Making Inferences in Literary Texts

Which sentence BEST supports the idea that Jack is feeling sleepy?

• Jack went to bed late because he was at a birthday party.

• Jackʼs eyes were droopy and his eyelids felt really heavy.

• Jack put his head down on the desk.

• Jack was not paying attention to the lesson.

Jackie Robinson did something nobody had ever done before. He was the first African-American to play on a Major League Baseball team---the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson had to deal with racism all over the country. But, whenever things got difficult, his courage and determination kept him going.

From this paragraph, you can infer that:

• Jackie Robinson is a great figure in history.

• Jackie Robinson played many different sports.

• Jackie Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

• Jackie Robinson was very old.

Chip grabbed a bagel on his way out the door. "See you this afternoon," he yelled to his dad, who was getting ready to go to work.
 "Got everything you need?" his dad asked.   "Yep, it's all in here," Chip said, pointing to his backpack.   "Good luck on that English test," his dad said.   "I'll need it!"
Where is Chip going? 

• to his friend's house

• to band practice

• to school

• to the library

Max was baking some cookies, but then he got an important phone call. He returned a few minutes later to a smoke filled kitchen. What can you infer?

• The oven has turned off.

• Max forgot about the cookies and they are burning.

• A candle was blown out in the kitchen.

• The cookies are cooling on the baking pan.

"Clues" you see or read in the text are called?

• Background knowledge

• Text evidence

• A guess

An inference is not directly stated in the text.

• True

• False

Splat! " Oh, rats!" thought Katie as she stooped to clean up the gooey, runny mess.

"I hope we have another one. " She looked in the fridge and pulled out the carton. "One Left! Breakfast wasn't ruined after all."

What do you infer Katie cleaned up?

• milk

• eggs

• pancakes

• butter

The scout leader looked at the dark cloudy sky and muttered something under his breath. Then he looked at the map. "Let's get moving." He called to the group of tired boys. "The faster the better."

Why do you think the scout leader started rushing the boys?

• They were going to be late for dinner

• They were going to miss their ride that was waiting for them

• It was going to rain

• The sun was about to cause it to be too hot for them to stay out much longer

It was 8:30 on Sunday night. Emily stared at the large, empty poster board on her bed. Then she looked at the stack of un-read books about Abraham Lincoln on her desk. Emily began to cry.

Why do you think Emily was crying?

• She wanted a different color poster

• It was late and she had a lot of schoolwork to complete before she could end her night

• She did not want to go to sleep

• She wanted a book about George Washington instead

"Ouch!" Lucy had fallen again! She shivered and picked herself back up. Then she spotted her older sister Sarah, gliding backwards. She was so graceful. Sarah made everything look so easy.

What do you infer Lucy is doing?

• Swimming

• Ice Skating

• Horse Back Riding

• Dancing