Inferences
Objectives
Student will be able to:
use deductive reasoning to make inferences.
employ prior knowledge to assist in making inferences.
Introduction
People use
deductive reasoning
to reach conclusions based on facts. When we
deduce
, we use facts and information to draw a conclusion.
Similarly, people use deductive reasoning when they read. As you know, authors may not explain every detail nor do they tell you everything. They expect the reader to make
inferences,
or guesses, about the text. Readers can make inferences by using clues from the text and by applying their
prior knowledge
; that is, what they already knew.
Your prior knowledge and personal experiences influence the way you interpret the text.
By combining textual clues and prior knowledge, readers can make inferences about characters: their actions, their personalities, their motivations, and their lives. Inferences also allow readers to make predictions as they read.
Examples
Now let's practice using our powers of deduction and make some inferences. First, let's read the short passage "Trip for Two." Then, answer the questions that follow.
1.
Based on the passage, how does Devin view his luck? Write your inference in a complete sentence or two.
Devin does not think he is very lucky. He doesn't even want to enter the Bermuda trip give-away. He doesn't even believe he won the trip when he is announced the winner.
2.
Why does Devin think that Richard is playing a trick on him? Write your inference in a complete sentence.
Devin believes he has bad luck and since it was Richard who got Devin to enter the contest, Devin assumes his friend made the phone call.
Try Together
Read the excerpt from
The Sea Fairies
by L. Frank Baum, and then answer the questions that follow.
1.
What inferences can you make about Trot from reading this passage? Write your response in complete sentences.
Student responses may vary. Acceptable answers include:
Trot enjoys listening to Cap'n Bill's stories.
Trot is inquisitive and asks lots of questions.
Trot is smart and doesn't understand why Cap'n Bill would know so much about mermaids if nobody has lived after seeing one.
2.
The passage describes Cap'n Bill coughing, sneezing, and rubbing his head with his handkerchief. What is Cap'n Bill doing? Write your inference in complete sentences.
Student responses may vary. Acceptable answers include:
Cap'n Bill is trying to come up with a logical explanation.
Cap'n Bill is trying to avoid Trot's question.
Cap'n Bill wants to change the subject.
3.
You can tell from the passage that Cap'n Bill
a.
is fearful of mermaids.
b.
has a flair for telling stories.
c.
has no patience for Trot's questions.
d.
is a wise, old man.
b. has a flair for telling stories.
4.
Which of the following best describes Trot's personality?
a.
quiet and withdrawn
b.
easy to fool
c.
curious and pensive
d.
tiresome
c. curious and pensive
5.
Do you think Trot will get her answer from Cap'n Bill? Use evidence from the passage to support your prediction. Respond in complete sentences.
Student responses may vary. Acceptable answers include:
No. Cap'n Bill seems intent on avoiding the question. He even asks Trot to look at another ship.
Yes. Cap'n Bill is quite the storyteller, given how much detail he went into with the mermaid story. He will make something up to satisfy Trot's curiosity.
Please evaluate the student's answers:
Excellent
Good
Okay
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Devin never won anything, no matter how many contests he entered. He never even won a cupcake! So when Richard asked Devin to enter a raffle to win a free trip for two to Bermuda, Devin laughed and threw the paper in the trash. "Surely, you don't think I would win this trip."
Richard picked the paper out of the trash and shoved it back into Devin's hands. Devin filled it out, the whole time muttering, "It's a waste of time, Richard."
Weeks later, Devin received a phone call announcing that he had won the trip. Devin thought his best friend Richard was the guilty culprit.
"Oh, yeah. Sure I won the trip to Bermuda, Richard." Devin was about to hang up the phone when the voice on the other end said, "If you cannot take the trip, sir, we will find someone who can."
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"Why hasn't anybody seen a mermaid and lived?" asked Trot again.
"'Cause mermaids is fairies, an' ain't meant to be seen by us mortal folk," replied Cap'n Bill.
"But if anyone happens to see 'em, what then, Cap'n?"
"Then," he answered, slowly wagging his head, "the mermaids give 'em a smile an' a wink, an' they dive into the water an' gets drownded."
"S'pose they knew how to swim, Cap'n Bill?"
"That don't make any diff'rence, Trot. The mermaids live deep down, an' the poor mortals never come up again."
The little girl was thoughtful for a moment. "But why do folks dive in the water when the mermaids smile an' wink?" she asked.
"Mermaids," he said gravely, "is the most beautiful creatures in the world—or the water, either. You know what they're like, Trot, they's got a lovely lady's form down to the waist, an' then the other half of 'em's a fish, with green an' purple an' pink scales all down it."
"Have they got arms, Cap'n Bill?"
"'Course, Trot; arms like any other lady. An' pretty faces that smile an' look mighty sweet an' fetchin'. Their hair is long an' soft an' silky, an' floats all around 'em in the water. When they comes up atop the waves, they wring the water out'n their hair and sing songs that go right to your heart. If anybody is unlucky enough to be 'round jes' then, the beauty o' them mermaids an' their sweet songs charm 'em like magic; so's they plunge into the waves to get to the mermaids. But the mermaids haven't any hearts, Trot, no more'n a fish has; so they laughs when the poor people drown an' don't care a fig. That's why I says, an' I says it true, that nobody never sawr a mermaid an' lived to tell the tale."
"Nobody?" asked Trot.
"Nobody a tall."
"Then how do you know, Cap'n Bill?" asked the little girl, looking up into his face with big, round eyes.
Cap'n Bill coughed. Then he tried to sneeze, to gain time. Then he took out his red cotton handkerchief and wiped his bald head with it, rubbing hard so as to make him think clearer. "Look, Trot; ain't that a brig out there?" he inquired, pointing to a sail far out in the sea.
This selection is not copyrighted in the U.S.
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This selection is not copyrighted in the U.S.