Inferencing and Investigating

Over the last couple of weeks students have been working on learning and strengthening the skill of Inferencing. When inferencing we are using clues from the text combined with our background knowledge determine the meaning of a word or text. In most stories that we read the author will often omit some information. This allows for the reader to use inferencing to make those connections with their knowledge as well as connect to the text through their own experiences. As a class we discussed where we see inferencing outside of the classroom as well. For example, if someone comes to class on Monday and is sad and you knew that they had an important sporting event on the weekend what can you assume happened?

To gain important hands on experience with our new found skill students arrived to the classroom on Wednesday to discover a crime scene. Someone had broken into our class and trashed one area. Students discussed what they saw and then using adjectives they wrote a story about what they thought happened using "who, what, when, where, how and why".
Students looked for clues by asking questions to myself, Ms. Healing and each other to help create a timeline of events and come up with clues that might lead to solving the crime. Ask your child who they think came into our classroom and what clues they used to help them come to this conclusion.

                                       


Studies have shown that proficient readers use their background knowledge and textual information to draw conclusions, make critical judgements, and form unique interpretations for the text. We will continue to work on this important comprehension skill throughout the year. When reading at home with your child ensure you are asking them questions about what the author means and what they think is happening. The more exposure students can get to a skill both inside and outside of the classroom the more second nature it becomes.