Inferences

 **Inferences - Jennifer Pugh**

I chose to create lesson plans for making inferences to improve student comprehension. Year after year I am amazed at how many students **//are not able//** to make accurate or acceptable inferences when reading, watching, listening, or looking at various types of information. I designed lesson plans for 1st graders to provide exposure to and practice with making inferences, and I designed lesson plans for 5th graders to build upon and reinforce various types of inferencing. The information inquiry standards I addressed in my lessons include: > Teaching/Student Materials __** :
 * __ Overview __** :
 * 1.1.2 Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning.
 * 1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g., textual, visual, media, digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning.
 * 2.3.1 Connect understanding to the real world.
 * __

The purpose of my first grade lessons is to __introduce__ younger students to making inferences, and the purpose of my fifth grade lessons is to __reinforce and expand upon__ making inferences when reading, watching, listening, or looking at various types of information. According to page 87 of The Blue Book, my objectives line up with: Due to the fact that many first graders are emergent readers and writers and haven’t had much exposure (if any) to inferencing skills, the first grade lesson is more of a controlled inquiry experience. The fifth grade lesson is more of a guided inquiry experience. According to page xiv of The Blue Book, Callison says “We have a steep spiral to climb in order to be masters of our own inquiry and discovery.” Figure A on the same page suggests a student evolves from novice to expert by having many different experiences with - and practice at the different levels of - Information Inquiry. Controlled Inquiry experiences help the ‘novice’ student mature, or move up the steep spiral, to the next level of Guided Inquiry. Guided Inquiry experiences help the ‘apprentice’ student mature, or move up the steep spiral, to the next level of Free Inquiry.
 * __ Inquiry Skill __** :
 * S // cope and Sequence for Information lnquiry //
 * Elementary School level #3: Listening and viewing
 * a . is able to attend to the sights and sounds of storytelling
 * b. can participate in discussion following a story
 * c. can recall, summarize, and paraphrase what is listened to and viewed
 * S // cope and Sequence for Information lnquiry //
 * Elementary School level #4: Literature appreciation
 * a. can draw the point of the story into his or her own experience

According to Annette Lamb, “Like all areas of expertise, students develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to information science over time. As students reflect on each experience, they gain insights that can be applied to future inquiry activities. The key to evolving from novice to expert is building increasingly sophisticated personal tools and techniques” (Virtual Information Inquiry Website).

Both of my lessons address a similar set of skills in reading/language arts because the definition of the standards is very much alike. However, these standards do not exist in isolation. It is inevitable that many other standards will also be covered when doing these lessons. This, in turn, will help build scaffolding for important reading comprehension skills, as well as skills for the real world in better understanding people’s body language and expressions.
 * __ Lesson Comparison __** :

When it comes to scaffolding, Callison says, “The base level is extremely important…The base may be composed of several associated skills to give it a broad foundation upon which to build higher skills sets” (The Blue Book, 523). In my first grade lessons, I provide several activities to build a firm foundation. Students are exposed to inferencing by looking at and analyzing a picture book, trying to understand a segment of a television show based solely on visual clues, acting out scenarios for their classmates, and looking at and analyzing various pictures from magazines. There is a lot of teacher guidance and modeling occurring within my first grade lessons.

With consistent teaching and modeling - or reinforcement - of reading comprehension skills (including making inferences), more real-life experiences, and time, by fifth grade students should be much more capable and accurate at making inferences when reading, watching, listening, or looking at various types of information. Therefore, my fifth grade lessons expand upon the growing structure of the scaffolding foundation. These activities include analyzing pictures, scenarios, and comics and writing descriptions about each, and exploring various websites to further enhance inferencing skills. While there is still some teacher guidance and modeling occurring at the fifth grade level, there is more opportunity for students completing independent activities, as well.

Expectations vary from the first grade to fifth grade due to life experiences and having more practice with the skill of inferencing. The information that 5th grade students work with for improving inference skills is more sophisticated than the information used by 1st grade students to draw their inferences.

As instructional specialists, we must educate students to think and help them prepare for their futures. "The teacher of literacy information is a critical player in facilitating the 'learning to think' environment. Unless that teacher is able and willing to model, council, and evaluate the student's information selection and use process, moving the student from the child novice levels to higher order thinking skills will falter..." (Callison, 436).

**__Works Cited__**: __ AASL (American Association of School Librarians) __. "Standards for the 21st-Century Learner." 2007. 1 Mar. 2009 <[] >

Callison, Daniel, and Leslie Preddy. __The Blue Book on Information Age Inquiry, Instruction and Literacy__. Westport, Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited, 2006. __ Indiana ____ ’s Academic Standards and Resources __. Indiana Department of Education. 1 Mar. 2009. <[]__ = __> __ Virtual Information Inquiry __. Callison, Daniel and Lamb, Annette. 2006 1 Mar. 2009. <[]>

__**Example for a Different Grade Level:**__ Creating inferences and separating them from fact is also very important in scientific thinking. The lesson below is for middle school aged students (7th or 8th grade).

Ask students: Imagine you′re producing a scientific film about an extinct animal that lived millions of years ago. How would you know what it looked like and how it behaved? Explain that scientists study fossils to learn about an animal′s size and skeletal structure, when and where it lived, and sometimes what it ate or was eaten by. They study behaviors of living animals for clues to their ancient relatives. Scientists and filmmakers make models and use computers to help bring the past to life.


 * 1. Preparation.** Prepare a backpack with books and other items you will show the class. Include items students can use to hypothesize about the person who owns the bag.
 * 2. Group activity.** Show students the backpack and ask them to use scientific thinking to learn more about this backpack. As you examine the backpack and its contents, guide students through the following steps.
 * 3. Ask students, "What can you observe?"** Prompt students to describe the backpack and the contents inside.

//Possible answers: size, color, style, descriptions of objects as they are shown.//
 * 4. Ask students, "To whom does it belong?"** Ask students what they can infer about the person who owns the backpack, based on the information they have acquired. What behaviors can they infer about the owner, based on the contents and how they might be used?
 * 5. Write "evidence" and "inference" on the board, and discuss these terms with students.** Evidence is data that can be measured, observed, examined, and analyzed to support a conclusion. Ask students to share what they know about the backpack and its contents that are based on evidence.

//Possible answers: descriptions of the bag and its contents.// Inference is an explanation derived by reasoning. Ask students to share information they acquired during the backpack activity that is based on inference, i.e. ideas they have that cannot be directly observed in the contents.

//Possible answers: Descriptions of the type of person who may own the bag and how they used the objects found inside.//
 * 6. Making a connection.** Introduce students to the work paleontologists do. Paleontologists search for, uncover, and study fossil remains, which is evidence of prehistoric animals. As was done in the backpack activity, paleontologists draw inferences from the evidence they uncover. Example: A shark′s tooth embedded in a fossilized bone may lead a paleontologist to infer that a shark bit the animal.

Have students critique a science article that explains how fossilized bones of plesiosaurs (long-necked marine reptiles that lived 65 mya and are the inspiration for the Loch Ness Monster) can help scientists understand the purpose for its extraordinarily long neck. Tell students to read this article to look for examples of how fossils provide evidence of the life of this prehistoric animal. Ask students to suggest ideas (make an inference) on how this creature took care of itself.
 * Extending the Lesson:** Ask students to read the following article about a Loch Ness sea monster fossil discovery that seems to be based on speculation and hoax. Ask students to look for direct evidence that supports or disputes the claim that the plesiosaur fossil could be the Loch Ness sea monster.
 * [|//National Geographic News: Loch Ness Sea Monster A Hoax, Say Scientists//]
 * [|//National Geographic News: Long-Necked Sea Reptiles Had Unexpected Diet, Fossils Show//]

January Bowen