What You Should Know About Online AP® Classes
by Julie Hersum
byElizabeth Preston
5 min to readAn inference is a logical conclusion that is arrived at through examining evidence, making observations, and applying reasoning to a situation. Examples of drawing inferences include assuming a candy is sour when someone makes a puckered face while eating it, predicting the end of a movie, and making conclusions about an object’s symbolism in a book.
An inference in reading is an educated guess based on prior knowledge, logic, and textual evidence. It is reading between the lines, filling in the blanks, and forming judgments and interpretations of a text. Inference in reading requires that a student use their background knowledge to make conclusions and encourages them to connect their lives with the books they read.
Developing inferences while reading helps students to be active readers, because they are interacting with the text’s ideas while they read and are asking questions about the text’s meaning. Active reading develops students’ critical-thinking and reading-comprehension skills by helping students to understand authors’ meanings, characters’ development, and thematic elements. Active reading is much more engaging and meaningful for students than passive reading.
There are three concepts that students must grasp to be able to make inferences:
Here are some methods for teaching students how to draw inferences.
Picture books lend themselves to young readers making inferences, because students can observe details in a picture and make inferences about the story, its meaning, and its characters. There are even wordless books available to help students learn how to make inferences and draw conclusions. Some questions a Learning Coach can ask as they read to students include:
Upper elementary students will likely enjoy picture books with more advanced writing and concepts, such as love, self-esteem, and belonging. The combination of words and pictures gives students numerous chances to practice their inference skills.
Questions that accompany students’ readings should encourage students to address the “why” behind their answers. By asking “why” they feel or believe something to be true, students are pushed to identify their reasoning and provide evidence that supports their claims about a book.
Some questions to ask students as they read include:
Middle school students can often read longer texts, graphic novels, word-only novels, and news articles. Graphic novels, news, and nonfiction pieces with pictures are great ways to teach students how to make inferences and draw conclusions while staying age appropriate.
At this level, Learning Coaches should encourage students to consciously think about their background knowledge while making inferences about readings. Questions can be abstract to encourage deep thinking. Some questions to ask students as they read and reflect on books and articles include:
High school students can read a variety of texts including novels, classic literature, graphic novels, nonfiction books, etc. So, Learning Coaches can find a wide variety of texts from which to choose. Students could even practice their inference skills on song lyrics.
At this level, Learning Coaches could encourage students to relate their inferences to large contexts, such as society, culture, and worldviews. Some questions to ask students as they read and reflect on texts include:
Although learning how to make inferences and draw conclusions can be challenging, Learning Coaches can model the process by asking questions as they read to young learners and allow the student to draw their own conclusions. By guiding the student to their own discovery, the excitement for reading remains theirs.
by Julie Hersum
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