Inferencing

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Inferencing

• A TAKS Skill,
• A Lifetime Reading Skill

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What is an inference?

• An inference is
• A logical conclusion based on clues from the text
  and personal connections made by the reader

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What is an inference?

• An inference is
• A logical conclusion made with the mind, not with
  the heart

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What is an inference?

• An inference is
• Textual evidence the readers own knowledge

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What is an inference NOT?

• An inference is NOT
• An opinion or a guess

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What does inferencing include?

• Inferencing includes
• Making predictions
• Drawing conclusions
• Making generalizations

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What is predicting?

• Predicting is using the information in the
  passage to infer an outcome

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Making a prediction Example

• Those poor Angels. Weak pitching by Donnelly and
  Glover. Theyve lost 9 of the last 11 games,
  with five errors in tonights game alone. I
  cant believe that Quinlan blew two easy
  opportunities to get runners out at first. And
  Anderson dropped 2 pop flies to left field. Will
  they ever start winning?

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Making a prediction Example

• What can you predict about the outcome of the
  Angels next game?
• What evidence from the text did you use to make
  this prediction?
• What knowledge of your own did you use to make
  this prediction?

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What is drawing conclusions?

• Drawing conclusions is making a reasonable
  decision based on your own knowledge and the
  information in the paragraph.
• The conclusion is NOT stated in the paragraph.

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Drawing conclusions Example

• Those poor Angels. Weak pitching by Donnelly and
  Glover. Theyve lost 9 of the last 11 games,
  with five errors in tonights game alone. I
  cant believe that Quinlan blew two easy
  opportunities to get runners out at first. And
  Anderson dropped 2 pop flies to left field. Will
  they ever start winning?

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Drawing conclusions Example

• What conclusion can you draw about why the
  Angels are losing games?
• What evidence from the text did you use to draw
  this conclusion?
• What knowledge of your own did you use to draw
  this conclusion?

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What is a generalization?

• A generalization is a broad statement that is
  based on the specific information that you are
  given. You take your knowledge of something
  specific and apply it to many things in general.

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Making a Generalization Example

• Those poor Angels. Weak pitching by Donnelly and
  Glover. Theyve lost 9 of the last 11 games,
  with five errors in tonights game alone. I
  cant believe that Quinlan blew two easy
  opportunities to get runners out at first. And
  Anderson dropped 2 pop flies to left field. Will
  they ever start winning?

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Making a Generalization Example

• What general statement can you make about the
  Angels players?
• What evidence from the text did you use to make
  this generalization?
• What knowledge of your own did you use to make
  this generalization?

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The key to inferencing

• The key to inferencing is finding the clues the
  author has imbedded in the text, and then
  combining those clues with what you (the reader)
  know in your head.

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The key to inferencing

• Authors dont expect readers to create
  inferences out of nothing.
• Authors provide information (text) for you to
  use.
• Sometimes you need to combine information from
  several sentences.

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The key to inferencing, example

• Sam ate the food on her plate without slowing
  down between bites.
• Possible inference
• She was very hungry
• Keep reading . . .

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The key to inferencing, example

• Sam ate the food on her plate without slowing
  down between bites. Her bus would be arriving in
  about two more minutes.
• Revised inference
• She was hungry, but the reason she didnt stop
  between bites was probably because she was in a
  hurry.

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Activity 1

• He put down 10.00 at the window. The woman
  behind the window gave him 4.00. The person
  next to him gave him 3.00, but he gave it back
  to her. So, when they went inside, she bought
  him a large bag of popcorn.

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Activity 2

• Juan is getting ready to leave tomorrow for his
  first year of college. He has packed up his
  clothes, books, posters, and his CD player. He
  has also taken a lamp, a carpet, linens, and
  towels. Juan has arranged for telephone service
  to be installed in his dorm room, and he has

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Activity 2

• purchased a meal plan in advance. Juans uncle
  will be driving him, and Juan has taken his
  uncles car to the garage to check the tires,
  fluid levels, and fill it with gas before the
  long drive to school. Juan has also lined up a
  part-time job in the campus bookstore to help pay
  his expenses.