An inference is...

• an educated guess

• what I learned + what I already know

• using clues in literature provided by the author to figure things out

• what's not said but implied

Use inferences to...

share a potential reason why something happens or how it happens. This could be about characters, setting, and/or plot.

What makes an inference valid?

TEXT EVIDENCE, REASONING, BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

What happened? How do you know?

What did we do by guessing what happened?

An inference is NOT...

an observation!

Observations involve...

• something you notice, witness, or see

• NOT a process

Inferences involve...

• PROCESS

• Something you conclude by putting together evidence

What can we infer? How do we know?

A man in a collared shirt and tie screams into a cell phone. His brow is scrunched and his skin is flushed.