Teachers want to push students to think deeper. The goal is to go beyond the surface and provide detailed, evidence-based responses. Teaching inferences is one of the strongest ways to ensure students dig into the content more deeply than they may be used to. A worksheet on making inferences can help achieve this goal. Below, I have outlined all the different types of inference worksheets that you can use in your classroom. First, it is important to understand the definition of inference. Inferencing is the process of drawing conclusions from evidence using prior experience or knowledge.
Inference questions involve reading between the lines and making an educated guess, as the answer is not explicitly stated. Students must use clues from a text and combine them with prior knowledge to draw conclusions. The 3 techniques below teach students not only what inferences are but also how to make them accessible across all content areas!
While many districts are pushing technology and projects, it does not mean worksheets are gone. Whether the district is using Chromebooks, tablets, or paper and pencil, worksheets are versatile and work in any format! Additionally, worksheets are well known to students, so they can focus on the content rather than worrying about how to complete the assignment.
The well-known saying of “Practice Makes Perfect!” definitely applies to inferences. By utilizing a making inferences worksheet, students can be given short passages followed by inference-based questions. For example, students can be given an inference-and-conclusion worksheet with various scenarios. After reading the passage, students will have a couple of inferential-based questions to answer. Depending on age and the rigor needed, questions can be multiple-choice, short-answer, or a combination of both.
Here is one example that can be on a making inferences worksheet for 5th grade. This can be a making inferences paper, a making inferences worksheet, a PDF copy, or a technology-based format. Students read a short story about a little girl in a grocery store. She wants candy, but her mom insists on something healthier, so she picks watermelon. One of the questions asks students how the little girl feels by the end of the story.
Students are going to have to take what they know, such as how they have felt when being told no for a sweet treat, and take what they have learned, which would be the little girl still getting a yummy yet healthy treat. Students will pull their evidence to pick the best adjective they know to describe their feelings and explain why they chose that adjective.
Teachers can go through this example as a class together to help students learn how to make inferences. It will be important for students to talk out their thoughts with a partner, small group, and the class.
As students progress to working independently, they can complete various inference worksheets.
Worksheets with scenarios may be one of the best ways to teach students how to make inferences. By using scenarios, students can relate to the situation being described. Students will then draw on what they have read to answer inference-based questions.
Inferences are made partially from looking at the evidence provided. However, this does not only occur in the text. If students are studying science and learning about fossils, they can make observations to form inferences. Students can use their five senses in order to make as many observations as possible and then make inferences based on what they have observed- their evidence- with what they already know.
Making inferences is all about taking what one already knows and adding in what is being taught. Drawing conclusions means making inferences and figuring out what makes the most sense. In many situations, there may be more than one correct answer. In these worksheets, students may identify the moral of the story, the theme, or explain why a character makes a certain decision.
In a story, there is only so much time to build character traits. However, students can make inferences in order to truly get to know the characters. Students can be given short passages focused on characters. Then they can look at the words the character says, the character’s actions, and what other characters say about the character under examination. Students will be able to draw on what they already know about character traits, such as what it means to be kind, and use evidence from the passage to build knowledge about a character.
There are so many types of reading worksheets that students can use to make inferences. These can be used for text-dependent questions, defining new vocabulary using pre-existing knowledge of prefixes and suffixes, tracking character traits, and making connections to other texts, such as well-known children’s stories.
To get started on lesson planning, head over to Kirsten’s Kaboodle to sign up for a freebie on making inferences!
“Work Smarter, Not Harder” is the perfect phrase to describe the use of no-prep lessons. There are so many resources online from other teachers. In this Making Inferences Worksheets resource, there are no-prep worksheets and inference riddles for 3rd-5th grade. In addition to instructional pages and anchor charts, there are 10 inferencing passages and related questions that are designed to show students how inferencing works. They also use the puzzle-piece technique to keep the resources consistent!
There are also 10 pages of riddles where students use inference skills to solve them, as well as space to create their own riddles! Riddles are one way to practice inferential thinking skills to become successful readers. They can make guesses based on what they read and what they already know. This resource has everything needed and can be used digitally or on paper.
Making inferences is tough to learn! However, with time and practice, students can master this tough content and be so proud of themselves. There will be ample opportunity to reinforce inferencing skills throughout the school year. This can occur when students engage in discussions, reading comprehension activities, and the study of poetry. Students will soon be able to move beyond recognizing and reading inferences in others’ works to incorporating them into their daily lives.
I am Kirsten Tulsian, an elementary educator with 18 years of experience as a teacher and counselor. My passion lies in empowering students to discover their inherent brilliance through the use of engaging, rigorous, and meaningful activities. I look forward to connecting with you!
