Week 16

Comprehension- Inferring

My 4th grade teacher facilitated a wonderful learning experience for her students with a great explanation about the difference between inferring and predicting.  The teacher brought all of her 4th graders to the carpet and reviewed what they knew about inferring and predicting.  As they struggled with the words to articulate the difference, she reassured them that she would give them a great way to remember the difference.  She presented them with a bag of puzzle pieces and asked them to infer what the puzzle was.  The kids passed the bag around and were able to make "inferences" based on what they saw.  For example, the students said they saw whiskers and it was pink, so it had to be a Hello Kitty puzzle.  The teacher then asked them if they would be able to confirm that inference.  The kids said yes because they would know what type of puzzle it was once they put it together.  The teacher then shared with them that what they had done was make a prediction because a prediction can be confirmed.  She then explained that sometimes inferences and predictions overlap, but in this case, they had made a prediction.  The teacher then shared with them a piece of art and asked them to infer what the art was (see picture below).  The students said the picture was anywhere from an airplane to a blue whale.  The teacher probed further and asked if they would be able to confirm their inference.  The teacher shared that their thoughts were inferences because without the author there, they would not be able to confirm their inferences.  An inference is based upon their schema and the context clues and may or may not be confirmed.  The kids really seemed to grasp the concept and the difference between the two.  I have taught inferring for years, but this simple demonstration made it much clearer for the students!

Week 14 and 15 
Expanding Vocabulary-
One of our 2nd grade teachers has the structure of Daily 5 up and running and is implementing Café.  One strategy she used was under the Expanding Vocabulary title.  She focused on Using Word Parts to Find Meaning.  The  teacher used the word submarine and subway to talk about the prefix of sub- meaning under.  The students then generated other prefixes and suffixes of known words to help them see that if they know the meaning of a word part, they will be able to figure out the meaning of the whole word.  For example, unfair or playful.  Take the known word and figure out the meaning of the new word.  This is a great way to talk about prefixes and suffixes without running off several worksheets and practice the drill and kill.  Make learning more meaningful by discussing strategies as they come along in their learning!

 

At this time of year, Café boards should look pretty full, as the students should have learned a variety of strategies to help themselves be better readers.  This will also allow the teacher to have more of a menu to choose from when conferencing with students.  Below is a Café board from a 3rd grade classroom.

 

Weeks 12 and 13

Conferences and Report Cards

These past few weeks have been a time to complete assessments and get ready for report card conferences.  Teachers will use their conferring notes to share with parents the goals their child is working on in Reading.  Teachers will also use the DRA level to share their child's progress towards meeting grade level proficiency.