CurriculumGrade 4English Language Arts

Facts and Inferences

Aligned to RI.4.1 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.

What this lesson teaches

In a nonfiction text, some ideas are stated right in the words, and others you figure out from the facts given. Making a smart guess from those facts is an inference. Always point to the detail or example that backs up what you say.

Worked example

An article says, 'Desert foxes have huge ears and hunt only at night.' You can infer the desert is very hot in the day, because the facts explain how the fox stays cool and avoids the heat.

Practice questions

  1. Find a fact in a nonfiction book, then write one thing you can infer from it.
  2. Read a paragraph and name a detail the author states directly.
  3. Explain a smart guess you made while reading and the exact fact that supports it.

Watch the lesson

Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.

▶ Watch this lesson

En español

Hechos e Inferencias

En un texto informativo, algunas ideas están dichas directamente en las palabras, y otras las deduces a partir de los hechos que se dan. Hacer una suposición inteligente con esos hechos es una inferencia. Señala siempre el detalle o ejemplo que apoya lo que dices.

Ejemplo: Un artículo dice: 'Los zorros del desierto tienen orejas enormes y cazan solo de noche.' Puedes inferir que el desierto es muy caluroso de día, porque los hechos explican cómo el zorro se mantiene fresco y evita el calor.

More Reading: Textos Informativos lessons

What Happened and WhyRI.4.3Nonfiction VocabularyRI.4.4How Nonfiction Is BuiltRI.4.5Firsthand vs. SecondhandRI.4.6Reading Charts and PicturesRI.4.7Reasons and EvidenceRI.4.8

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