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English lesson plan · 5th grade (Year 6 in England) · 30 minutes

Making inferences

Reading Comprehension

CCSS RL.5.1CCSS RI.5.1England: Y5/6 Reading (inference)England: KS2 SATs ReadingEngland: 11+ English

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Making inferences.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Predicting and simple inference

Leads to: Citing textual evidence; Tone and mood; Implicit meaning and inference

Materials: A short text or extract (one copy each), Highlighters, Question cards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Predicting and simple inference). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. The ice cream dripped down Lucy's arm. The sun beat down on the beach. What will probably happen to the ice cream? (It will grow. / It will get colder. / It will freeze. / It will melt.) → It will melt.Prompt: The answer is not written word for word. Look for clues.
  2. Jada looked at the dark clouds. She grabbed her umbrella before leaving. Why did Jada take her umbrella? (She lost her hat. / It was sunny. / She thought it would rain. / She was going swimming.) → She thought it would rain.Prompt: The answer is not written word for word. Look for clues.
  3. Kim stepped up to the high board. Her knees shook as she looked down at the water. How does Kim feel? (angry / nervous / sleepy / bored) → nervousPrompt: The answer is not written word for word. Look for clues.

Hook · 3 min

  • Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
  • Share the objective: Making inferences. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 7 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: The house was silent. Dust covered the furniture, and cobwebs hung from every corner. What can you infer about the house?
  • Step 1: An inference combines clues in the text with what you know.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: Nobody has lived there for a long time.
  • Answer: Nobody has lived there for a long time.
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. The house was silent. Dust covered the furniture, and cobwebs hung from every corner. What can you infer about the house? (Nobody has lived there for a long time. / A party is happening. / It is brand new. / It was cleaned this morning.) → Nobody has lived there for a long time.Prompt: The answer is not written word for word. Look for clues.
  2. Mr Patel glanced at the clock for the third time and tapped his foot. The bus was already twenty minutes late. How is Mr Patel feeling? (impatient / delighted / relaxed / sleepy) → impatientPrompt: The answer is not written word for word. Look for clues.

You do: independent practice · 7 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 3 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Bea's eyes lit up when she unwrapped the paints. She had been asking for them since the summer. What can you infer? (Bea is disappointed. / Bea bought the paints herself. / Bea is pleased with her present. / Bea dislikes painting.) → Bea is pleased with her present.Prompt: The answer is not written word for word. Look for clues.

Watch out for

  • Answering from memory or opinion instead of evidence in the text.
  • Copying a long quote without explaining what it shows.

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Predicting and simple inference.
  • Use concrete materials: a short text or extract (one copy each).
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: Citing textual evidence; Tone and mood; Implicit meaning and inference.
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-5.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Making inferences

Name

Date

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A Day at the Fire Station

Firefighters do much more than put out fires. At Station 9, the day begins at eight o'clock sharp with a check of every piece of equipment. The crew test the hoses, check the air tanks and make sure the ladders slide smoothly. "If something is broken, we need to know now, not when there's an emergency," says Captain Rivera. After the checks, the firefighters exercise for an hour. Their job is very physical. They must carry heavy hoses, climb ladders in thick protective suits and sometimes carry people to safety. In the afternoon, the crew often visit schools to teach children about fire safety. They show how to check smoke alarms and explain why you should never hide during a fire. "Get out, stay out, and call for help," Captain Rivera tells every class. When the alarm rings, everything changes. The crew pull on their gear, jump into the fire engine and are on their way in less than a minute. Calls might be for a house fire, a car accident or even a cat stuck up a tree. Whatever the emergency, the firefighters of Station 9 are ready.

  1. Question 1

    Read "A Day at the Fire Station". Why do the firefighters need to exercise?

    • A. It is the rule at every job.
    • B. They are training for a race.
    • C. Their job needs strength and fitness.
    • D. They have nothing else to do.

The Kite Festival

Amara had spent three weeks building her kite. She had bent the bamboo sticks, stretched the paper tight and painted a fierce golden dragon across the front. It was going to win the prize for best design at the town's kite festival. She was sure of it. On the morning of the festival, the field was crowded with families. Kites shaped like fish, birds and boats bobbed in the breeze. Amara's little brother, Kofi, trailed behind her, clutching a small diamond kite he had made from a plastic bag and two straws. "Mine's not very good," Kofi mumbled. Amara ran, and her dragon rose beautifully – until a sudden gust snapped one of the bamboo sticks. The kite twisted, spun and crashed into the grass. The paper ripped right through the dragon's face. Amara's eyes stung. Three weeks of work, ruined in three seconds. Kofi tugged her sleeve. "You can fly mine with me," he offered. At first Amara shook her head. Then she looked at Kofi's hopeful face and took the string. Together they ran, and the little plastic kite shot up higher than any other kite in the sky. People pointed and cheered. That afternoon, the judges gave Kofi a ribbon for "Highest Flyer". Amara clapped louder than anyone. She realised she was smiling more than she would have if she had won the prize herself.

  1. Question 2

    Read "The Kite Festival". Why did Amara's eyes sting?

    • A. She was close to crying.
    • B. The sun was too bright.
    • C. She had paint in them.
    • D. The wind was full of dust.

The Phone-Free Lunch Experiment

For one month, students at Brookfield School tried something unusual: no phones at lunch. Phones stayed in lockers from twelve until one, and the dining hall filled with board games, sketchbooks and a lot more noise. The idea came from the student council. In a survey, 61 per cent of students said they spent most of lunch looking at a screen, and many said they wanted a break but found it hard to stop on their own. At first, not everyone was happy. "I thought it was a punishment," admitted Jaden, 12. "But after a week I'd learned to play chess, and now I actually look forward to lunch." Teachers noticed changes too. Ms Ortega, who supervises the hall, said there were fewer arguments and more students sitting in mixed groups. However, some students said they missed messaging family members during the day. The council will now vote on whether to keep the rule. One suggestion is a compromise: phone-free Mondays to Thursdays, with Fridays left free.

  1. Question 3

    Read "The Phone-Free Lunch Experiment". Why might the council consider the 'compromise'?

    • A. because phones were broken
    • B. because nobody liked the rule
    • C. to keep the benefits while answering students who wanted to contact family
    • D. because teachers asked for longer lunches

The Fennec Fox

The fennec fox is the smallest fox in the world. It weighs about as much as a bag of sugar. It lives in the Sahara Desert in North Africa, one of the hottest places on Earth. The first thing most people notice about the fennec fox is its enormous ears. They can be as long as 15 centimetres, which is huge for such a small animal. The ears do two important jobs. First, they let heat escape from the fox's body, helping it to stay cool. Second, they are so sensitive that the fox can hear insects moving under the sand. The fennec fox has other ways to survive in the desert, too. Thick fur on the bottoms of its feet protects it from the burning sand. During the hottest part of the day, it rests in a cool burrow underground. It comes out to hunt at night, when the air is cooler. Water is hard to find in the desert, but the fennec fox can go a long time without drinking. It gets most of the water it needs from the food it eats, such as insects, plants and small animals.

  1. Question 4

    Read "The Fennec Fox". Why does the fennec fox hunt at night?

    • A. The air is cooler then.
    • B. Its prey only comes out in the day.
    • C. It sleeps in trees during the day.
    • D. It cannot see in daylight.

Message in a Bottle (a poem)

I am a bottle, empty and light, tossed from a boat on a bright summer night. No note inside me, no secret to tell, just plastic and air and a sea-salty smell. The ocean is patient, the ocean is wide; it rocks me and rolls me from tide to tide. A turtle swims near me and stares at my shine. I am not a jellyfish. Please, don't you dine! I'll drift for a lifetime, I'll drift for a few, I'll crumble to pieces too tiny for you. But somebody somewhere could carry me back, a hand on the beach and a bin in a sack. So here is my message, though no one wrote it: the sea keeps whatever we throw. Don't forget it.

  1. Question 5

    Read "Message in a Bottle (a poem)". Why does the bottle say, "I am not a jellyfish. Please, don't you dine!"?

    • A. Turtles are afraid of bottles.
    • B. The bottle wants to be eaten.
    • C. Turtles can mistake shiny plastic for jellyfish and eat it.
    • D. Jellyfish live inside bottles.

The Margin

Zainab had read the library book three times before she noticed the handwriting. It was in the margin of page 112, so faint she had taken it for a smudge. In tiny, slanted letters, someone had written: "Don't trust the narrator." Underneath, in different ink and a rounder hand, someone else had replied: "Why not?" And beneath that, in the first writer's slant: "Read chapter 9 again." She read chapter 9 again. Then she read it a fourth time, and a fifth, and on the sixth she saw it – a single sentence where the narrator claimed to have been at home when, three chapters earlier, he had described himself on a train. A lie, hidden in plain sight. The whole story tilted, like a picture knocked crooked on a wall. Zainab sat back. She checked the date stamps on the card inside the front cover. The book had been borrowed forty-seven times since 1994. Somewhere among those forty-seven readers were two people who had held a conversation across years without ever meeting. She found a pencil. For a long time she hesitated over the page, feeling as if she were about to speak in a room full of strangers. Then, carefully, beneath the other two, she wrote: "Found it. Thank you." When she returned the book, the librarian frowned at the pencil marks. Zainab apologised. But as she walked home, she wondered who would be next to find them.

  1. Question 6

    Read "The Margin". What did Zainab discover in chapter 9?

    • A. Another note in the margin.
    • B. The name of the first writer.
    • C. A missing page.
    • D. The narrator had told a lie that contradicted an earlier chapter.

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Answer key: Making inferences

  1. 1. C. Their job needs strength and fitness.

  2. 2. A. She was close to crying.

  3. 3. C. to keep the benefits while answering students who wanted to contact family

  4. 4. A. The air is cooler then.

  5. 5. C. Turtles can mistake shiny plastic for jellyfish and eat it.

  6. 6. D. The narrator had told a lie that contradicted an earlier chapter.