Making Inferences

Name: Stephanie Willmarth

Date: Monday, April 7, 2014
Subject of Lesson: Reading: Making Inferences Time Estimate: 20 minutes
Grade Level: Fifth Grade
PLANNING AND PREPARATION
Central Focus: Lesson Purpose and Rationale
Reading comprehension is a basic skill that children constantly need to build upon. The goal of
reading is to make meaning of a text so that the reader can understand what the author has written,
to gather information, and to simply enjoy the act of reading. Although much of reading
comprehension is literal, allowing the reader to build a basic understanding of information, there are
many techniques used by authors that force readers to utilize more advanced reading
comprehension skills. By the end of elementary school, students should be able to make basic
meaning from a text in addition to drawing inferences and exploring a text in more detail.
This lesson focuses on drawing inferences in a text. Not only do students need to understand
what and inference is, but they also need to be able to apply the skill in context. By combining
information that is stated in a text and prior knowledge, students can successfully build inferences
about characters, events, and settings within a story.
Specific Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS)
Reading Standards for Literature, Grade 5: Key Ideas and Details
1. Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing
inferences from the text.
Pre-Assessment Data
The students within this small pull-out group have been identified as below grade-level readers.
All four of the students have been designated as requiring additional in-school support in reading
after receiving a score of either a 1 or a 2 (out of 4) on the New York State fourth grade ELA
assessment. The four girls meet in a pull-out setting for thirty minutes per day to focus on
foundational reading and writing skills.
The students have had much practice in drawing inferences from a text, but still demonstrate
confusion in the definition and application of inference. Each night, the students are required to
read one chapter from the guided reading book, Caddie Woodlawn, by Carol Ryrie Brink, and
complete a PITA chart. The PITA chart, representing Prediction, Inference, Text-to-Text
Connection, and Authors Purpose, focus on foundation reading comprehension skills. After
working with the group of students for two weeks, I have noticed confusion among the group
regarding inferences. The students are unsure about the definition of inference, and therefore
show great difficulty in drawing inferences from the text. Each time that we meet to review the PITA
chart, at least 50% of the students have inaccurate inferences that are simply not inferences.
When verbally asked the definition of inference, only 50% of the students could provide the
definition of inference and provide an example of the reading term.
Lesson Objectives
Given a picture, caption, and the definition of inference, the student will write one sentence
describing an inference made from the given evidence, with room for error in spelling and grammar.
Modifications/Accommodations
Modifications
Accommodations
All four girls within the reading group are
- Student A will be provided individual support
provided with additional in-school support, giving
when drawing inferences from a text in order
the special education teacher the opportunity to
to guide thinking.
modify classroom materials and worksheets to
- Student A will be seated next to the teacher
best tailor the lesson to the students reading
for ease of additional reinforcement.
needs.

Research-Based Strategies
- Direct vocabulary instruction defining inference verbally and in writing.
- Nonlinguistic representation the students will draw inferences from the expression and
body language of peers and from a given set of pictures, providing an alternative activity to
textual inferences.
- Reinforcing effort and giving praise occurs throughout the lesson to support student
thinking and active participation.
- Setting objectives and providing feedback the students understand the learning
objective of drawing inferences from a text. Feedback will be provided to support the
students in completing the learning goal.
- Homework and practice nightly homework is provided in which students read and
complete the PITA chart, providing frequent practice in drawing inferences from a text.
- Questioning questioning will be used throughout the lesson to allow students to fill-in
missing information and draw important conclusions.
Materials/Resources
- PITA chart (one per student)
- Caddie Woodlawn, by Carol Ruthie Brink
- Making Inferences worksheet (one per student) - Pencil (1 per student)
- Inference picture flashcards
Arrangement of Physical Space and Students

Small Group Table

Whiteboard

Bathroom

Small Group Table

Mrs. Frasers Work

Space

Mrs. Fabrettis Work

Space

Windows

Mrs. Sammons
Work Space

Mrs. Blodgetts Work

Space
Promethean

Steps
A. Introduction

INSTRUCTION
Key Questions, Comments, Directions, Assessments
Anticipatory Set: Introduce the topic of making inferences.
What is an inference?
Generate a conversation about making inferences, based upon
student responses. Students should have some prior knowledge
about inferences. Error in the definition of inference is expected, but
the lesson will tune-in to student confusions.
Hook: Im going to make a specific facial expression and use clear
body language that portrays and emotion. Using your inferencing

skills, I want you to shout out the emotion that I am portraying when
you know.
Make a sad facial expression with head turned down and poor
posture. Once students have identified the emotion that the teacher
is presenting, generate a discussion about how they identified the
emotion.
What clues did you use to identify the emotion?
How do those pieces of evidence portray a sad emotion?
Ask students to choose an emotion to portray through facial
expressions and body language. Instruct them to work with a partner
to act out an emotion while the partner infers the emotion that is being
portrayed. Allow time for both partners to act and infer the emotion
that is portrayed.
What emotion did you partner show?

B. Lesson Body

How did you know use your partners body language to infer their
emotion?
Just as you can infer the emotion of a person by reading their body
language and their facial expression, you can make inferences about
a text using the words of an author. Lets practice making inferences
with some pictures and captions.
Present the inference picture flashcards.
Model: Show Picture 1 of the inference flashcards
.
Before I even think about making an inference, I need to consider the
evidence in front of me. What is the author and the illustrator telling
me?
Hmm, as I look at the picture, I notice that there are two girls standing
outside of a school with a cap and gown on. I also see that there is a
sentence describing the events in the picture.
Explain that an inference combines the evidence in a picture or
written in text with prior knowledge.
I know that a cap and gown usually symbolizes graduating from
school. This is information that I already know. Now, I can make an
inference by combining my knowledge with the evidence in front of
me.
Seeing that the girls are wearing what I know to be graduation attire,
and the sentence says that the two girls are standing outside of a
middle school, I infer that Casey and Josie are graduating from
middle school.

Guided Practice: Show Picture 2 of the inference flashcard set.

Explain that the group will practice making inferences from a picture
and caption together.
Our first step is to look at what evidence we have. Describe the
picture evidence we are given in this situation.
What evidence is given to us in text?
Remind students that an inference pairs the evidence with prior
knowledge. Begin a conversation about what prior knowledge
students may have related to Picture 2.
Prompt students to make an inference about Picture 2 by combining
prior knowledge with the text evidence. Verbally brainstorm possible
inferences that can be drawn from the evidence given.
Excellent job with making inferences! I think that we are starting to
link the given evidence with prior knowledge to form an inference.
Although you can make inferences verbally, you may need to write an
inference as well. Lets practice writing the inferences we just made!
Distribute the Making Inferences worksheet to each student. Review
the definition of inference using the visual at the top of the page.
The best way to record an inference in the format of, I think _______,
because _________. This allows the person reading your inference
to identify the inference you are making and discover how you made
that inference.
Guide the students in writing their inferences about Picture 1. Explain
the format of the chart, which outlines the text evidence and prior
knowledge. Instruct students to write the inference about Picture 1 in
the designated section.
Independent Practice: Present Picture 3 to the students.
Now that we have had some practice with making inferences, I want
you to consider what you see in Picture 3 and what you know about
the situation. Write about the evidence you are given, the prior
knowledge that you have, and finally about the inference you are
making about the situation.

C. Closure

Monitor students as they make observations about Picture 3 and as

they read the given caption. Support students with questioning and
by answering questions if needed.
Remind students that they needed to read Chapter 9 of Caddie
Woodlawn, by Carol Ruthie Brink, for homework. They needed to
complete a PITA chart on the chapter, with one section specifically
about inferences. Instruct students to read the inference that they

made about the chapter.

Now that we have reviewed what inferences are and how to make
inferences, what do you think of the inference you made this
weekend?
Are there any changes that you would make, now that you have more
knowledge about how to make an inference?
Instruct students to decide whether their inference is a valid
conclusion about the chapter. If it is acceptable as it is, have them
rewrite the inference, with textual evidence and prior knowledge, in
the final section of the Making Inferences worksheet. If students need
to revise their inference, all the students to refer to the text and make
changes to the inference as needed. Monitor students as they work,
supporting students in thinking and making inferences. Check each
inference to ensure that all students have made a valid inference
about the chapter.
Lets share our inferences about Chapter 9! Because there is so
much information in Chapter 9, and each of you brings your own
knowledge to the book, everyone could have a different inference
and thats ok!

D. Follow-up Activities

Allow each student to share their inference verbally with the group.
Support students when needed and provide feedback about the
inference that they made. Continue to review the PITA chart that was
completed about Chapter 9 of Caddie Woodlawn.
- Continue to practice making inferences while reading. The group
will continue to receive reading assignments for Caddie Woodlawn,
completing a PITA chart each night. The PITA chart will require the
students to make inferences about reading on a nightly basis.
- Consistently question students about inferring while reading. What
inferences did you make while reading? This is a question that can
be applied to any reading or lesson in the future.