Materials Needed

• "Mystery Bag" items: A collection of 4-5 related items (e.g., a leash, a tennis ball, a small water bowl, and a bag of treats).
• Detective Notebook: A spiral notebook or a few sheets of paper stapled together.
• The Inference Equation Sheet: A printed or hand-drawn visual: What I See/Read + What I Already Know = An Inference.
• "Garbage Clues" kit: A clean bag containing "trash" (e.g., an empty juice box, a receipt for a toy, a crumpled drawing of a superhero, and a candy wrapper).
• Writing tools: Pen, pencil, or markers.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, the learner will be able to:

1. Define "inference" using the standard equation (Evidence + Schema).
2. Differentiate between a direct observation and an inference.
3. Analyze visual and written clues to draw logical conclusions about a character or setting.
4. Apply inferencing skills to a real-world "investigation" scenario.

Success Criteria

• I can explain how I reached a conclusion using the word "because."
• I can identify at least two pieces of evidence for every inference I make.
• I can connect my personal background knowledge (schema) to new information.

1. Introduction: The Hook (The Mystery Guest)

The Scenario: Present the "Mystery Bag" to the student. Tell them: "A mysterious visitor left this bag in our house/classroom. They didn't leave a note, but they left these items behind. Your job is to tell me exactly who this visitor was and what they were planning to do."

Activity: Let the student pull items out one by one.
Student: "It's a dog owner!"
Teacher: "How do you know? The bag doesn't say 'Dog Owner' on it."
Student: "Well, there's a leash and dog treats. Only people with dogs carry those."

The Reveal: Explain that they just made an inference. They took what they saw (evidence) and added what they already knew about the world (schema) to solve a mystery.

2. Body: Content and Practice

I Do: Modeling the Equation (5-10 minutes)

Display the Inference Equation: Evidence + Schema = Inference.

Show a picture of a character (e.g., a person wearing a heavy coat, boots, and holding an umbrella).
Model the thinking: "I see an umbrella and a heavy coat (Evidence). I know from my own life that people wear those when it's cold and rainy (Schema). Therefore, I can infer that the weather is bad outside, even though I can't see the sky in the picture."

We Do: Guided Mystery Solving (10-15 minutes)

Read the following short "Mini-Mysteries" aloud. Have the learner identify the Evidence and their Schema before making the Inference.

• Scenario A: "James walked into the house, dropped his dripping wet umbrella by the door, and kicked off his muddy boots. He sighed and looked at the puddle forming on the rug."
  Question: How is James feeling?
  Prompt: What is the evidence? (Sighed, dropped things). What do you know about people who sigh?
• Scenario B: "The sky turned a dark shade of green. The birds stopped singing, and the wind began to howl through the trees."
  Question: What is about to happen?
  Prompt: Use your schema about weather. What do those signs usually mean?

You Do: The Household Detective (20-30 minutes)

The Task: The student is now a Lead Detective. Provide them with the "Garbage Clues" kit (the bag of clean "trash").

Instructions:

1. Empty the bag and spread the items out.
2. In your Detective Notebook, create a T-Chart. Label the left side "What I See" and the right side "What I Infer."
3. For every item, write down what it tells you about the person who "threw it away."
   Example: "Empty juice box" (See) -> "A child lives here" (Infer).
4. Final Report: Write a 3-sentence summary describing the person who owned these items. Use the phrase: "I infer this because..."

3. Conclusion: Closure and Recap

Summary: Ask the student to explain the "Inference Equation" in their own words. Reinforce that we infer every day—when we look at a friend's face to see if they are sad, or when we smell cookies and know someone is baking.

Recap Question: "What is the difference between an observation (what is right there) and an inference (what you figure out)?"

Real-World Connection: Challenge the student to "detect" an inference during their next reading session or while watching a movie. Where did the author/director show them something instead of telling them?

Assessment

Formative: Observation of the student during the "We Do" scenarios and their ability to identify "Evidence."

Summative: The "Final Report" from the Household Detective activity.
Success Benchmark: The student correctly identifies at least 3 items and provides a logical inference for each, backed by their schema.

Differentiation

• For Struggling Learners (Scaffolding): Provide sentence starters: "I see _____. I know _____. So, I think _____." Use more visual clues (photographs) rather than written text.
• For Advanced Learners (Extension): Introduce nuance. Ask: "Can we be 100% sure of this inference? What other possibilities could there be?" (e.g., Maybe the dog treats were for a neighbor's dog?). Have them write a short story where the character's feelings are never stated directly, only inferred through actions.
• For Kinesthetic Learners: Hide the "Garbage Clues" around the room and have the student "hunt" for the evidence before analyzing it.