Improving Comprehension Skills- Making Inferences

Inference is a "foundational skill" because inferring requires higher order thinking skills, it can be difficult for many students. However, it can be taught through explicit instruction in inferential strategies

What It Means To Infer

 Stopping to think and rereading if necessary

 Connecting what you know to the words and pictures

 Recapping what has happened so far

 Asking a question about what could happen next

 Paying attention to details in the pictures

 Thinking about what the words could mean

 Talking to yourself and then stating an opinion about what you have read

 Trying to picture it in your mind

 Combining all the clues left by the author

 Coming up with a conclusion, guess, or bigger idea

How to Teach Inference
                                                                                                                                                                      

One simplified model for teaching inference includes the following assumptions:

a. We need to find clues to get some answers.
c. We need to add those clues to what we already know or have read.
d. There can be more than one correct answer.

e. We need to be able to support inferences.


Four questions that can be posed to students (Marzano 2010) to facilitate a discussion about inferences are:

1. What is my inference?
2. What information did I use to make this inference?
3. How good was my thinking?
4. Do I need to change my thinking?

   Resource sites: wvde.state.wv.us/strategybank; http://www.readingrockets.org

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Tips for Answering Multiple Choice Comprehension Questions

1. Read the passage more than once to ensure that you understand it fully.

2. Look at the questions after you feel that the passage is clear to you.

3. Make sure you understand the instruction clearly. 

    For example, should you choose the best answer, or are you supposed to be identifying an      alternative that is false?

4. Pay attention to every detail in the question.

5. Read each question as if you had to answer it without choosing from a list of alternative answers.

6. Try to answer the question first without looking at the list of choices.

7. If you know the answer, select it from the list of choices and move on.

8. If you don’t know the answer, look at the choices and use the process of elimination to narrow   down choices.

9. Verify whether or not there is an "all of the above" or "none of the above" choice before selecting    your first choice answer.

10. Use the true/false technique to help you select between two similar answers. (Translate the question into a statement with each of the possible answers, and select one that is true.)

11. If you are not sure about an answer leave the question and then come back to it.

12. Do not leave any questions blank.

How to identify the Writer's Tone, Purpose and Intention

The Author's Tone:

If the author was speaking to you, what would it sound like?  Is the author passionate about the topic?  Sarcastic?  Neutral?  Is the author arousing emotions?  Does it evoke feelings of sympathy, anger, happiness or sadness?
Looking at the author's tone can lead the reader to the overall purpose.

The Author's Purpose

An author’s purpose is the reason an author decides to write about a specific topic. Then, once a topic is selected, the author must decide whether his purpose for writing is to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain his ideas to the reader.

To determine the author's purpose it is important to analyze the...

• Language used - look at the words the author chooses to use.  Do they convey certain emotions?  Is it formal or informal?

• Development - How has the author chosen to develop his or her thoughts?

• The audience - Who is the author speaking to?  Is the vocabulary technical and specific? Is it targeted to a specific audience?  Is the language easy to read and understand?

• The author's point of view - What is the author's attitude toward the subject?

Writer's Intention

The writer’s intention is the meaning or interpretation of the passage that the author had in mind when he or she was creating it. It also includes the meaning the writer is trying to convey.