Infer
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| Comprehension Skill: Making Inferences |
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| Make
an inference based on what you read & know. |
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PowerPoint:
Making Inferences & Drawing Conclusions
Teaching
Students to Infer
Much of the meaning that readers construct is based on their own prior knowledge combined with the text. Using textual information along with prior knowledge is called drawing inferences. Drawing inferences is required when part of the knowledge necessary to understand a passage is found in the text but some is not. That's what we know as reading between the lines. Many students have difficulty drawing inferences. What makes this tricky at times, is that conclusions have to be formed without the author actually telling directly what has happened.
To compare, inferencing is the opposite of "right there" answers that can be located directly in the text. The author doesn't state an action, mood, or event specifically, but you can figure it out from what you read and know. A simple example is, "Ed was so tired, he could barely stay awake for the test." The reader would infer that he didn't get enough sleep the night before, even though it was not directly stated.
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Another example is that if the story says the girl went to the car to go to her softball game, but then came back to get an umbrella, the reader would infer that it was raining outside and predict that the game could possibly be cancelled due to lightning.
Experienced
readers infer almost unconsciously, but it can be taught and
developed in less advanced readers. This page was designed to share
ideas and online activities to support skill development in this
area.
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