Inference

"Proficient readers use their prior knowledge (schema) and textual information to draw conclusions, make critical judgments, and form unique interpretations rom text."

Zimmerman and Keene, (1997)
Mosaic Of Thought: Teaching Comprehension in a Readers Workshop, Heineman, p.23

Classroom Poster | Student Bookmarks

Activity 1:

• Photocopy or scan cartoons related to your curriculum and then use these in PowerPoint or on a transparency (remember to cite the source)
• Have the class discuss what prior knowledge is necessary to "get" the cartoon

  Activity 2: (This is recommended for 5th grade - 12th grade)

• Collect a variety of cartoons (ones that have captions) related to your curriculum.
• Photocopy several of the cartoons on to a sheet of paper to make a key.
• Photocopy enough cartoons for each group of students to have a couple of cartoons (be sure you cite the sources)
• Cut the caption off of the cartoon and put them in an envelope with the other cartoons & captions for each group.
• Students will have to try to match the correct caption to the correct cartoon.
• This encourages collaboration between group members and also helps them draw upon each others prior knowledge and ability to infer the meaning for the cartoon and the caption.

Providing students opportunities to practice making inferences by viewing photos/pictures or videos before reading aids students' ability to comprehend related text.

Activity 1:

• Using a transparency, PowerPoint, or photocopies, show students a photo and have them brainstorm possible meanings of the photograph.
• Reach a group consensus
• Share group's consensus with the whole class
• After reading the assigned reading, students will discuss in groups or as a class if the consensus meaning of the photograph was accurate.

  Activity 2:

• Show students a photograph and allow about 3 min for individuals to brainstorm 3 questions they would like to ask the people in the photo, or the person who took the photo.
• Have individuals share questions in a small group or with the whole class. Let other students try to then answer those questions.
• Students then read the assigned reading and afterwards discuss if the answers provided by the peers were accurate.

  Activity 3:

• Show students a photograph/picture that relates to the reading they will read.
• The teacher provides 2-3 vocabulary terms related clues from the reading.
• In pairs students write a sentence predictions about the photo/picture using the vocabulary terms.
• After students read the assigned reading, discuss in groups or as a class if their predictions were accurate.

**Search the web for photos/pictures that relate to the text or you could also scan in images. Be sure you cite sources properly before using with students.

• Alta Vista's image search
• Goggle's image search
• NCRtech's "The Amazing Picture Machine"
• Library of Congress: American Memory Collection

Teacher demonstrates how to construct meaning by modeling this strategy with a short excerpt on an over head transparency in front of the whole class. Explain to the class that as you read aloud, you will be stopping and thinking out loud. Students will see that you make guesses or predictions as you read and then confirm or change those predictions as you read further.

Students could practice this strategy in pairs with each other before going home to practice it on their own.

Question-Answer-Relationship: defines "Right There", "Think & Search" and "On My Own" questions and answers for before, during and after reading.

• Right There questions: These are questions which have answers that are explicitly found in the text, usually in one sentence. (Low level questions.)
• Think & Search: These questions can be found in the text, but the reader may need to make inferences from more than one part of the text. (Mid level questions.)
• On My Own: These questions require the reader to synthesize and analyze the information he/she just read and make inferences based upon prior knowledge.

It may be helpful to model this technique for students in a whole class setting first. The teacher can pose 2 questions of each kind (listed above) and allow the whole class to participate in locating and discussing the answers to those questions. Additional practice could then be done by students in small groups and then finally individually, once students are comfortable with the technique.

These ideas were modified and adapted from T. Raphael's QAR technique on the Scholastic web site: http://www.scholastic.com

Requires students to predict before reading, read to confirm predictions, and debrief after reading by examining the predictions and how those predictions could/should be altered based upon the content of the reading.