Inferring...aka the HARDEST thing to teach :/

Am I the only teacher who has trouble teaching kids to make inferences? I'm starting to believe it's one of those innate talents people either have or they don't...sort of like understanding sarcasm, you either got it or you don't. 

Speaking of sarcasm, I feel I am doing my daily duty to teach 5th graders about making inferences with my multiple quips on an hourly basis. And they seem to get it...seriously, they do! But then they read a standardized test or an unfamiliar text and they lose the ability to infer. What.the.heck.  

Anyway, we (the other reading teacher on my team and I) decided to do an iInfer page for morning work. It's nothing special, just 5 boxes-one for each day of the week. Every morning students come in and read a "Mini Mystery" and use clues from the text (hello, text evidence!) to "solve" the mystery. We are using this book: 

I'll be honest, some of them are hard but my kids LOVE them and are always saying "OHHH yeaaaa" (over dramatically, of course) when they realize what the correct answer actually is. It's great when they have to use their text evidence ("clues" from the mystery) to support their answer. 

HOWEVER, I am pleading with all of you who might read this--share with me some of the tips/books/lessons you use with your kids when teaching inferencing. Even with testing "done" for most of my kids, it is a skill we need to continue to improve. :) Thanks in advance for all of your fabulous advice 

Have a great Tuesday!