How do I Teach Students to Visualize and Infer? Discovering Hidden Meanings

Visualizing and Inferring Two very closely related reading strategies Visualizing strengthens our inferential thinking When we visualize, we are often inferring

Visualizing “Proficient readers spontaneously and purposefully create mental images while and after they read. Text images from all 5 senses, as well as the emotions, are echoed by a readers prior knowledge.” (Keene and Zimmerman)

Visualizing When we visualize we create pictures in our mind that are our own personal images. “Visualizing personalizes reading, keeps us engaged and often prevents us from abandoning a book prematurely.” (pg. 132)

Process for Teaching Visualization Read a short text Describe (thinking aloud) images seen in your mind Encourage students to participate while reading a very descriptive piece Students draw pictures as they listen

Benefits of the Visualizing Strategy Allows readers to create mental images from the words in the text Heightens engagement within the text Enhances meaning with mental imagery Stimulates imaginative thinking Enables readers to place themselves in the story Improves literal comprehension of narrative/expository Increases ability to elaborate on characters, scenes, actions and ideas Heightens enjoyment of reading Improves reading scores on standardized tests

Inferring “Involves the merging background knowledge with text clues to come up with an idea that is not explicitly stated.” (pg. 131) *Reading between the lines*

Inferring Umbrella

When you infer, you go beyond the surface details to see other meanings the details suggest or imply Inferring while reading makes reading more personal and therefore more meaningful

Benefits of the Inferring Reading Strategy Accurate inferences produce a better understanding of the text and a grasp of the author’s meaning of the whole picture Rather than simply decoding words, the students can recognize an implication and draw it to its logical conclusion, resulting in fewer gaps in comprehension. Inferring leads to more engagement with the text. Students enjoy reading more when they comprehend the text. With each confirmed inference they become eager to continue reading. Inferring creates sophisticated readers that can look beyond the events of the student or text on a page to a global view. Inferring while reading helps students to develop skills necessary to think about their own reading.

Visualizing Lessons

Example Lessons for Visualizing Visualizing from a Vivid Piece of Text Choose a text that has specific nouns and compelling descriptions Books can have a strikingly visual way of writing How big should your group be for demonstrating? Small or Large group Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White – Chapter 3 Escape

Visualizing Lessons Cont. Visualizing with Wordless Picture Books Use the clues in the illustrations and combine them with the ‘missing pictures’ in our minds Making pictures in our minds helps us make meaning Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day Carl, the baby-sitting Rottweiler, is asked by the mother to watch the baby while she goes out shopping. This adventure is portrayed without words, but tells quite an adventure. Picture book and children responses – 1st grade (p. 133)

Visualizing Lessons Cont. Creating Mental Images That Go Beyond Visualizing Using our Senses in Writing: I see…, I hear…, I can feel…, I smell…, I can taste… Purpose: Help students better understand the actual text Clarify any misconceptions Overview: “Visualizing is all about taking the words from a text and mixing them with the readers background knowledge to create pictures in the mind” (p. 135). It brings life to reading!

Inferring Lessons

Introducing Inferential Thinking Inferring is something that everyone does naturally. Feelings Game

Inferring the Meaning of Unfamiliar Words “Using clues, visual evidence, and their understanding of the story and by thinking about what would make sense.” (7 Keys to Comprehension, 103) Think Sheet: Word Detectives

Inferring from Book Cover/Illustrations Think Sheet: Using Pictures to Boost Meaning and Strengthen Understanding Prediction or Inference?

Inferring with Text Clues “Inferring involves forming a best guess about what the “evidence” (words, sentences, and paragraphs) means; speculating about what’s to come; and then drawing conclusions about what was read to deepen the meaning of the literal words on the page.” (7 Keys to Comprehension, 97)

Background Knowledge + Text Clues = Inference BK + TC = I Think Sheet: Equation

Inferring with Text Clues Test the Inference “Is the idea you just told me about … written on the page or shown on the illustrations?” “Is it something that the author may or may not have thought about when writing this book?” (Mosaic of Thought, 162)

Inferring with Text Clues Ask students two questions: How did that inference come into your mind? How did that inference help you better understand? What if the student responds: “I don’t know.” “I know you don’t know, but if you did know, what would you say?” [give it time] “Children’s responses are nearly always worth the wait, and that silence, though uncomfortable for the adults, can lead to great thinking.” (Mosaic of Thought, 151-152)

Using Inference to Determine Themes Inferring Themes Think Sheet: What’s the Big Idea? Using Inference to Determine Themes

Inferring in Textbooks “The problem with textbooks isn’t getting information out of them; the problem is staying awake while reading them!” “The unfamiliar terms and concepts in textbooks combined with the dry writing sometimes sink students.” (Strategies that Work, 145)

Inferring in Textbooks Think Sheet: Facts – Inferences Think Sheet: I wonder … - I think …

Language to Use When Inferring I predict … I think that … My guess is … That’s just what I thought … Now, this is a surprise … My conclusion here is …

Other Resources Example Inference Worksheets List of Books that work well with Inferring “As teachers we need to make sure children have the cognitive agility to consider what is worth savoring, what portion of a text has the potential to change a life, what merits discussion, and what should be lingered over, argued about, and anchored in memory, because to comprehend only literally would be too great a loss.” (Mosaic of Thought, 166)

Activities to Practice Inferring Cartoons Feelings Game Facial Expressions/Body Language Word Games (20 Questions, Similes, I Spy, etc. ) Riddles Rhyming Songs and Poems “I’m thinking of something …” Picture Books Discussing characters and their feelings Charades Role Play Create a Reader’s Theater Share unfamiliar items (like kitchen utensils) and guess the use

(from 7 Keys to Comprehension) Quotes from Kids “It slows me down, and I think harder.” First grade “It helps you concentrate on your book more.” First grade “An inference is when you spill your thinking on the book.” Second grade “An inference is when you take the important words and turn them into thoughts. They get trapped in your head, making you stop and think about the ideas the author hasn’t quite told you.” Third grade (from 7 Keys to Comprehension)

Teaching with the End in Mind: When assessing look for evidence that… Students visualize and create mental images to help make sense of what they read. Students draw and write about their mental images or pictures in their mind while reading or listening to text. Students infer the meaning of unfamiliar words. Students are using the context to figure out the meaning of words and concepts. Students use text evidence to infer themes and bigger ideas. Students are merging their background knowledge with clues in the text to surface themes and bigger ideas. Students infer and draw conclusions from informational text using features and text structures. Students enhance their understanding and think beyond just the facts as they read textbooks and other nonfiction text.

Suggestions for Differentiation Visualizing and inferring go hand in hand with differentiation. Drawing is an important means to understanding. Drawing to clarify understanding helps construct meaning. Kids need to taste, touch, feel, and smell their way through books and experiences. We need to model using all of our senses to better understand what we read, hear, and view. “Many times kids can express through drawing what they may have difficulty articulating in oral or written words.” We need to teach inferring in many different contexts outside of text.

Suggestions for Differntiation Cont. Playing charades helps students get a concrete idea of what it means to infer. Role playing and drama give students the opportunity to act out their understanding of what they read. Collecting and sharing unfamiliar objects like kitchen utensils and/or old-fashioned tools requires students to use inferential thinking to make sense of what they are and infer their purpose.