Year 4 English: Inferring feelings, thoughts and motives from actions and words
Part of the Year 4 English reading fiction and vocabulary chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Inferring feelings, thoughts and motives from actions and words
To infer means to work out something the writer does not say directly. Writers show feelings through what a character does (he stared at the keys), what they say (I thought I'd forget everything), and how other people react to them.
A motive is the reason a character acts in a certain way. A good inference has two parts: the idea, and the evidence from the text that supports it. Use this frame: I think ___ because the text says '___'.
Key ideas
- To infer means to work out a feeling or reason that the writer does not say directly.
- Evidence is the words from the text that support your idea. Always quote or point to it.
- Look at what the character does, what they say, and how other people react.
- A motive is the reason for an action, such as taking a deep breath to calm down.
Read: The School Recital
Omar sat at the back of the school hall with his music folded in his lap. Every few seconds, he glanced at the door. When his name was called, he stood up too quickly and knocked over his water bottle. A few children giggled, and Omar's cheeks turned pink. He walked slowly to the piano and sat down. For a long moment, he stared at the keys without moving. Then he took a deep breath, placed his hands on the keys and began to play. The first notes wobbled, but Omar did not stop. When he finished, the hall was silent for a second. Then Mrs Shah began to clap, and soon everyone was clapping. Omar bowed, and his grin seemed to fill the whole room. Afterwards, he hugged his little sister and said, "I thought I'd forget everything." She laughed and told him he had been brilliant.
Method. Find the action, then the reaction that shows the feeling.
- Find the action. He knocks over the bottle, and the children laugh.knocked over his water bottle
- Find the reaction. Pink cheeks are a sign that someone is embarrassed.cheeks turned pink
- Give the feeling with the evidence. The feeling is embarrassed, and the evidence is his pink cheeks.embarrassed, because his cheeks turned pink
- Write the answer. embarrassed, because his cheeks turned pink
Check. The evidence supports the feeling. ✓
Method. Think about why someone would stop and stare.
- Find the action. He stares at the keys and does not move.stared at the keys without moving
- Think about the reason. He may be nervous and not ready to start.nervous
- Give the motive with the evidence. He is not ready to start yet.nervous, because he stared at the keys without moving
- Write the answer. he is nervous, because he stared at the keys without moving
Check. The action shows that he is not yet ready to play. ✓
Method. Look at the grin, which shows happiness.
- Find the action. He bows, and his grin is big.his grin seemed to fill the whole room
- Think about what a big grin means. A big grin shows happiness and pride.proud and happy
- Give the feeling with the evidence. The feeling is proud and happy, and the evidence is the grin.proud and happy, because his grin seemed to fill the whole room
- Write the answer. proud and happy, because his grin seemed to fill the whole room
Check. A big grin after playing shows pride and happiness. ✓
Watch out
Watch out: a feeling is not always named. Do not stop at the feeling: say which action or words show it. A character can also feel two things at once, such as nervous and determined.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask your child: what did they do, what did they say, and how did the others react? Then ask: what might they be feeling, and which words in the text tell you so?
Exercise 8C Practice: inferring feelings and motives with evidence
Method. Find the evidence, then work out what it shows.
- Find what the character does or says. Look for actions, words or reactions that show a feeling.glanced at the door
- Work out the feeling. He keeps looking at the door, which shows he is anxious about being called.nervous
- Give the feeling with the evidence. A good answer quotes the words that prove the idea.nervous, because the text says "glanced at the door"
- Write the answer. nervous, because the text says "glanced at the door"
Check. The evidence supports the feeling. ✓
Method. Find the evidence, then work out what it shows.
- Find what the character does or says. Look for actions, words or reactions that show a feeling.cheeks turned pink
- Work out the feeling. Pink cheeks show that he is embarrassed in front of the other children.embarrassed
- Give the feeling with the evidence. A good answer quotes the words that prove the idea.embarrassed, because the text says "cheeks turned pink"
- Write the answer. embarrassed, because the text says "cheeks turned pink"
Check. The evidence supports the feeling. ✓
Method. Find the fact that the text states.
- Find the words that answer the question. Scan the text for the detail the question asks about.knocked over his water bottle
- Check that the fact is stated, not guessed. The text names the object that falls.his water bottle
- Write the answer. his water bottle
Check. The text states this fact. ✓
Method. Find the fact that the text states.
- Find the words that answer the question. Scan the text for the detail the question asks about.sat at the back of the school hall
- Check that the fact is stated, not guessed. The place is stated at the start of the text.at the back of the school hall
- Write the answer. at the back of the school hall
Check. The text states this fact. ✓
Method. Find the action, then think about why people breathe deeply.
- Find the action. He takes a deep breath before the first note.took a deep breath
- Think about the reason. People breathe deeply to calm themselves when they are nervous.to calm himself
- Give the motive. He wants to calm himself before he plays.to calm himself down, because he was nervous
- Write the answer. to calm himself down, because he was nervous
Check. The action and the reason match. ✓
Method. Find the evidence, then work out what it shows.
- Find what the character does or says. Look for actions, words or reactions that show a feeling.but Omar did not stop
- Work out the feeling. He keeps playing even though the notes are not perfect, which shows he is determined.determined
- Give the feeling with the evidence. A good answer quotes the words that prove the idea.determined, because the text says "but Omar did not stop"
- Write the answer. determined, because the text says "but Omar did not stop"
Check. The evidence supports the feeling. ✓
Method. Find the evidence, then work out what it shows.
- Find what the character does or says. Look for actions, words or reactions that show a feeling.began to clap
- Work out the feeling. She starts the clapping, which shows she is encouraging him and pleased with his playing.pleased for him
- Give the feeling with the evidence. A good answer quotes the words that prove the idea.pleased for him, because the text says "began to clap"
- Write the answer. pleased for him, because the text says "began to clap"
Check. The evidence supports the feeling. ✓
Method. Look at what his words say about his worry.
- Find his words. He says what he thought before he played.I thought I'd forget everything
- Think about what forgetting means. Forgetting would mean not playing the music well.forget the music
- Write the worry. He was worried he would forget his music.that he would forget his music
- Write the answer. that he would forget his music
Check. His words show a fear of forgetting. ✓
Method. Look at what she says and does.
- Find her words. She tells him he had been brilliant.he had been brilliant
- Think about the feeling. Telling someone they were brilliant shows pride and happiness.proud and happy
- Give the answer with the evidence. The feeling is pride, and the evidence is the word brilliant.proud and happy for him, because she said he had been brilliant
- Write the answer. proud and happy for him, because she said he had been brilliant
Check. Brilliant shows that she is proud. ✓
Method. Think about why a hall would go quiet.
- Find the evidence. The hall was silent for a second.silent for a second
- Think about the reason. People go quiet when they are listening closely, or are not yet sure what to do.listening closely
- Give the inference. The audience was listening carefully and waiting before they reacted.they were listening carefully and waiting before they reacted
- Write the answer. they were listening carefully and waiting before they reacted
Check. The silence shows the audience was listening. ✓
Method. Compare how Omar behaves at the start and at the end.
- Look at the start. He glances at the door and stares at the keys.glanced at the door and stared at the keys without moving
- Look at the end. He bows, and his grin fills the room, so he is happy.his grin seemed to fill the whole room
- Compare them. He is more nervous at the start, because his actions show worry.more nervous at the start
- Write the answer. at the start, because he glanced at the door and stared at the keys without moving
Check. The two actions at the start show the nerves. ✓