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English lesson plan · 5th grade (Year 6 in England) · 45 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 · 5 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. Kim stepped up to the high board. Her knees shook as she looked down at the water. How does Kim feel? (bored / sleepy / angry / nervous) → nervousPrompt: The answer is not written word for word. Look for clues.
  2. Omar's mum put a cake with seven candles on the table. Everyone began to sing. What is probably happening? (The family is moving house. / It is Omar's birthday. / Omar is ill. / It is a school day.) → It is Omar's birthday.Prompt: The answer is not written word for word. Look for clues.
  3. The puppy sat by the door with its lead in its mouth and wagged its tail. What does the puppy want? (to go for a walk / to eat its lead / to have a bath / to sleep) → to go for a walkPrompt: The answer is not written word for word. Look for clues.

Hook · 5 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 · 10 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 · 10 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. When Grace walked in, her hair was dripping and her shoes squelched on the floor. What can you infer? (Grace has been asleep. / It is raining outside. / Grace has been reading. / It is a hot, sunny day.) → It is raining outside.Prompt: The answer is not written word for word. Look for clues.
  2. The coach blew the whistle, and the players trudged off the field, heads down, while the other team cheered. What can you infer? (The players lost the match. / The match was cancelled. / The players are going to start playing. / The players won.) → The players lost the match.Prompt: The answer is not written word for word. Look for clues.

You do: independent practice · 10 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. 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? (delighted / sleepy / impatient / relaxed) → impatientPrompt: 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

eurekami

Making inferences

Name

Date

Score/ 8

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 1

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

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

My Grandmother's Hands

My grandmother's hands are brown and wrinkled, like a map of rivers that have been flowing for eighty years. When I was small, I used to trace the lines with my finger and ask her where each one went. "This one," she would say, pointing to a deep crease across her palm, "goes back to the farm where I grew up, where I picked cotton until my fingers bled." Then she would point to a thin white scar on her thumb. "And this one leads to the night I learned to cook for eight brothers and sisters." Her hands have kneaded thousands of loaves of bread. They have stitched every quilt in our house and plaited my hair before every first day of school. They once caught my baby brother when he slipped from the top of the slide, faster than anyone thought an old woman could move. These days her hands shake a little when she holds her teacup. Sometimes she drops a stitch and has to start a row again. But when she takes my hands in hers, they are still the strongest hands I know.

  1. Question 2

    Read "My Grandmother's Hands". What does the story about the slide show about Grandmother?

    • A. She was frightened of slides.
    • B. She was always slow.
    • C. She was quick and protective when it mattered.
    • D. She did not like the baby.

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 3

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

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

Why Do Leaves Change in Autumn?

In many parts of the world, autumn turns forests into blazes of yellow, orange and red. But where do these bright shades come from? The answer is hidden inside every leaf. During spring and summer, leaves are busy making food for the tree. To do this, they use sunlight, water and air. A green substance called chlorophyll captures the energy from sunlight. There is so much chlorophyll in a leaf that it hides all the other shades. As autumn arrives, the days grow shorter and there is less sunlight. Trees such as maples and oaks begin to get ready for winter. They stop making chlorophyll. As the green fades away, the yellows and oranges that were in the leaf all along begin to show. Some trees, such as certain maples, also make a brand-new red substance in autumn. This is why some leaves turn bright red or purple. Finally, the tree seals off each leaf where it joins the branch. The leaf dries out and falls. Without leaves, the tree uses less water during the cold winter months. In spring, new green leaves will grow, and the cycle will begin again.

  1. Question 4

    Read "Why Do Leaves Change in Autumn?". How does losing leaves help a tree in winter?

    • A. It stays warmer.
    • B. It makes more food.
    • C. It uses less water.
    • D. It grows faster.

The Lemonade Stand

Marcus wanted a new bike helmet, but it cost twenty dollars. He had only five. "Why not set up a lemonade stand?" suggested his grandmother. She helped him squeeze a big bowl of lemons and stir in sugar and cold water. Marcus painted a sign that said LEMONADE – 50 CENTS. On Saturday morning, Marcus put his table at the end of the driveway. For the first hour, nobody came. Cars zoomed past. Marcus began to think it was a silly idea. Then he noticed that people were walking to the park across the road for a football match. He picked up his sign and moved the table right next to the park gate. Within ten minutes, a line had formed. By lunchtime, the jug was empty. Marcus counted his coins. He had earned exactly fifteen dollars. With the five he already had, it was enough. "You did it!" said Grandma. "We did it," said Marcus. "And next time, I'll think about where the customers are before I start."

  1. Question 5

    Read "The Lemonade Stand". Why did moving the table work?

    • A. The park had shade.
    • B. Many people were walking past the park gate.
    • C. He lowered the price.
    • D. His grandmother bought it all.

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 6

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

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

The Vault at the Top of the World

On a frozen island in the Arctic Ocean, between Norway and the North Pole, a narrow concrete doorway sticks out of the side of a mountain. Behind it, a tunnel leads deep into the rock. This is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, and it holds more than a million packets of seeds from almost every country on Earth. Why keep seeds in a mountain? Farmers all over the world depend on many different varieties of crops, such as types of rice that survive floods or kinds of wheat that resist disease. If a variety disappears because of war, natural disaster or simple accident, it may be lost for ever. The vault is a back-up copy, like saving a precious file in two places. The location was chosen with care. The vault is high enough above sea level to stay dry even if ice caps melt. Inside, the seeds are kept at about minus 18 degrees Celsius, cold enough to keep many of them alive for decades or even centuries. The surrounding rock is permanently frozen, so even if the power failed, the seeds would stay cold. The vault opened in 2008. In 2015, it was used for the first time: scientists who had lost access to their own seed bank during a war in Syria withdrew samples, grew new plants and later sent fresh seeds back to the vault. The back-up had worked. No one hopes the vault will be needed often. But like a fire extinguisher in a school corridor, it is reassuring to know it is there.

  1. Question 7

    Read "The Vault at the Top of the World". Why does the writer compare the vault to a fire extinguisher?

    • A. Both are kept ready for an emergency, and we hope not to need them often.
    • B. Both are red and heavy.
    • C. Both are used every day.
    • D. Both are found in schools.

The Climbing Wall

The climbing wall at the leisure centre was twelve metres high, and from the bottom it looked like a mountain covered in brightly coloured sweets. Jaya had watched her older cousin, Ravi, scramble to the top of it a dozen times. Today was her first turn. The instructor clipped the rope to her harness and checked the knot twice. "Remember," she said, "use your legs, not just your arms. And don't look down until you're ready." The first few holds were easy. Jaya climbed quickly, buoyed by Ravi's cheers. But halfway up, the holds grew smaller and farther apart. Her arms began to burn. She looked down – and immediately wished she hadn't. The floor seemed impossibly far away, and her legs began to tremble. "I want to come down," she called. "You can," the instructor answered calmly. "Or you can rest. Lean back into the harness. The rope's got you." Jaya didn't believe her. But slowly, she let her weight sink back. The rope held. Her breathing steadied. She looked at the wall in front of her, not at the floor, and noticed a small yellow hold to her right that she hadn't seen before. Ten minutes later, she slapped the top of the wall. The leisure centre erupted in cheers – or at least Ravi did, which felt like the same thing.

  1. Question 8

    Read "The Climbing Wall". What is the tone of the final paragraph?

    • A. frightening
    • B. angry
    • C. triumphant and lightly humorous
    • D. gloomy and regretful

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Answer key: Making inferences

  1. 1. B. The air is cooler then.

  2. 2. C. She was quick and protective when it mattered.

  3. 3. A. Their job needs strength and fitness.

  4. 4. C. It uses less water.

  5. 5. B. Many people were walking past the park gate.

  6. 6. A. Turtles can mistake shiny plastic for jellyfish and eat it.

  7. 7. A. Both are kept ready for an emergency, and we hope not to need them often.

  8. 8. C. triumphant and lightly humorous