Summary
In this lesson, students play the role of a nosy detective, digging through a mysterious neighbor's garbage to make observations and inferences in order to solve a case. Using images and "artifacts," students create a character profile to show how their observations and inferences help them come to conclusions. This lesson includes optional modifications for distance learning. Resources for use in Google Classroom are included.
Essential Question(s)
How does "reading between the lines" help with drawing conclusions?
Snapshot
Engage
Students examine a photograph and make observations and inferences.
Explore
Students are introduced to a case to investigate—specifically, the case of a mysterious neighbor—where they must play the role of a detective to gather clues.
Explain
Students examine pictures of garbage to investigate and determine what inferences can be drawn from their observations.
Extend
Students develop a character profile in Padlet using their observations and inferences from the Explain activity.
Evaluate
Students present their character profiles in a virtual Gallery Walk.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
Garbage Detective Observations and Inferences handout (attached, one per student)
Garbage Detective Clues handout (attached, one per student)
Garbage Detective Printable Objects (attached, one per student)
Plain paper
Pens, colored pencils, or markers
Sticky notes (about one pad per pair or small group of students)
Engage
To begin, display the photo of a detective character on slide 3 of the attached Lesson Slides. Ask students to look at the photo for a few moments, taking in what they see. After enough time has passed, tell students that when they were looking at the photo they were “observing” it. Ask, "What does it mean to make an observation?"
Explain that inferences are made based on context clues that we put together to elaborate on observations we've made. In other words, to say that this character is a detective is to make an inference. What is actually observed is that it is a figure dressed in a hat, overcoat, and glasses.
Display slide 4 and share the lesson's essential question: “How does ‘reading between the lines’ help with drawing conclusions?”
Display slide 5 and share the lesson objectives. Tell students that by the end of this lesson they will be able to:
Evaluate how our perspective affects our understanding of information.
Analyze information and make observations and inferences about a person.
Use evidence to support understanding.
Explore
After students have practiced making observations and inferences, ask them, "Did you know that there are jobs where you need to know how to make observations and inferences?” Sometimes, making an observation and then inferring what it means is like finding clues. Ask if students know of a job where someone has to gather clues.
Display slide 6 and give students time to discuss and share their responses. Consider using a structure like Think, Pair, Share for this activity, where students first think on their own, then turn to a partner to discuss which jobs might involve the gathering of clues. Once they have finished their discussion, call on pairs to share their thoughts. It is likely that at least one pair will respond that detectives have a job where they would need to gather clues. If not, display slide 7 and explain that a detective has to make observations and inferences.
Tell students that their next task is to play the role of a detective in a case that needs their help to be solved. Encourage students to get comfortable and listen carefully to the details of the case.
Display slide 8 and read the prompt:
“You are in charge of your neighborhood watch, which means that you are responsible for making sure that your neighbors are safe and nothing suspicious is going on. A new neighbor has moved in down the street and has been acting mysterious. The neighborhood group has decided that you should dig through the garbage to see what you can learn. You will need to look for clues, and the way to do this is to make observations and inferences.
Display slide 9 and pass out copies of the Garbage Detective Clues Handout. Go over the clues with the class:
This person has never been seen during the day.
An eyewitness next door has seen a tall figure with dark brown or red hair leave at around 8 p.m. most nights.
This person drives a dark SUV with an out-of-state license plate.
The shutters on the windows are always closed during the day.
Ask students whether these are observations or inferences and how they can tell.
Share the definitions of observation and inference on slides 10 and 11.
Give students time to look at their clues and chat about what they think they might mean.
Ask students whether the ideas they have just discussed are observations or inferences. How can they tell?
Tell students that they still have some more work to do to look for clues.
Explain
Tell students that you are going to show them a picture of their mysterious neighbor's garbage. This is where they start to play the role of garbage detective. Tell them that they will start by making observations but should refrain from making any inferences yet.
Display slide 12 to reveal the photo of the mysterious neighbor’s garbage.
Ask students to flip to the next page of their Garbage Detective Clues handout to see the items in the picture in isolation.
Display slide 13 and pass out copies of the Garbage Detective Observations and Inferences Handout. Instruct students to start by filling out only the "What can I OBSERVE?" column, listing the items that they see in the garbage.
After students have had enough time to list their observations, display slide 14. Give them time, working either independently or with a partner, write in the “What can I INFER?” column, making inferences about each of the items. Here is where students can get creative, but remind them to make sure to keep their inferences realistic so that the lesson does not get too off-track.
Give students time to wrap up their inferences, and then tell them they will be examining even more evidence.
Display slide 15, which shows some receipts found in their mysterious neighbor’s garbage, and have students turn their attention to the individual items on the back of their Observations and Inferences handout.
As students examine the items, tell them to consider what can be inferred by these objects. As they draw inferences from the observations, they should add those details to the "What can I INFER?" column of the handout.
Extend
Now that students have had the experience of looking for observations and making inferences using multiple image sources, it is time to put all the information from their charts together. Display slide 16, and tell students that they, the detectives, are now ready to identify who they think the mysterious neighbor is.
To do this, have students work either in pairs or small groups to create a character profile for their mysterious neighbor. This profile should include:
A picture illustrating what the neighbor might look like.
A summary of what they know about the neighbor based on their observations and inferences. The summary should address:
The neighbor’s occupation.
What kind of life the neighbor leads.
Details about the neighbor’s schedule.
In this character profile, students should reference some of the items they identified and how they support the inferences they made to help them arrive at conclusions about the mysterious neighbor. Their character profiles should include a column or separate space for each element, photos to support their conclusions, and text to explain their position. Remind students to reference their Garbage Detective Observations and Inferences handout as they develop their character profiles.
Evaluate
Display slide 17, and give each group a pad of sticky notes. Have students hang their completed profiles around the room for a Gallery Walk. As students visit each of their classmates’ character profiles, have them leave constructive feedback on a sticky note. When groups return to their own profile, give them an opportunity to review and address the feedback left by their peers.
Resources
K20 Center. (n.d.). Canva. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/612
K20 Center. (n.d.). Gallery Walk/Carousel. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/118
K20 Center. (n.d.). Google Classroom. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/628
K20 Center. (n.d.). Padlet. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/1077
K20 Center. (n.d.). Piktochart. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/2394
K20 Center. (n.d.). Popplet. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/663
K20 Center. (n.d.). Think-Pair-Share. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/139