Grade 5 Making Inferences Reading Unit | 10 Lessons + RACE Framework

Making Inferences is a complete Grade 5 reading strategy unit built around CCSS RL/RI.5.1 — the standard that asks students to do two things at once: quote accurately from a text AND draw logical inferences from it. Most resources teach inference and citation separately. This unit teaches them together, because that’s exactly what the standard requires. Students learn the Inference Formula (Text Clues + Background Knowledge = Inference), practice distinguishing strong, quotable clues from vague guesses, learn to quote text with word-for-word accuracy, and build toward the RACE framework (Restate, Answer, Cite, Explain) for complete evidence-based responses.

WHAT’S INCLUDED

63 PowerPoint slides across 10 structured lessons
3 worksheets (6 pages total)
1 individual exit ticket (L10)
1 rubric — 4 criteria, 4-point scale with differentiation notes
Teacher speaker notes on every slide
Original passages throughout — no public-domain filler

LESSON OVERVIEW

L1 — Unit intro: what is an inference? The Inference Formula; stated vs. inferred
L2 — Hook: the inference game — clue sets, naming your exact clue, revising inferences as new clues appear
L3 — Direct Instruction: text clues and signal phrases — strong vs. weak clues; “This suggests that…”
L4 — Direct Instruction: background knowledge (schema) — four sources of schema; same clue, different readers
L5 — Direct Instruction: combining clues and schema — the 3-step process; strong inference vs. just a guess
L6 — Direct Instruction: quoting accurately — exact words, quotation marks, full citation structure
L7 — Direct Instruction: the RACE framework — Restate, Answer, Cite, Explain, with a full worked example
L8 — Guided practice: full passage analysis with teacher support
L9 — Independent practice with a 5-point self-assessment checklist
L10 — Reflection and exit ticket

WORKSHEETS

Worksheet 1 — Core vocabulary, stated vs. inferred sort, inference T-chart, full RACE response practice

Worksheet 2 — Strong vs. weak clue sort with explanations, quoting accurately practice, full RACE response with self-check checklist

Worksheet 3 — Independent full analysis of an unseen passage (clue, schema, inference, quote, full RACE response), extension task (a second inference question), vocabulary self-check

EXIT TICKET AND RUBRIC