Teaching students about inferences can be very tricky. It requires higher order language as well as abstract reasoning skills.
What’s more, because these messages are hidden, answers are never
obvious. The good news is
that many children can have fun learning about inferences because like hidden
pictures, they can try to uncover the "secret or mysterious meaning."
Here are 5 Fun Free
Engaging Activities that Teach Inferences:
1.
Watch television commercials and discuss the
advertisements. Ads almost always
have hidden messages or inferences that are used to sell a product or
idea. What are they trying
to sell? What does the commercial
do to make you want to purchase the product?
2.
Look through magazine advertisements and discuss
the hidden messages. Ads can imply
a multitude of messages with the use of color, line, images, and words.
3.
Take pictures of billboards when driving in the
car or search for billboards on the internet. Again, look for the hidden messages or inferences that helps
to sell a product, store or idea.
4.
Look at product names while at the grocery store
and take a picture of them on the shelves. Show the image to your students and ask them if the product name makes you want to purchase
the item. What does the product
name imply about the product? If
they don’t like the product name, see if they can come up with a better one.
5.
Look at business slogans. Ask your students to uncover the hidden
message or inference that is implied by the slogan. You can even ask your students to come up with their own
slogan for an item that they would like to sell.
If you are looking for a workbook or digital download filled with inference activities, consider downloading a free sample of my publication, Making Inferences: The Fun and Easy Way
