Critical thinking · lesson 11 of 24 · free

Observation and inference — Critical thinking for kids

An observation is what you see or hear: “The ground is wet.” An inference is a guess you make from clues: “It must have rained.” Inferences are useful — detectives and scientists make them all the time — but they can be wrong (maybe someone watered the garden). Keep the two apart, and check your inference with more clues.

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Thinking tip

See first, then guess — “an observation is seen; an inference is a guess from clues”

  1. Observation: “Riya is smiling.”, “There are crumbs on Kabir’s plate.”, “The plant’s leaves are yellow.”
  2. Inference: “Riya must be happy.”, “Kabir probably ate the biscuits.”, “The plant may need more water.” — words like must, probably and may.
  3. An inference can be wrong, so look for more clues before you are sure.

Use it for: Science experiments, reading stories, solving mysteries and understanding people.

Worked example: 👀 Observation or inference: “Riya must be happy.” → an inference

  1. We can see a smile, but “happy” is a guess about her feelings.
  2. So it is an inference.

Check: Try it: look out of a window for two minutes; write three observations and one inference ✓

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✏️ Practice

Work it out in your head or on paper, type the answer and press Check. Stuck? Press “Show me how”.

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🏁 Lesson 11 test

20 questions. Check each answer, then go to the next one. Get 16 or more right to pass.

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🖨️ Observation and Inference Worksheet

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