DEVELOPING INFERRING SKILLS USING A VARIETY OT TEXTS AND GENRES

In this session we will become aware of the different ways in which we may infer meaning
from various genres of linear and non-linear and texts. We will also practice various
techniques which will enable us to arrive at answers which are not explicitly stated in
different types of texts.
Before we begin the session, here is a song to tell us more about what inferencing is.
You can sing it with your students too.

The Infer Song

(sung to the tune of My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean)
Sometimes when youre reading a story
The words are not all there for you
So being a good book detective
Will help you to find any clue!
Chorus:
Infer! Infer!
We fill up whats not in the book, the book!
Infer! Infer!
Its taking a much closer look!
Some authors leave clues in their pictures,
Some authors leave clues in their text,
They give you just part of the story
And want you to fill in the rest!
(Repeat chorus)
So when you are reading a story
Be careful to read what is there
But then figure out what is missing
Now you are inferring with flair!
Power to Infer. Retrieved from www.stenhouse.com/pdfs/8203-ch6.pdf on May 20 2009

ACTIVITY 1: Recognizing Types of Inference

Have a look at this extract:
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"The men walked down the streets to the mine with their heads bent close to their
chests. In groups of five or six they scurried on. It was impossible to recognise
individuals from the small gaps between their caps, pulled down over their eyes, and
the tightly bound scarves tied tightly over the bottom half of their faces".
Now answer this question:
What was the weather like as the men walked to the mine?
Answer: ________________________________________________
How did you arrive at the answer?
To answer this question you have used the skill of inferring. This is sometimes called 'reading
between the lines'. Writers expect you to use this skill to get the most out of any piece of
reading.

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There are different kinds of inferences we can make:

Inference can be used in several ways to help you respond fully to a piece of reading.

You can infer a general fact or a precise piece of information.

You can infer emotions and feelings of characters in passage.

You can infer information about the author - his/her opinions, feelings, point of view.

To infer successfully you can:

1. Work out answer from contextual clues or references in the text.
2. Work out answer from the connotations of words used in text.
3. Match something in the text to your own understanding or experience or knowledge

to come up with the correct answer. Note that in cases like these, the answers
CANNOT be found in the text.

Task 1:
Have a look at the following extract and questions and spot how the clues help you come up
with the answer.

"Rain lashed against the windows as Jane stamped up and down the room stopping
only to check the time on the mantle clock every five minutes. Her book, bought
with such enthusiasm the day before, was flung carelessly in the corner beside the
abandoned picnic basket.
Jane stamped her feet and began to repeat her earlier tedious complaints against
nature. Emily merely smiled to herself and carried on reading the newspaper without
as much as a nod of the head".

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Question
Question 1
Question to infer information

Techniques for Inferring

Meaning
Clue:
The abandoned picnic basket.

Answers

What plans had Jane had for

the day?
Question 2
(question to infer emotion)
How would you describe Jane's
mood?

Clue:
Unable to sit still, watching the
clock, fed-up with reading,
complaining

Question 3
(question to infer author's
opinion or point of view)
What expression does the
author use to suggest her
disapproval of the main
character?

Clue:
The word choice tedious has
negative connotations and
suggests disapproval of Jane's
tiresome behavior.

ACTIVITY 2: Practising Inferring Skills

This exercise will help you practise the skill of inferring and check you know how to look for
clues in a reading passage. Indicate if the clues can or cannot be found in the passage
Here is an extract followed by five statements.
"Only those who were big sized were chosen to play football by the natural team leaders who
emerged every playtime. My duty was to sit behind the goal at the river end of the field and
pick any balls stupid enough to avoid the grasp of Tam Knight or "Spite" as he was referred to
in whispers by most of the lower school.
On occasion this meant removing my boots and socks - if I happened to be wearing any that
day. This particular day the water was higher than usual and as I tried to reach the ball which
had fallen into the river, I slipped off the slimy rock and fell into the murky wetness.

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While this was bad enough, I stood up just in time to see my left boot float down the river
and disappear under the bridge.
The roars of laughter and finger pointing were nothing compared to what I would
have to endure when I went home bootless!"
BBC Education: Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/bitesize/standard/english/reading/inference_rev2.shtml on 22 April
2009 .

Question

Clues

Answer

(Indicate if answer can

or cannot be found in
the passage)

1. The narrator was quite small as a

child.

True

False

2. The narrator enjoyed helping out at

playtime.

True

False

3. Tam Knight was a popular boy.

True

False

4. The narrator came from a wealthy

family.

True

False

5. The narrator had a happy childhood.

True

False

Check your answers in groups of four before your trainer confirms the answers with you.

ACTIVITY 3: Consolidating Inferring Skills

Read the questions to give you some idea of the answers to look for in the text on the
following page.
Then, read the text in order to infer some of the answers.
1. What clues are there in this account by the teacher that the child in this passage is not an
ordinary child?
2. In what ways is she probably different? (Note that you are never directly told. You need to
infer).
3. What makes you think so?

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Session 4

Handout: Activity 3

She reads books such as ordinary children of her age read and enjoy. I remember distinctly
when she first attempted to read a little story. She had learned the printed letters, using slips on
which the words were printed in raised letters; but these sentences had no special relation to one
another. One morning we caught a mouse, and it occurred to me, with a live mouse and a live cat to
stimulate her interest, that I might arrange some sentences to form a little story, and thus give her a
new conception of the use of language.
So I put the following sentences in the frame, and gave it to Helen: The cat is on the box.
A mouse is in the box. The cat can see the mouse. The cat would like to eat the mouse. Do not let
the cat get the mouse! The cat can have some milk, and the mouse can have some cake.'
The word the she did not know, and of course she wished it explained. At that stage of her
advancement it would have been impossible to explain its use, and so I did not try, but moved her
finger on to the next word, which she recognised with a bright smile. Then, as I put her hand
upon Puss sitting on the box, she made a little exclamation of surprise, and the rest of the
sentence became perfectly clear to her.
When she had read the words of the second sentence, I showed her that there really was a
mouse in the box. She then moved her finger to the next line with an expression of eager
interest. The cat can see the mouse.' Here I made the cat look at the mouse and let Helen feel the
cat. Her expression showed that she was perplexed,
I called her attention to the following line, and although she knew only the three words, cat,
eat and mouse, she caught the idea. She pulled the cat away and put her on the floor, at the
same time covering the box with the frame. When she read 'Do not let the cat get the mouse!' she
recognised the negation in the sentence and seemed to know that the cat must not get the mouse.
Get and let were new words.
She was familiar with the words of the last sentence, and was delighted when allowed to act
them out. By signs she made me understand that she wished another story, and I gave her a book

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containing very simple stories. She ran her fingers along the lines of raised letters, finding the
words she knew and guessing at the meaning of others.
Floyd, J. (2007). Study Skills for Higher Education: English for Academic Success. Selangor August Publishing

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ACTIVITY 4: Inferring Meaning From Non-Linear Texts

What is commonly known as text can also include graphics, images, cartoons which appear
in various genres like movie reviews, book blurbs, newspaper headlines, jokes and others.
Learning how to understand graphical elements in various genres will help us to gain more
from our reading.

Task 1: Reading a Movie Review

This activity is based on content from a movie-review website called Rotten Tomatoes. Why
do you think this particular name was chosen?
Look at the screen-shot of the review below which was taken from the website:

The reviews are categorized into two tomato categories Fresh and Rotten.
What could Fresh and Rotten could possibly mean? Circle your answers.
Tomatoes
Fresh
Rotten

Reviews
Positive/Negative
Positive/Negative

What does a tomatometer do? How do you know?

Did Night at the Museum receive a positive review?
Would you still see Night at the Museum after you have read the review? Why?
Look at the review below of another movie Up
Is this a positive review? How do we know this?

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What are some words from the text that helped you arrive at the answer?

Below is the synopsis of the movie. Would you watch Up after you have read the review?
Synopsis:
From DisneyPixar comes Up, a comedy adventure about 78-year-old balloon
salesman Carl Fredricksen, who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure
when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South
America. But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away
on the trip: an overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell. From
the Academy Award-nominated director Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc.),
DisneyPixars Up invites you on a hilarious journey into a lost world, with the least
likely duo on Earth. UP will be presented in Disney Digital 3-D in select theaters. --
Disney Pixar
From: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/

Will Up feature live actors or would it likely be an animated feature? How do you know
that? What does this show about the role that prior knowledge plays in helping us to make
correct inferences?

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Task 2: Practising Inference Skills through Cartoons

What is happening in the scene below?
What are Some of Calvins characteristics? What clues are there in the cartoon to suggest
that?
Is Susie similar of different from Calvin? How do you know this?
Is the Hobbes (the tiger) smart?

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Based in the cartoon above and below, do you think Calvin someone who does well at school?
How do you know this?

What do you think happens in the next scene? Predict what happens next.

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Does the following frame meet your expectations?

All cartoons from:

Watterson, B. (1995). Calvin and Hobbes: Scientific Progress Goes Boink. Pp. 24, 25,26. Kansas City: Andrews and MacMeel

Activity 5:
In groups of four, discuss the following:
How do we use our inferring skills in situations other than reading?
What can you do to help your students improve their inferring skills?

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