Special Collection: Top Stories for Teaching Inference

Teacher-approved stories, lesson plans, and activities for exploring inference in your classroom

Grammar Has a Laugh

Turns out, laughing is good for you! 


Learning objective: to correctly use the commonly confused words imply and infer 

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Lesson Plan
A step-by-step guide for teaching this article
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Video
Tips on how to keep "imply" and "infer" straight
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Skills Activity
Reinforce understanding of imply and infer
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All the Right Notes

Who needs perfection anyway?

Learning objective: to make inferences about characters, then rewrite the story from another character’s perspective

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Reference
Practice making inferences with this reference page.
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Making Inferences
Students use clues from the text to make inferences.
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Narrative Planner
A guided-writing activity for the story’s writing prompt
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The Message

A teen onboard a spaceship receives a mysterious message and faces an impossible choice. 

Learning objective: to write an expository essay analyzing structure and author’s craft in a work of fiction

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Lesson Plan
A step-by-step guide for teaching this article
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Making Inferences
Students to use clues from the text to make inferences.
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Preparing To Write: What Happened?
This activity prepares students to respond to the writing prompt.
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Grammar Has a Laugh: Nina design/Shutterstock.com (Emojis); Nathaniel Welch/Redux for Scholastic Inc. (Girl); All the Right Notes: Sebastian Crocker/Shutterstock.com (saxophone); Shutterstock.com (music notes); The Message: Shane Rebenschied