Kid Friendly Guide: Making Inference and Drawing Conclusion

A kid-friendly guide to making inferences and drawing conclusions:

Making inferences and drawing conclusions are important skills that help us understand what we read. When we make inferences, we use our background knowledge and clues from the text to figure out something that the author doesn't directly tell us. When we draw conclusions, we use what we've read to make a judgment or decision about what might happen next or what the author is trying to say.

Here are some kid-friendly examples to help explain these concepts:

Example 1: Lena woke up to the sound of rain tapping on her window. She looked outside and saw that the ground was wet, and the trees were swaying in the wind. Lena inferred that it was raining outside.

Explanation: Lena used clues from the text (the sound of rain tapping on her window, the wet ground, and swaying trees) to make an inference that it was raining outside.

Example 2: Jenny was walking to school when she saw a group of kids running in the opposite direction. They looked scared and were shouting, "Bear! Bear!" Jenny drew the conclusion that there was a bear nearby and decided to turn around and go home.

Explanation: Jenny used what she read (the group of kids running and shouting "Bear!") to draw a conclusion that there was a bear nearby, and she made a decision based on that conclusion.

Example 3: The little boy walked into the kitchen and saw a tray of cookies on the counter. He saw crumbs on the table and chocolate on his sister's face. The little boy inferred that his sister had taken some cookies without asking.

Explanation: The little boy used clues from the text (the tray of cookies on the counter, crumbs on the table, and chocolate on his sister's face) to make an inference that his sister had taken some cookies without asking.

In summary, making inferences and drawing conclusions are important skills that help us understand what we read. By using clues from the text and our own background knowledge, we can figure out things that the author doesn't directly tell us and make judgments or decisions based on what we've read.