Making Inferences with Fiction and Non-fiction text:
Strategy Explained…Good readers make inferences while reading to improve their understanding of the story or text. An inference is when we understand things that the author does not tell us! We infer why things happen, why characters behave the way they do, and how characters are feeling. The reader creates images and inferences based on what the author does tell you and your own knowledge. This is one of the more difficult skills for students to grasp.
Ask your child to show you the gesture for inference that goes along the words: "I can make an inference using clues from the text plus what I am already know, my schema, to make an inference!
When you can infer...
- Watching TV or Movies
- Looking at pictures of people
- Cartoons in magazines and newspapers
- Magazine covers (this is a fun game...cover up something on the front of a magazine, try to guess what's under the sticky note! Use clues!)
- Characters in our books....why do they do/say things? What does a character's actions show about him/her? How is the character feeling? Why? and much more!
-After reading, ask your child to list things the characters say and do, then come up with what those actions show about the character.
-As you ride down the road, pay attention to billboards or bumper stickers. These are full of inferred messages – make it a game where you try to figure it out! Charades are also fun!
Here are some resources to practice at home...
http://www.speechlanguage-resources.com/support-files/inferencewhere.pdf (making "where" inferences)
http://www.speechlanguage-resources.com/support-files/inferencewhat.pdf (making "what" inferences)
http://www.speechlanguage-resources.com/support-files/inferencewhen.pdf (making "when" inferences)
http://www.speechlanguage-resources.com/support-files/inferencewhataction.pdf (making action "what" inferences)
http://www.speechlanguage-resources.com/support-files/brutusthebullandtheshortcut.pdf (ebook on pages 1-2; inference questions on page 5)
http://www.philtulga.com/Riddles.html (This site has riddles, you click for more clues and type in a guess when you think you know it!)
http://reading.ecb.org/student/index.html (A site called "Into the Book." Once here, type first name in the box, and click "Get your Key." You can use this "key" or username for coming to this site in the future. Once you log in, you'll see a book in the center with all sorts of activities surrounding it. The magnifying glass in the lower right corner will have activities for "Infer." However, the other activities address the other Comprehension Strategies, such as Making Connections, Visualizing, Questioning, etc. Play around with all of them! That's what makes us a well-rounded reader...using ALL of the strategies!)
Strategy Explained…Good readers make inferences while reading to improve their understanding of the story or text. An inference is when we understand things that the author does not tell us! We infer why things happen, why characters behave the way they do, and how characters are feeling. The reader creates images and inferences based on what the author does tell you and your own knowledge. This is one of the more difficult skills for students to grasp.
Ask your child to show you the gesture for inference that goes along the words: "I can make an inference using clues from the text plus what I am already know, my schema, to make an inference!
When you can infer...
- Watching TV or Movies
- Looking at pictures of people
- Cartoons in magazines and newspapers
- Magazine covers (this is a fun game...cover up something on the front of a magazine, try to guess what's under the sticky note! Use clues!)
- Characters in our books....why do they do/say things? What does a character's actions show about him/her? How is the character feeling? Why? and much more!
-After reading, ask your child to list things the characters say and do, then come up with what those actions show about the character.
-As you ride down the road, pay attention to billboards or bumper stickers. These are full of inferred messages – make it a game where you try to figure it out! Charades are also fun!
Here are some resources to practice at home...
http://www.speechlanguage-resources.com/support-files/inferencewhere.pdf (making "where" inferences)
http://www.speechlanguage-resources.com/support-files/inferencewhat.pdf (making "what" inferences)
http://www.speechlanguage-resources.com/support-files/inferencewhen.pdf (making "when" inferences)
http://www.speechlanguage-resources.com/support-files/inferencewhataction.pdf (making action "what" inferences)
http://www.speechlanguage-resources.com/support-files/brutusthebullandtheshortcut.pdf (ebook on pages 1-2; inference questions on page 5)
http://www.philtulga.com/Riddles.html (This site has riddles, you click for more clues and type in a guess when you think you know it!)
http://reading.ecb.org/student/index.html (A site called "Into the Book." Once here, type first name in the box, and click "Get your Key." You can use this "key" or username for coming to this site in the future. Once you log in, you'll see a book in the center with all sorts of activities surrounding it. The magnifying glass in the lower right corner will have activities for "Infer." However, the other activities address the other Comprehension Strategies, such as Making Connections, Visualizing, Questioning, etc. Play around with all of them! That's what makes us a well-rounded reader...using ALL of the strategies!)