Non Fiction Inference

How does a person make an inference?

• Makes a guess and hopes for the best.

• Looks for the answer directly in the text then makes a guess.

• Asks the teacher for help.

• Makes a guess based on what the text says + his own experiences.

Many breeds of dogs are used for work. In many cultures dogs are used to herd sheep. The dogs keep the flock from being attacked by animals such as wolves. They also keep sheep from wandering off. Sheepdogs are known for their loyalty and gentleness.

Based on your reading of the text, you can INFER that:

• Sheepdogs are not very smart dogs.

• Sheepdogs are gentle and loyal.

• There are many breeds of dogs.

• Wolves are afraid of sheepdogs.

Eliza Yellow Bird sits in bleachers surrounded by fans yelling nasty comments at the Fighting Sioux hockey team of the University of North Dakota. The 12-year-old tries to ignore the shouts, but every insult feels like a punch in the stomach. "They'll yell, "The Sioux stink. The Sioux are losers, " says Eliza, who is Native American. "It makes me feel angry because it's like they're saying it against the Sioux tribe and all Indians." Eliza is among thousands of Native Americans and others who are speaking out against sports teams that use Indian logos, nicknames, and mascots. They say that these symbols-along with "Indian" war chants and halftime dances-mock, or make fun of, their culture. They say that images of Indians wearing face paint and feathers are stereotypes. A stereotype is an overly simple picture or opinion of a person, group, or thing. "Stereotypes keep people from seeing who Native Americans are today," says Christine Munson, co-chair of the Youth Indian Mascot and Logo Task Force, an organization fighting to get rid of Indian mascots and logos from Wisconsin public schools. "We don't live in tepees. We don't always walk around with feathers in our hair. We're police officers, lawyers, professors, and business owners." From this article, you can conclude that ___________

• most Native Americans go to hockey games.

• many Native Americans want teams to stop using Indian logos, nicknames, and mascots.

• Eliza Yellow Bird wants to be a lawyer when she grows up.

• teams use Indian logos, nicknames, and mascots out of respect for Native Americans.

Macey's mom noticed that she was squinting as she read her book, which was only a few inches away from her face. She scheduled a doctor's appointment for the next week, and when the doctor said Macey needed glasses, she tried on every single pair in the office. After spending an hour looking at glasses, mom suggested that perhaps she should sleep on it and come back and decide in the morning. Macey agreed, but she kept talking about the pros and cons of each pair all night long.
What can you infer about Macey?

• Macey is mad at her mother.

• Macey does not want glasses.

• Macey is very excited about getting glasses.

• Macey has trouble making decisions.

One of the most spectacular sights in China isn't a city, a snow-capped peak, or a desert sand dune. It's a wall! To be more Precise, it's the Great Wall, an ancient structure that took thousands of workers more than 40 years to build. Most of the Great Wall was built between 259 and 210 B.C., during the reign of Emperor Ch'in Shih Huang Ti. he was a powerful leader who united many small states into a strong empire. He built the wall to protect his empire against Mongol Horsemen who swept down from the north, raiding villages and towns. At 23 feet tall and almost 4,000 miles long, the Great Wall of China is the longest structure ever built. That's 1,000 miles longer than the distance from the east coast of the United States to the west coast. You can infer from the story that...

• Ch'in Shih Huang ti was nice.

• the Great Wall is an important historical structure.

• China has no sand dunes.

• Mongols lived south of Ch'in Shih Huang Ti's empire.

a logical guess that is based on facts

Writers do not always fill in every detail -- they expect the readers to apply their own ideas to help them understand a text. You often need to make _________ when you read.

• summaries

• main ideas

• supporting details

• inferences

What genre is informational text?

• Fiction

• Non-Fiction

• Fantasy

• Fiction-Non

Why do we study non-fiction text structure?

• We try to understand the lesson the author has learned.

• To learn how to gain information from reading factual information.

• All stories have different characters and settings.

• Because teachers like to bore us.

What is the primary purpose of making an inference in non-fiction reading?

• To guess the author's intentions without evidence

• To understand the underlying meaning not directly stated

• To summarize the text in your own words

• To memorize facts and figures