of students engage in a discussion, practice a strategy, or respond together as a way of making meaning and connecting to what has been learned (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000, p. 39).
Strategy group: Grouping students based on evidence of need with a specific strategy or skill, rather than instructional level. In strategy groups, texts are selected that support practice with the skill or strategy being taught (Szymusiak & Sibberson, 2001, p. 64).
Gear, Adrienne. (2006). Reading power: Teaching students to think while they read. Markham, Ontario: Pembroke.
Harvey, Stephanie, & Goudvis, Anne. (2000). Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension to enhance understanding. York, ME: Stenhouse.
Miller, Debbie. (2002). Reading with meaning: Teaching comprehension in the primary grades. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.
Pinnell, Gay Su, & Scharer, Patricia, L. (2003). Teaching for comprehension in reading. Grades K–2: Strategies for helping children read with ease, confidence, and understanding. New York: Scholastic.
Raschka, Chris. (1993). Yo! Yes? New York: Orchard.
Szymusiak, Karen, & Sibberson, Franki. (2001). Beyond leveled books. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.
Viorst, Judith. (1984). If I were in charge of the world and other worries: Poems for children and their parents. New York: Aladdin.