If you are looking for some high-interest activities, try using animated shorts to teach inference skills. This post contains the animated short film Lonely Island found on YouTube and inserted in this post.
Using Lonely Island to Teach Inference [2:50]
In this fun video, a stranded man wishes to leave a deserted island. Every time a plane passes over he tries to get the pilot’s attention. Will he get off the island?
The Handout
In the accompanying handout, students summarize, infer, and make predictions. You can get the handout by clicking on the button.
What people are saying about this unit…
Megan
Probably the best resource I have ever purchased! Easy to use, fun, and engaging! The students had so much fun learning because of these shorts! Highly recommend!
The handout includes the following questions:
List ways the viewer knows the man has been on the island a long time.
He has built a hut.
The man has learned how to catch food from the sea.
He has shot down 17 flying objects.
Why does the man use a telescope?
The man is looking for food in the ocean.
How many objects has the man knocked out of the sky?
seventeen
What does “Next Level at 20” mean?
The man considers knocking flying objects out of the sky a game. He has knocked down 17 items and will go to the next level when he knocks down 20. This is like he was playing a video game. Viewers can assume he will move off the island to a different location after he knocks down 20 flying objects.
Why is there a tombstone on the beach?
The tombstone has a Superman emblem with the words Super Baby. It appears the man knocked down a superhero.
More Samples from the Teaching Reading with Animated Shorts Series
- Inference
- Summarizing
- Main Idea and Details
- Point of View and Perspective
- Theme
- Characters and Setting
- Cause and Effect
- Compare and Contrast
- Problems and Solution
- Christmas Shorts
- Mood and Tone with Christmas Shorts
Check out all six products in the Reading and Writing Series. Units are also available as bundles.
Reading Series
3 comments
Can’t wait to use this resource with my class!
I love your shorts and the pages that go with them. Unfortunately, I can only get the top 2 to open, the rest give me an error message. Is there another place I can find these? Thanks
Author
Thank you!! This is a series of posts that will run once a month throughout the school year. Look a the dates beside the links to see when the next post will become active.