Making Inferences from Text

	Case Studies from the Experience of Public School Educators Written by teachers: Liz Borne, Jessica Cox, Millicent Hartgering, Emily Pratt, Laura Query, Hannah Solomon and Jaime White
Look Inside: Table of Contents Introduction Book (77 pp.)

Description of Making Inferences from Text

Making Inferences from Text is a sourcebook developed by teachers featuring case studies from their experience, accompanied by practical, proven strategies to help teach inference-making skills in the middle grades.

Why are inferences important? When students can make inferences accurately, they are able to grasp the author's meaning and understand "the whole picture" of a text. Students who make inferences not only understand better, they also enjoy reading more because they are able to easily draw on information from their own lives and prior knowledge.

Making inferences focuses students on looking beyond the events of a story and the text on the page. This can help students understand sophisticated literary concepts such as character, theme, and figurative language. Finally, in teaching students to make inferences, teachers help students think about how to apply their background knowledge and experience to draw reasonable conclusions.

Major Topics Covered
Reading Comprehension in the Middle Grades

Table of Contents for Making Inferences From Text

1. INTRODUCTION

Making Inferences From Text
A Vital Skill for Reading Comprehension

2. CASE STUDIES

Case Study One
A Matter of Character
Using Traits and Emotions as an Entry Point into Making Inferences

Case Study Two
Structure for Strugglers
Visual Aides and Scaffolding to Help Students Make Inferences

Case Study Three
Asking the Big Questions
Helping Students Make Inferences about Theme

3. STUDY GUIDEstrong>Guiding Concepts
Theoretical Frameworks to Inform Thinking

• Ladder of Abstraction
• Deductive or Inductive Reasoning?
• A Took Kit for Making Inferences
• Three Constraints
• Causes of Incorrect Inferences

Teaching Strategies
Step-by-step Activities for the Classroom

• Selecting An Appropriate Text
• Using Books in a Series
• Baseline Assessment
• Teaching Note-Taking
• Emotions, Traits, and Predictions
• From Actions to Inferences
• Inferences from Images
• Connect to Dots

Teaching Tools
Flexible Tools to Help Students Make Inferences

• Character Trait Bank
• Reader's Journals
• Questions about Characters
• Reading Challenge Packet
• Inferencing Chart
• Sentence Starters

PSI Can Help You Implement These Strategies:

Customized Workshops
Additional training and technical assistance are available.