Missing Lunch: Reading & Inference

A ready-to-use FREE reading and inference lesson for students in Grades 5–8, using a fun school mystery to develop evidence-based thinking.

Students become detectives as they read a short mystery, identify clues, distinguish facts from inferences, and explain their conclusions using evidence.

What’s Included
10 engaging 16:9 presentation slides
3-page student worksheet
Original reading mystery
Observation vs. inference activities
Evidence-finding task
Critical-thinking challenge
Answer key
Teacher guide
Learning Objectives

Students will:

identify relevant evidence
distinguish observations from inferences
make reasonable conclusions from a text
justify ideas using evidence
recognise that an inference is not necessarily certain
Suitable For

Grades 5–8 | ESL/EFL | Reading | Critical Thinking | Inference

Lesson length: 30–40 minutes
Preparation: Low

A complete, classroom-ready FREE lesson that can be used for reading practice, critical-thinking development, pair work, or enrichment.