Making Inferences

Use clues from the text and your own prior knowledge to make educated guesses about what might happen next in a suspenseful story.

Mystery and suspense novels keep readers engaged by challenging them to make inferences. Inferences are predictions based on evidence. Good readers use critical thinking and imagination skills to create conclusions about the text.
What are inferences? Predictions, Text, Images

Inferences are important because they help readers understand a text better. Drawing conclusions allows the reader to make connections between the story's characters, setting, and plot. Authors often use literary techniques to create mysteries and suspense in their stories, such as foreshadowing, red herrings, and cliffhangers.
What are the literary techniques that authors use to create mysteries and suspense? Foreshadowing, red herrings, cliffhangers, Predictions, Text, Images, Surprises, Understanding, Characters

Foreshadowing, the use of hints about what will happen later in the plot, can build suspense throughout the story. Red herrings, and misleading clues, keep readers guessing about who or what is responsible for the conflict. Cliffhanger endings leave readers in suspense, wondering what will happen next.
How does foreshadowing build suspense? Hints, Reflection, Preview

When making inferences, readers use the text's clues plus their own knowledge and experience to create conclusions. By asking questions about what they have read, readers can make predictions and confirm their understanding of the story. Making inferences is an essential skill for reading comprehension and critical thinking.
How do readers make inferences? Using text's clues, own knowledge, and experience, Asking questions, Color coding, Notes, Listening, Talking, Watching.

Get Worksheet

Launch This Lesson

school.rocks/76

Open this URL in your Virtual Reality app.

Back to all classes