Why observation is important in reading: watch your students make inferences

 What's going on in the picture?

She has a smile on her face, but she looks like she's in trouble.

Why do you think that?

Well, her clothes are ragged, and she has a black eye. 

That simple explanation came from a sixth grader looking at this picture.

👉 That's the power of using pictures to teach inferences; when they see it, they get it.

Making inferences from text can be tough for many students. There’s vocabulary, sentence structure, and background knowledge all fighting for attention.

So… start with something simpler.
Start with pictures.

Visuals take away the decoding load. All students can access them—regardless of reading level—and everyone has something to say.

How to Teach It Step-by-Step

Why do you think she's sitting outside the principal's office? 

Maybe she got into a fight at school.

Project a compelling image. I love using National Geographic photos or classic paintings like the one above.

Ask:

• What do you notice?

• What details stand out?

🌟 Tip: Use sentence stems like “I noticed…” or “It looks like…” to help students get started.

Have them Infer

Use a picture like this one from National Geographic with people walking through water.

Ask the same three questions:

• Observation: What do you see?

• Inference: What does that make you think?

• Prediction: What might happen next?

This picture brings urgency and real-world context. And students love sharing wild (and thoughtful!) guesses about what might happen next.

Whole-class discussions work beautifully here. You’ll hear ideas bounce around the room and see confidence build.

Move to Predictions

Encourage forward thinking with this picture of a man dangling from a rock above water:

• What might happen next?

• How do you think the character is feeling?

My students and I look at more pictures to teach inference.  Later, we move into small groups or partner work to answer the three questions: What do you observe?  What do you infer?  What do you predict?

Wait!  Did she get into trouble?  But she's kind of happy that she did?  Like maybe she beat up a bully who was picking on other kids?  And she's going to get into trouble for it, but she's still happy that she did it.

I think you might be on to something!

Make Inferences from Picture Books

I like to use this picture book for teaching inferencing - The Sweetest Fig by Chris Van Allsburg, because there's a twist that many students don't see coming. 

Making Inferences from Text Alone

Use a text like Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty) with guided supports like this:

• Underlined clues in the text

• Margin notes with inference starters

• Questions that help them think beyond the words

By now, students are confident enough to apply their inferencing skills to real texts—even at their own reading levels.

What Happens Next

Over a few days, you’ll notice a shift.
Your students start asking better questions, noticing more details, and—best of all—feeling confident about their thinking.

🎉 That’s the real magic of inference.

Want to Save Time Planning?

If you’d rather skip the planning, I’ve bundled everything—pictures, prompts, scaffolded texts, and sentence starters—into a ready-to-use resource for upper elementary classrooms.

👉 Click here to check it out