Maybe it’s just me, but I find inferencing is such a very, very hard skill to teach. But it’s also so very, very important. It’s like a riddle -the answer is not stated directly but it is probably the most common type of problem a student will encounter in their life. So…I went out scouring the web for some good materials on inferencing and am devoting an entire post to what I found. If you have any good materials or strategies you use, please post in the comments so others can benefit as well!
For older students:
1. Here is a humorous video to show your older students. Have them guess what’s going on (using facial expression and context clues).
2. I love using Speech Room News Comic Strips for Inferencing. My older students love Garfield and Snoopy so it’s not hard to motivate them using this activity!
3. Don’t forget about my Inferential and Problem-Solving Language Activity Pack. This pack contains tons of fun activities, cards, games and worksheets to target on inferencing! Take, for instance, the “”Who Can Answer the Fastest?” cards, a fun version of the game “20 questions.” Students are given 3 clues about a person, place or thing and must answer first to receive the card. For example “thing, bubble, sweet” would be “gum.”
For younger students:
1. Inference Riddle Game is a great way to work on inferencing. On this website, students are given a clues, one at a time, until they can guess the object.
For example:
Okay, be honest…how many clues did it take you to figure it out? I had so much fun on this website trying to guess the mystery on the first clue that I’m not even going to tell you how long I spent on it! 🙂
2. Pinterest
There are sooo many activities out there to target inferencing skills. Click HERE to see a list of them.
Some of my favorites are the pictures like this one:
3. Good old Tom and Jerry clips are perfect because there is minimal talking. I actually mute it and then pause it during various parts to infer or predict. This one would have been perfect for Valentine’s Day!
4. I found these cute St. Patrick’s Day Inferencing Freebie Cards from Preschool Speechin. These are perfect for young kiddos! Make sure you leave some feedback if you grab them!
Hope you “inferred” some new ways to teach these skills!
What do you use to teach inferencing? Leave your email and one random comment will win a copy of my new St. Patrick’s Question Pack (which does contain inferential questions)!
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Karlie says
February 19, 2013 at 1:36 amGreat inferencing activities:) thanks for sharing!
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Jenna Rayburn says
February 19, 2013 at 1:36 amNicole I use your Context Clues sets SO frequently! They are fab!
Thanks for the comic strip shout out.
Jenna
KC says
February 19, 2013 at 1:50 amSuch fun ideas to teach something that my students have such a hard time mastering! Thanks!!!
Felice Clark says
February 19, 2013 at 1:56 amWhat a great post with lots of ideas. Many of these could cross over into social skills and being a social detective! Thanks for this.
Everyone deServes to Learn says
February 19, 2013 at 2:09 amI find it hard to teach inferencing as a separate skill, since my students are ESL and everything they learn is basically inferencing for them! Everything you presented is something I would do just to teach basic vocabulary and concepts that some of my SIFE students never had exposure to.
-Maria
everyonedeservestolearn@gmail.com
Everyone deServes to Learn
BusySLP says
February 19, 2013 at 2:42 amI agree with Maria- the basis to inferencing is to first have the background knowledge to be able to make the inference. Then, it’s a puzzle with taking what they see and what they know to reach a conclusion. That said, this is a great list of ideas~ Thanks for sharing them. And, I too, love your context clues materials.
Kristin S says
February 19, 2013 at 3:12 amI use the ‘Partly Cloudy’ film by Pixar to work on inferring.
TeachSpeech365 says
February 19, 2013 at 10:18 amFor my younger kids who need pictures, I start with Super Duper’s WH inferential card decks. Then I move to cause and effect, prediction, then inferring after listening to stories.
bigreader333 says
February 19, 2013 at 1:58 pmThanks for sharing so many different ways to address inferencing. ptownsend26250@yahoo.com
Carly says
February 19, 2013 at 6:14 pmI try to work on predicting with my younger kids so they get an idea of inferencing. I love using books to teach these skills so students have context cues to help them.
cpnass@gmail.com
Breana Orland says
February 20, 2013 at 3:56 ami am only doing inference with my middler schoolers. They love comics and i found a few different inferencing decks and activities on tpt and pinterest, no sure who made them.
m.stein says
February 20, 2013 at 4:00 amWith my older kids, I like to use your Context Clues packet and comic strips. I already have your St. Patty Question Pack and I love it!! I am thinking about using it year-round. I’m loving how it targets different types of questions (from literal to evaluative). Feel free to create more inferential question packets like it! maria.wellman@gmail.com
Tamara says
February 20, 2013 at 4:28 amHey. I use pictures in fiction stories to have my students make predictions about why or how story events happened or why a character felt a particular way. For more basic inferencing practice, my students guess familiar items via “What am I?” activity. This way they can work on not only inferencing but adjectives and wh?s as well. I also love using your context clues cloze sentence activities that requires students to answer inferential questions from scenarios. I recently purchased your Crack the Case activities and can’t wait to use them with my students!!
Tamara says
February 20, 2013 at 4:32 amtnanders21@hotmail…..
Felice Clark says
February 20, 2013 at 4:38 amI realized I forgot to comment about how I target inferences. I use my tooth fairy inference game, other sources from TPT and a book from super duper (I think) called Between the Lines. It is great because it starts out with the simplest inference “location” and increases in difficulty. It contains warm up lessons and other ideas for targeting this skill. Inferencing is hard for my students because unfortunately they have not experienced a lot of places or experiences.
Lindsay D says
February 20, 2013 at 4:42 amI usually start with pictures. I also like to use things like grocery lists and “what’s in my bag?” activities for older students.
Nicole Allison says
February 21, 2013 at 8:33 pmI love “What’s in the Bag?” game!
blair764 says
February 20, 2013 at 4:43 amI use the Hamaguchi app. Between the Lines and various stories. I find the most success for my K-2 students when I can help them connect their own experiences to the text and then make some inferences. This is a hard skill, but essential to story comprehension and being able to tell the non literal events in stories. blairhoffman@verizon.net
Nicole Allison says
February 21, 2013 at 8:34 pmYou won! I’ll be sending the packet right over!
Lisa Varo says
February 20, 2013 at 11:05 amI Like to start with picture support and gradually work my way up. Such an essential skill. Thanks for this great list of materials n ideas. Varol@fortleboeuf.net
Shannon Giles says
February 20, 2013 at 11:12 amI like to use story books for making inferences. Using the books the kids are going to be required to make inferences with is hopefully helpful!
Jen K says
February 20, 2013 at 1:26 pmI use storybooks as well that are at the child’s level. This way it ties into their curriculum.
Stampngrl says
February 21, 2013 at 12:00 amI use riddles a lot with my typical primary language kids via many sources (100% Listening and Language Remediation & Expansion books, Artic. Riddle Race Game). For 2nd-3rd grade I use the Linguisystems cards for problem solving as it has 3 levels.. presents a picture & various types of inferential questions, that step up from the easier “wh” questions.
Nicole Allison says
February 21, 2013 at 9:41 pmThank you for all of your wonderful ideas! Some of these were just what I needed!