Making Inferences: The Fall of Saigon

Guiding Questions What is home? How do critical incidents reveal character? What common themes unify the refugee experience? How can we tell powerful stories about people’s experiences?

What is an inference?

And it is…. Basically it is the thought process a reader makes to understand the meaning of text or an image. (some even say that humans are so “in-tune” that we can even predict events!!) Today’s work will require you to make inferences based on both text and images.

It’s a Gallery Walk- Yeah! (10 min) Take 10 minutes in groups and walk around the classroom. I will time 1 minute per picture– FOR THIS EXCERSISE IT MUST REMAIN QUIET. We will share out later. Use your Notice/Wonder graphic organizer to capture specific details that you notice (ex. “Woman is crying.”) and wonder (ex. I wonder why they are sad?)

Share out What did you notice? What did you wonder? Did your mind automatically begin to make an inference? If so, what was it? What background knowledge led you to this idea?

Mix and Mingle (15 min) Take a look at the strips in front of you. Read your strips silently. (2 min) Quickly compare your strips with a near by partner.

Hmmmmm…. Do you feel like you have the whole story of what is happening from the sentence strips?

Let’s keep digging Lets broaden the scope. Others around the room have even more strips with different sentences. Let’s mingle and compare the strips. By doing this, hopefully you will get more info about what is happening in the pictures. Take 5 minutes to do so. Look for peers that have different strips from you. Gather into groups of 4-5, so each group will have 8-10 strips that might fit together to tell more of the story that is happening in the gallery walk pictures. Stay with your group and have a seat.

Next Once you have your group, begin to fit your pieces together in the order that you think makes the most sense.

Let’s discuss Based on the pictures and sentence strips, what can you infer has happened? What specific evidence do you have to back up this inference? (use details from the strips)

Connecting detail and inferences to the guiding questions (10 min) Most of you inferred that there was a war happening and people were fleeing. During wars, most people must leave their homes. This connects us with the guiding question, “What is home?”

continued Many of you noticed the emotional intensity described in the strips and that this must have been intense for the people involved. This intensity connects us to the question, “How do critical events reveal character?”

Take 2 minutes Reread your quotes to your group and identify how you can connect to the idea of home or showing or revealing character.

Exit ticket: Take out a piece of paper 1. List 1 inference you made today. 2. List a question that you hope to have answered in the coming weeks.