Inferential, or implicit, questions are answered by interpreting clues from part of the text to figure something out. Students need to be able to answer inferential questions to see if they are understanding the meaning behind certain events/character's feelings. They also need to know how to use this skill to make inferences about what the text does not implicitly state. This questioning skill can be taught once students are able to ask and answer factual questions. As students begin to ask and answer inferential questions as they read, they can begin to think critically about a text, which is the third level of questioning we teach students (you can find more information about critical thinking in the next activity). This page includes intervention strategies that you can use to support your students' ability to ask and answer inferential questions. As you read, consider how you can teach your students the question-asking skills that best align with their strengths and needs in the whole-learner domains.
Explicit Instruction
To support your students' understanding of asking and answering inferential questions, you should start by explicitly teaching this concept. This sounds like:
Explain the Skill/Concept. Define inferential questions and explain the activity ("Inferential, or implicit, questions can be answered by interpreting clues from part of the text to figure something out. It is important to ask and answer inferential questions so that we can see if we understand the meaning behind certain events or character's actions. To make an inference, we use some information from the text, combined with what else we already know in our heads, to come up with an answer." "Today, we are going to learn how to ask and answer inferential questions as we read.")
Model Skill with Examples. Think aloud about how you ask and answer inferential questions. ("Watch as I read this line and share my thinking with you: 'Toad ran to Frog's house. 'Frog, Frog,' cried Toad, 'taste these cookies that I have made'. (Teacher pauses.) Toad is running to Frog's house after he made cookies. Why is he doing that? Oh, he must be excited about the cookies he made because he ran to Frogs house. If he didn't like them, he wouldn't want to share them, would he? Or he would just walk over to Frog's, not run. While I was reading, I asked an inferential question about the character's action of running to Frog's house. I inferred, using some information from the text, and some information from my head that I know people run when they are excited to learn more about what Toad was thinking and feeling. Asking and answering inferential questions helps me better understand the events and the characters in the story. If I couldn't answer a question I asked, I could go back and reread. )
Model Skill with Non-Examples. Think aloud about how to read without making inferences. ("If I read that line without asking myself inferential questions, I don't learn important information about Toad. Imagine if I read the whole story without stopping to ask inferential questions about the characters, I wouldn't understand how their dialogue and actions helps me learn ore about the characters. I would have lifeless, boring characters, and the story wouldn't be nearly as interesting!)
Practice the Skill. Engage in teaching students to ask and answer specific questions, providing feedback as necessary. ("Now you try asking and answering inferential questions as you read.")
Look at the following document to see how you might teach students to ask and answer inferential questions in narrative and informational texts:
Inferential Questions Resource PDF
Wilson, A. (2016). Asking and answering inferential questions. Copyright at Relay GSE. New York, NY: Relay Graduate School of Education.
Teaching Inferential Questions in Action
To learn about how to ask and answer inferential questions, start by reading the following excerpt from Frog and Toad Together, by Arnold Lobel.
Frog and Toad PDF
Lobel, A. (1979). Frog and toad together. New York, NY: Harper Collins.
Now, read the lesson plan below that describes how to teach students to ask and answer questions about character motivation. As you read, think about how you might apply this process to teach students how to ask and answer other types of inferential questions in both narrative and informational texts.
Wilson, A. (2016). Inferential questions lesson plan. Copyright at Relay GSE. New York, NY: Relay Graduate School of Education.
Think about the following scenario, which takes place after a teacher has explicitly taught students to ask specific types of questions and given them multiple opportunities to practice.
Teacher: "The text says that Toad felt so sick that his green was turning green. What inference can we make about what Toad was thinking based on this description?"
Student: "Toads are always green! I don't know what it means."
In such a case, what might you do?
When you are planning your lessons, you should anticipate that your students will make errors throughout. Here are a series of prompts that you can use to respond to errors. Keep in mind that all students are different, and that students might respond better to some types of feedback than others.
| Level of Support | Description of Scaffold | Script |
|---|---|---|
| Smallest Scaffold | Try again! Allows student multiple opportunities to practice new skill. You are trying to determine whether the student needs to be retaught the skill or just needs another opportunity to try again. | "What else might Toad be thinking based on this description?" |
| Medium Scaffold | Provide Resources. Allows the student to use resources to figure out the answer (including helpful supports such as a visual or a prompt).
|
"That's true. Toads are always green. But what if he wasn't a toad and he was turning green? What could you infer? Try asking yourself the question, "What does this description tell me about how Toad is feeling?" |
| Highest Scaffold | Rewind. If students aren't understanding how to use one of the strategies you've provided, then go back and explicitly reteach the activity, and practice using the student's text. | "Let me show you how I ask and answer questions to infer what a character is thinking and feeling. I can ask myself, What is happening to Toad that allows me to understand how he is thinking? Well, I know he ate too many cookies, and now it says he is so sick that he is turning green. I'm inferring that Toad has a terrible stomachache and that he wishes he hadn't eaten so many cookies!" |
If your student struggles to meet your objective, there are various techniques that you might try to adjust the activity so as best to meet your student's needs.
| Activity | Description of Strategy | Script |
|---|---|---|
| Inferential Questions |
Practice, practice, practice. Have students continue to practice these strategies with various types of texts. Or, have them teach each other. |
"Let's try asking and answering inferential questions in another text." |