Crack the Code: Literal vs Inferential Questions
Crack the Code: Literal vs Inferential Questions
Items in this lesson
Crack the Code: Literal vs Inferential Questions
Learning Objective
At the end of the lesson you will know the difference between literal and inferential questions, confidently answer both types, and use your skills to understand texts.
Successful Lesson
Success Criteria: -
-I can explain what literal and inferential questions are.
- I can answer literal questions in the text
-I can answer inferential questions from the text
Literal Questions: What Are They?
Literal questions ask for information that is clearly stated in the text. You can 'point to it' or find the answer directly—no guesswork needed.
Example: Literal Question
Text: 'Tom wore a red hat.' Question: What colour hat did Tom wear? Answer:
Inferential Questions: Digging Deeper
Inferential questions ask you to read between the lines. The answer isn't given directly—you need to use clues from the text and your own thinking.
Example: Inferential Question
Text: 'Tom shivered and pulled his jacket tighter.' Question: How might Tom be feeling? Answer:
Let's Practise Together
Text: 'Anna packed an apple for lunch.' What fruit did Anna pack?
Text: Anna got a tissue to wipe her tears away.
How is Anna feeling?
Text: 'Anna smiled when she opened her lunchbox.' How does Anna feel about her lunch?
Text: Anna was wearing a lovely blue shirt and black jeans.
What was Anna wearing?
Is this a Literal or Inferential question?
Successful Lesson
Success Criteria: -
-I can explain what literal and inferential questions are.
- I can answer literal questions in the text
-I can answer inferential questions from the text
Your Turn! Independent Task- Complete the questions in your jotter
Fast Finisher: 1: Draw a picture from a scene in the story
2: Create three new questions, share them with a partner to answer.
Continue the story.
Success Criteria: -
-I can explain what literal and inferential questions are.
- I can answer literal questions in the text
-I can answer inferential questions from the text
Successful Lesson
Success Criteria: -
-I can explain what literal and inferential questions are.
- I can answer literal questions in the text
-I can answer inferential questions from the text
Plenary: Success Check
Were you able to: - Identify literal and inferential questions? - Answer both types from a text?
Write down 2 things you learnt in this lesson and 1 question you have
