![]() If there are specific questions to answer or a writing prompt to respond to, read that too. You need information before you can make an inference. The problem? It’s a totally backward approach. They come up with their idea and then find supporting evidence. Sometimes students get caught up in the task of making an inference that they do that first. Only then can they successfully make inferences. ![]() It can be easy to forget our students need explicit instruction to show them how to think about a text. Then, walk students through the process of making an inference with these four steps: Now that you have laid the foundation for your students, you can dig a little deeper and dive into the world of inferences. Textual Evidence + Background Knowledge = Inference I like to take it one step further by writing out the following equation on the board for students to note down: That educated guess is what we call an inference.” You can really push students to find a specific moment in the text that supports their ‘guess,’ but, at this phase, a reasonable explanation tied to the text would do.įinally, I end by leading them to the new terminology by emphasizing, “You just used what you knew about the text to fill in the blanks about what you didn’t know explicitly. Once you have a volunteer or two share their responses, be sure to follow up with, “Why do you think that?” Give students a moment to finger through the text and think. But, based on what we do know, does anyone have any guesses?” Here’s an example for a character-related inference as you read.īegin by saying, “The book doesn’t explicitly tell us why did/said that. By teaching your students how to make inferences, you’ll be setting them up for success beyond any piece of text. It’s a skill that can help us better understand people and situations. Being able to draw conclusions and infer based on the clues around us is an important life skill. Not only does it lay the foundation for higher-level thinking skills, but it’s a fundamental reading strategy for deeper comprehension of a text and the world around us. However, the importance of teaching students to make inferences goes far beyond the walls of your ELA classroom. Once students can successfully make inferences, they can also determine characterization, understand cause and effect, draw conclusions, and more. Not only do inferences help students deepen their understanding of a text, but it also lays the foundation for other reading skills too. In order to do so, students must activate their prior knowledge, finding clues within the text, and read between the lines. Inferencing is an imperative skill that deepens students’ understanding of a text. The Importance of Teaching Students to Make Inferences
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