Reading Comprehension
Inference and Deduction
Aims
 Understand what inference and deduction
are.
 Know why inference and deduction are
important skills.
 Know how to help your children develop
their inference and deduction skills.
How do we assess Reading?
• Hear children read.
• Ask questions related to the text.
• Listen to how they talk about the text.
Decoding the text
Retrieval of information is the starting point for
discussing a text. This means asking your child
to pick information out of the text that they have
just read e.g.
• What was the character’s name?
• What did they eat for dinner?
• What colour was the car?
Inference and Deduction……
looking for clues.
Inference and Deduction……
finding the evidence.
Inference and Deduction
Inference: is an interpretation that goes beyond the literal
information given.
Deduction: is an understanding based on the evidence
given in the text.
e.g. The police find a body with a knife sticking out of it.
We could infer that someone didn’t like that person.
We can deduce that the person has probably been murdered
because it has a knife sticking out of it.
Using text to infer and deduce
In order to be able to infer and deduce from a
text, children need to be able to decode
confidently, fluently and not robotically.
The text should not be too hard for them
otherwise they will focus all their energies on
trying to decode and get a literal meaning and
will miss the subtle clues given.
Why are inference and deduction
important?
They make reading more pleasurable!
As adults, we naturally make inferences and
deductions each time we read a book.
We want to read on! We want to read between the
lines to deepen our understanding.
Remember….
As adults we infer and deduce naturally and
automatically as we read.
Children need to be taught to infer and deduce,
we cannot assume they will just be able to do it.
It is through good questioning, discussion and
modelling that young children will begin to develop
these skills.
Modelling
Does your child know what a ‘good reader’ sounds like?
As teachers we always model an activity before asking the children to
carry it out.
Children need to experience good models to know what is expected
of them, reading is no different.
Adults need to share quality story books with children. They should
model the use of fluency, expression and demonstrate their thought
processes i.e. Oh, I wonder what will happen next?
I wonder how that characters feeling? I didn’t like that part of the story
because… I didn’t think that was going to happen etc.
A little practice…..
His mother woke him as usual that morning, shaking
his shoulder and then kissing him gently as he rolled
over. It was pitch black around him, but then he was
used to that by now. For months, they had slept down
in the cellar on the bunks his father had made the last
time he was home. He saw the flare of yellow light as
his mother struck the match for the oil lamp. She was
dressed and ready, with her coat on and her hat with
the brown feather at the back.
Practice..
These are the types of questions we would be asking children
in Guided Reading, Comprehension sessions or when reading
1:1 with an adult.
This helps them develop a fuller understanding of the text.
As the children progress through with their reading, we would
be expecting that they can infer this information without being
prompted.
Suggestions for at home
Look at the cover together.
•Ask your child what they can infer from the front cover.
•What can you tell about the genre of book?
•What do you think the characters/plot might be?
Encourage your child to relate to the characters.
•How do you think the character is feeling at this point?
•Why might they be feeling this way?
•How would you feel if you were in their situation?
Illustrations
Picture books are suitable for children of all ages and
can really help to develop inference and deduction
skills.
Encourage your child to answer questions about
illustrations.
What is this
person doing?
Why?
1
Why does this
man look cross?
What do you
think he is
saying?
Does this
person like
sweeping the
snow? What
makes you
think that?
Now look at the books on your
chair…
Think about inference questions that you could ask your
child to do with the character, setting, plot and predictions.
Use…….
the front cover
the blurb
the first paragraph
…..to generate some questions you could ask.
Films
Film clips can be a good tool for practising inference
skills.
What can you infer about the characters in each of
the stills?
You can do this at home simply by pausing films and
asking your children questions about them.
How do you think
she is feeling at
this point in
time? How do
you know?
What do you
think she will do
next?
Why do you think
Sully and Mike
are scared?
What are they holding and
why are they holding these
objects?
What can you tell
about the
characters who
are not in the
shot?
What type of genre is this
film? How can you tell just
from this shot?
Questioning
Asking questions about the text your child is
reading encourages them to think more deeply
about it.
Eventually they begin to ask themselves questions
about what they have read.
They begin to notice vocabulary, sentence
structure and grammar styles.
Example questions
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What words give you that impression? Why?
How do you feel about………? Why?
Can you explain why………….?
At the end of the story the main character is feeling …….
Does this surprise you?
What does this tell you about what ……….was thinking?
Do you think this is true/untrue? Why do you think this?
What do you think the ………. is thinking?
If it were you what would you do?
Reading Records
The Reading Records are a way of letting your child know how
they are getting on with their reading. They also allow easy
communication with your child’s teacher regarding the progression
of their skills at home.
Writing a short comment ensures your child’s teacher is aware of
how they are doing at home, as well as at school.
Variety is the spice of life.
Encourage your child to read a range of texts.
You could link non-fiction reading to your child’s
topics at school e.g. the Tudors or Space.
You could also read extracts from a children’s
newspaper such as First News or the Newsround
website.
Good readers…
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Are reactive and responsive to the text.
Are not speed readers nor read word…for…word.
Predict what will happen.
Connect reading to what they already know.
Form a mental image while they read.
“Self question” while they read.
Check their understanding and make sure it is clear
through re-reading when they are confused.
• Summarise, interpret and think about what they are
reading.
• Are enthusiastic about reading and do not find reading a
chore.
Question and Answer session