Inferencing — What Happens Next?
Predict what will happen from picture scenes.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Ask why after every prediction. The glass will fall is the answer; because it is tipping past the edge is the reasoning, and only the second transfers to a scene the student has not seen. Push for one plausible alternative on a few of them — the cat might miss the bird — since holding two outcomes is the more advanced skill. Twelve minutes covers the ten with the reasoning step.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- HintReread the key sentence, or point back to the clue in the text or picture.Log as cued
- Two choicesOffer two answers, the right one not always second.Log as cued
- ModelThink aloud: say how you worked it out, then the student says the answer and why.Log as cued
Adjust it
Read it aloud to the student and offer two choices from the start.
Ask the student to say which words gave them the clue, not just the answer.
Matching IEP goal
Given short texts or spoken prompts, Student will make an inference and say which clue they used in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than an indirect cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Ten scenes frozen a moment before something happens: the boy is holding a fishing rod at the lake; dark clouds are rolling in over the picnic; the cat is creeping up on a bird; the glass is tipping off the edge of the table; the oven timer is beeping. Prediction is inference pointed forward, and it is usually easier than working backward — which makes it a good place to start.
What to listen for
Watch for predictions that ignore the evidence. A student who says the boy will go home when he is holding a fishing rod at a lake has not used what is in front of them, which is different from a student who predicts something unlikely but connected. Notice the birthday candles item, which requires knowing a social routine rather than physical causation — a different kind of prediction and worth separating.
Carrying it home
Pause a film or a story just before something happens and ask what comes next. It takes ten seconds, it works with any material, and the answer is checkable a moment later, which children enjoy.
What's in this activity
- The boy is holding a fishing rod at the lake. What happens next?
- Dark clouds are rolling in over the picnic. What happens next?
- The cat is creeping up on a bird. What happens next?
- The kids are lined up at the diving board. What happens next?
- The glass is tipping off the edge of the table. What happens next?
- The birthday candles are lit and everyone is singing. What happens next?
- The dog is digging a hole under the fence. What happens next?
- The bus is pulling up to the stop. What happens next?
- She is standing at the top of the slide. What happens next?
- The oven timer is beeping. What happens next?
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Second through fifth, at the same level as single-clue inference work.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all ten scenes play with no account and no card.
- How is prediction different from inference?
- Prediction points forward from what is happening; inference works out something unstated about now or the past. Prediction is usually easier, which makes it a good entry point.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.