Who saw turtle? A mentor text for teaching inference

This gorgeous book is full of illustrations by First Nations artists.

Teaching and learning about inference is a tricky thing. It is not my intention here to explain how to teach it this concept, and I have shared a list of activities in a previous post .

Inference is most commonly taught as a reading skill, so it makes sense to use a range of high quality texts to support students to develop or hone this skill. There are so many great books to use, and countless blog posts dedicated to them, so I will just share one of my favourites.

Who saw Turtle? by Ros Moriarty is a wonderful book which I believe can be used at any level, but the final inference may be difficult for younger readers to articulate on their own without support.

The book, through text and gorgeous illustrations outlines a number of creatures who saw turtle as she swam through the ocean towards land.

The final text is a question, did goanna see turtle come ashore to lay her eggs? The final page is an illustration, and students can be supported to use this illustration to infer the answer to the author’s question.

As a bonus, selecting texts by First Nations authors or illustrators is a great way to embed First Nations’ perspectives in your classroom.

What are your favourite books for teaching inference? Let me know in the comments!