Description
Are you looking for a way to help your students actually understand inferencing - not just guess?
This complete inferencing unit gives you everything you need to teach students how to:
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Find clues
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Use background knowledge
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Make logical inferences
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Explain their thinking clearly
through engaging, hands-on activities and a mystery writing project!
What’s Included
1. Making Inferences Introduction - FULLY EDITABLE Google Slide presentation (23 slides) and ready-to-print PDF (includes ANSWERS)
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Introduces the concept of what is an inference
2. Making Inferences interactive notebook page - FULLY EDITABLE Google Slide presentation (1 page) and ready-to-print PDF with ANSWERS)
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Interactive notebook page for students as an anchor chart
3. Finding Clues and Background Knowledge - FULLY EDITABLE Google Slide presentation (27 pages) and ready-to-print PDF (includes ANSWERS)
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A scaffolded lesson on the steps to find clues and how to use background knowledge when inferencing
4. Classroom Mystery Bags Activity - FULLY EDITABLE Google Slide presentation (7 pages) and ready-to-print PDF with ANSWERS
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Interactive class activity where students work in groups, analyze pictures, and explain why they are clues given background knowledge.
5. Making Inference and Explaining WHY - FULLY EDITABLE Google Slide presentation (23 pages) and ready-to-print PDF (includes ANSWERS)
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A scaffolded lesson on the steps to write and explain the reasoning behind an inference
6. Inference Escape Room Activity - FULLY EDITABLE Google Slide presentation (7 pages) and ready-to-print PDF with ANSWERS
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Interactive class activity where students work in groups to solve a mystery, using all the skills they've learned so far.
7. Making Inferences Worksheet - FULLY EDITABLE Google Slide presentation (2 pages) and ready-to-print PDF with ANSWERS
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More practice on making inferences through text.
8. Writing with Inferencing - FULLY EDITABLE Google Slide presentation (36 pages) and ready-to-print PDF (includes ANSWERS)
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A scaffolded lesson on how good writers write with inferencing techniques as students will be writing their own mystery story.
9. Mystery Story Assignment - FULLY EDITABLE Google Slide presentation (2 pages) and ready-to-print PDF (rubric included)
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Full project outline (with rubric) for students to show knowledge, understanding, thinking, application, and communication.
10. Mystery Story Graphic Organizers - FULLY EDITABLE Google Slide (3 pages) presentation and ready-to-print PDF
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To help students scaffold their story assessment
11. Inferencing Quiz - FULLY EDITABLE Google Slide presentation (4 pages) and ready-to-print PDF with ANSWERS
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Final (summative) written assessment piece
*Please note that the Mystery Bag and Escape Room activities will require prep on the teacher part to print and cut cards and clues into bags/envelopes.
Why Teachers Love This Resource
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Clear, explicit instruction (no guessing what to teach next)
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Strong focus on scaffolding + gradual release
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Moves students from reading → writing with inferencing
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Highly engaging activities (students love the mystery bag game and escape room)
This unit blends critical thinking, reading, and writing in a way that actually sticks.
Ontario Language Curriculum Expectations:
C1.1 read and comprehend various texts, using knowledge of words, grammar, cohesive ties, sentence structures, and background knowledge
C2.1 identify and explain prior knowledge from various sources, including personal experiences, that they can use to make connections and understand new texts
C2.3 make predictions using background knowledge, text features, and evidence from the text, and pose questions to check whether their predictions were correct
C3.2 make local and global inferences, using explicit and implicit evidence, to extend their understanding of various texts
D1.4 select and classify ideas and collected information, using appropriate strategies and tools, and sequence content, taking into account the chosen text form, genre, and medium
D2.1 draft texts of various forms and genres, including narrative, persuasive, and informational texts, using a variety of media, tools, and strategies
D2.5 make revisions to the content of draft texts and to elements of style, such as word choice, and add or delete sentences, to improve clarity, focus, and coherence, seeking feedback
D2.6 edit draft texts to improve accuracy and style, checking for errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, and format; use a word processor to edit texts
Please note that I take great time in creating these resources. If you have any concerns I would greatly appreciate if you reach out to me through email as I strive to provide value-added resources for all my customers. You can email me at: margaret@mycalltoteach.com
Finally, follow me on Instagram, as this is where I post what I'm working on and what I launch - and I always launch with a flash sale or freebie!
Remember to leave a review! I truly value your feedback!
Total Pages
135 Google Slides, PDF ready-to-print ANSWERS