7. Inferring—making inferences—is often
described as making a logical guess
gathering clues and reading between the
lines
reaching conclusions on the basis of
evidence and reasoning
“author and me” questions
Synonyms, deduction, conjecture,
speculation, presumption
9. Ask yourself questions as you read
Think about what the author tells
you
Think about your own experiences
Make an inference based on the
information you thought about.
10. • How to making inferences support reading
comprehension, If readers use no other resources
than their own background knowledge to create
meaning, their comprehension of a subject is
limited. On the other hand, using only text
disallows the validity of their personal point of
view, no connection is made, and only literal
comprehension may result. When readers infer,
they are personally engaged with the text, are
more aware of the author's purpose, and are
processing to deeper meaning (Zweirs, 2005).
11. To help less skilled readers learn to make the same types of inferences,
Beers suggests that teachers use short passages to show students how to do
the
following:
Recognize the antecedents for pronouns
Figure out the meaning of unknown words from context clues
Figure out the grammatical function of an unknown word
Understand intonation of characters' words
Identify characters' beliefs, personalities, and motivations
Understand characters' relationships to one another
Provide details about the setting
Provide explanations for events or ideas that are presented in the text
Offer details for events or their own explanations of the events
Understand the author's view of the world
Recognize the author's biases
Relate what is happening in the text to their own knowledge of the
world
Offer conclusions from facts presented in the text
[From Beers, 2003, p. 65. Reprinted by permission.]
12. “I don’t get it”...
Sometimes people say this when there’s a piece of
information they don’t know that’s keeping them from making
an inference. In this comic you have to know what a
“symptom” is. A symptom is a sign or indicator of something.
Calvin is trying to show his mom signs of being sick but tells
her so many silly ones that she knows he’s faking it.
13. Think about the hidden information in this comic that you have to
figure out in order to “get it”....
The teacher sends Calvin to the principal when he takes the gum
out of his mouth and offers to share it instead of understanding
that his teacher is sarcastically reminding Calvin that he
shouldn’t be chewing gum. He tries to blame the teacher for the
trouble he’s in with the principal.
14. • When you think about that hidden
information on your own and understand
the comic the author has written, you’re
making an inference!
• It’s like an “author and me” question
where you use your own thinking and
background knowledge combined with
the information the author has written.
15. Now try some on your own to practice
the skill of making inferences:
• As you read the comics on the keynote try
explaining why it’s funny. In order to
explain, you’ll need to “read between the
lines” and tell what information isn’t directly
there. This is inferring.
• Sometimes you may not “get it”. If that
happens, you can write your note instead
on what you don’t understand. That’s the
missing information that’s keeping you from
inferring.
