1. Inferential Thinking
Inferring is the bedrock of comprehension, not only in reading. We infer in many realms. Inferring is about reading faces, reading body language, reading expressions, and reading tone as well as reading text.
- Strategies That Work

4. Inference Board Game
Play Julie’s game.

5. Drawing inferences from text
Inferring is the process of creating a personal and unique meaning from text. It involves combining information from the text and relevant background knowledge.
Proficient learners create meaning that is neither explicitly in the text nor shown in the illustrations.
Inferring may cause the reader to read more slowly to better understand the content.
Inferences may be more thoroughly developed if the reader pauses to reflect and consider multiple interpretations and perspectives.

6. When they infer, proficient readers:
When proficient readers infer, they are more able to remember and reapply what they have read, create new and revise existing background knowledge.
When they infer, proficient readers:
Draw conclusions
Make reasonable predictions, then test and revise as they read
Use the combination of background knowledge and explicit information from the text to answer questions as they read
Make critical judgments about what they read
A wide variety of interpretation is appropriate for fiction and poetry; a narrower range of interpretation is typical for nonfiction text. Readers should be able to defend their inferences with a description of relevant , prior knowledge and specific text they have read.

7. Predicting and Inferring
Predicting is a type of “forward inferring”, whereas other inferring happens while looking back, or at the present moment of reading.
Proficient readers make predictions smoothly and without much thought, then confirm or disconfirm them based on continued reading.
Although predicting and inferring overlap, inferring is more difficult because you must be more precise. Predicting is something you can check your accuracy on in further reading, but inferring is not as easy to get feedback on.
- Kendra Wagner

8. Inferring
Merging background knowledge with clues in the text to come up with an idea that is not explicitly stated by the author. Reasonable inferences need to be tied to the text.
Making predictions
Predicting outcomes, upcoming events and
actions
Using context to figure out the meaning of
unfamiliar words/concepts
Interpreting the meaning of language
Figurative language
Idiomatic language
Metaphoric language
Visualizing
Constructing meaning with a visual image
Inferring creates a picture, movie, or
slideshow in the mind
Inferring relationships
Setting to plot
Cause and effect
Character's feelings and motives
Inferring the authors’ purpose
Creating interpretations based on text evidence
Using text evidence to surface themes and big ideas
Inferring the meaning of text features and visuals
Inferring the answer to a question
Drawing conclusions based on text evidence

9. Think-Aloud
Think-aloud is the single most important teaching tactic at our disposal.
Children’s difficulties on inference-related items often correlate to teachers’ lack of clarity about what good inference instruction looks like.
Teachers read aloud, pausing to make their thinking explicit.
Teachers are clear about how the strategy they’re using helps them comprehend more than they would have comprehended without the strategy.
There is no one right way to do think-alouds.
Example:” Today I want to show you how I infer. I’m going to pause as I read and I’ll share my inferences. Inferences are really important and great readers make them all the time. An inference is something a reader knows from reading , but the author doesn’t include it in the book. It helps you understand the story more deeply and helps make books mean something very personal to you.”

10. “I know you don’t know……but if you did know, ,what would you say?”

11. Raise the Level of our Strategy Use
“Am I inferring primarily about things (events in a story, for example), people (such as the characters) or ideas (the prevailing concepts, the lessons, and directions for our lives we take away from reading)?”
Trust children to pick up on more obvious points in the text, and take time to think and focus on inferences that go beyond the literal and obvious.
Think aloud about reading strategies and ideas that have broad application, beyond today’s book.
Use books rich in ideas that inspire think alouds about content that matters in the world, that causes students to respond with passionate attention or even action.
(Eve Bunting, Patricia Polacco, Jacqueline Woodson and Cynthia Rylant)

12. Conferring Conferences are the lifeblood to comprehension teaching.
Small group instruction cannot meet the individual needs, there is no substitute for one-on-ne conversation

13. Key Ideas on Conferring
Conferring permits the teacher to help a child focus intensively on a skill or strategy and through conversation, indicate ways the child might use the strategy to reach the next level of understanding.
Key Ideas on Conferring
Asses the child’s progress in applying a skill or strategy independently
Avoid the temptation to confer about a number of different teaching points
Keep the conference focused and purposeful
Provide immediate, focused instruction that respond directly to what the child has shared
Focus intently on the child
Understands that conference times vary based on the needs of the child
Keep dated records that will help the teacher remember the teaching point
Review conference records later to look for patterns of shared needs
Announce the type of conference for the day so children can anticipate the type of conference.

14. References
Keene, E.O., and Zimmermann, S. (2007) Mosaic of Thought: The Power of Comprehension Strategy Instruction. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.