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Monday, 2 May 2011
What is Inferential Reading
Getting students to read and appreciate literature is one of the most tedious tasks that a teacher has to deal with on a daily basis due to the fact that every student in the class has different interests and different learning styles. A teacher however, must be made aware that there are different strategies which they may engage in before, during and after reading in order to build student interest in reading. One such strategy is inferential reading which involves the reader response theory and also allows students to engage in critical reading.
Inferential reading, as the term implies, refers to one’s ability to make inferences and reason using their experiences in relation to the ideas presented in the text. In addition to that, the strategy involves a lot of interaction in the classroom; a teacher may use a television show, a book or a favourite sport when using this strategy.
Inferential reading allows the reader to use their prior knowledge in order to understand the ideas presented in the textbook. For example, a student may use his ideas and experiences on superstition to deduce, understand and analyse ideas in a text that are centred on the supernatural world. Moreover this strategy encourages readers to engage in critical thinking and being active in their discussions as it relates directly to their experiences. The strategy also enforces the constructivist theory in that students are responsible for building their own knowledge and constructing ideas based on their experiences. Not only that, but students infer and make predictions based on the cover page illustration and the blurb or synopsis at the back of the book. Therefore the physical layout becomes of great importance in inference because it is from this that students are able to deduce and perceive what the book is about before the actual reading process commences.
Inferential Reading takes into perspective the questioning procedure where the facilitator poses questions to students and encourages them to answer, again based on their experiences and judgement of the book based on the illustrations before they actually begin reading. Unlike other strategies, inferential reading does not require a question answer session during reading or pausing to comment on various parts of the text however it benefits the student as they learn to read more purposefully and tactfully.
Getting students to engage in this practise is advantageous to both the teacher and the student. The strategy helps students compare and contrast as well as makes associations and allusions to their lives. This allows the student to connect with the text and therefore makes it easier for them to find and identify themselves in various characters. It also makes comprehension and analysing easier for the student and helps them, according to Kylene Beers transfer those skills and strategies to their interactions with the text.
In addition, students develop skills pertinent to their understanding of both the literature and language arts. Students learn to:
- understand the intonation of characters' words and relationships to one another
- provide explanations for ideas that are presented in the text
- offer details for events or their own explanations of the events
- recognize the author's view of the world including the author's biases
- offer conclusions from facts presented in the text
- relate what is happening in the text to their own knowledge of the world
Students can also use inferential reading to help them with new or difficult vocabulary by figuring out 1) antecedents for pronouns, 2) the meaning of unknown words from context clues, and/or 3) the grammatical function of an unknown word.
Using Inferential Reading in the Classroom
Using the strategy in the Classroom
Before reading activity
When one thinks of making inferences based on a book that the student has not read, the idea of engaging them in any activity surrounding the text becomes a complicated task. Most times we ask, what do I ask them? Will they be able to arrive at the conclusions that I want them to within the allotted time? And the list of questions continue. Contrary to that idea, making inferences is a rather simple, interesting way of engaging students in discussion and generating as well as sharing knowledge and critical thinking. The teacher however, in order to make it a successful exchange has to be adequately prepared for the role. First and foremost, the teacher must have some knowledge of the book, therefore it would be in their best interest to read the book and understand it before actually going into the classroom. In reading the text, the teacher has to come up with a few amin questions to ask studetns which will help elicit previous knowledge and questions that will allow them to come up with their own predictions about the central ideas in the book; for instance, a teacher may choose to ask the class, ‘have you or anybody close to you been in a situation like that? What did it feel like? What was your reaction? Why do you think that happened? What do you think the book will focus on? It has also been suggested by Kyleen Beers that upon first initiating the strategy, the best way would be to use an everyday experience that they can easily relate to.
During Reading Activity
During the reading activity, the teacher may ask the students to draw conclusions based on their reading of the particular text, however it has to be supported by evidence from the text. For instance the reader may have to provide the class with examples of what was said, why was it said and how was it said.
After reading activity
After completing the entire novel, students are then expected to analyse their predictions about maybe characters or the happenings in the text. They make comparisons based on what they perceived would have happened and what actually happened
When a teacher allows a student to engage in the practice of inferential reading, it helps them develop critical thinking skills. Students are able to think of and make judgments from their own experiences and relate them to scenes and characters in the test. It is effective as it allows the student to share ideas from their own point of view thereby developing and or boosting the student’s self-esteem and confidence. Moreover, students become independent thinkers thereby broadening their knowledge and allowing them to develop appreciation for literature.
Lesson Plan
Date: April 29 2011
Grade Level: Grade eight
Age Group: 12-14
Number of Students: 36
Language Arts Area and Subtopic: Elements of a short story/ theme
Duration: 40 minutes
Other Language Areas: Characterizations, setting
Objectives: students will:
- Share their stories of superstition
- Identify and discuss the characteristics of the stories
- Examine elements of the text to make predictions
Pre-requisites: students should be able to:
- Read
- Tell stories
Approach/ Strategy: discussion
Materials: mats/ blankets
Preparation: students will arrange the class in a fish bowl arrangement.
Introduction: teacher will tell her own experience with superstition. She will also mention terms like the soucouyant, bolom, “Jean Gaje” and ask students what they know about them.
Development:
Step 1: students will take turns to tell stories of superstition. Students are free to comment on each other’s stories, make adjustments and tell their version of the same story based on how they have heard it.
Step 2: students will identify and discuss the characteristics of the stories highlighting their variations and commonalities.
Step 3: students will be given a copy of the story, “The Village Washer”. As a class we will discuss the topic of the story. Students will be asked the following questions:
- Is the title attractive? Is it one which makes you want to read the text?
- Based on the topic, what do think the story is about?
- Using the class activity as the basis along with the topic what do think the story is about?
Step 4: teacher will read a brief preview of the story to give students a little more information to make their predictions. The teacher will not give out too much information but rather just enough to get students interested in the story.
Conclusion: using a table format, students will document the similarities and differences among the stories.
Based on the preview that was read and the discussions in class, students will make predictions as to what the story will be about in their prediction logs.
Evaluation: students will be asked to draw their idea of a superstitious character of their choice in their journals.
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