Monday 22nd September 2025

RIC

Main

LC: Infer characters’ feelings and thoughts from their actions.

An inference is an idea or conclusion that we reach from evidence and reasoning.

Inferring is making an educated guess, a choice, a decision.

We use clues and our background knowledge to make sense of something when we are not explicitly given the information.

What can we infer from this text?:

And then he said he had something very important to announce and I could feel myself going red. My ears were burning like anything, and I was going hot and cold both at the same time.

Why do writers do this? Why didn't he just write 'I felt guilty'?

Billy and the Minpins (Roald Dahl) p78

What can we infer from this extract?

Little Billy was running with the speed of an arrow, but each time he glanced  back over his shoulder the puffs of orange-red smoky-breath had got closer. They were so close now he could feel the wind of them on the back of his neck. And the noise! It was deafening in his ears, this fearsome swooshing whooshing whiffling panting noise.Woomph-woomph, it went. Woomph-woomph, woomph-woomph! Woomph-woomph! It was like the noise made by a steam locomotive pulling out from a station. Then suddenly he heard another noise that was somehow more fearsome still. It was the pounding of gigantic galloping hooves on the floor of the forest. He glanced round again, but the Thing, the Beast, the Monster, or whatever it was, was hidden from his sight by the smoke it shot out as it galloped forward. The smoky-breath was billowing all around him now. He could feel its hotness. Worse still, he could smell its smell. The smell was disgusting. It was the stench that comes from deep inside the tummy of a meat-eating animal. “Mummy!” he cried out. “Save me!” Suddenly, directly in front of him, Little Billy saw the trunk of an enormous tree. This tree was different from the others because it had branches hanging down very low. While still running, he made a frantic  jump for its lowest branch. He caught it and pulled himself up.

Now have a go at the following extract independently. What do you infer from the clues given?

Aanya gave a sideways glance to peek at what Coco had written, but their eyes met. Coco’s hand immediately covered her work and she shot the other straight into the air. “Mrs Alam, Aanya is cheating!” “I am not!” Aanya said with clenched teeth. “Put your hand down!” “No way, cheaters need to get caught.” She whispered back, and then spoke louder for all to hear. “Excuse me Mrs Alam, but Aanya has been looking at my work and I think she has copied all of my answers. She will need to be moved.” Aanya could feel the colour rising in her cheeks and she knew everyone had turned to look at her. “I...uh...I really didn’t copy her…” she stammered as she ran out of the room.