Taking Aim at Comprehension: Teaching Children to Infer

Taking Aim at Comprehension:

Teaching Children to Infer

What does it mean to comprehend?

Let’s begin by considering some key definitions of comprehension and

looking for common elements.

What is Reading Comprehension?

“building bridges from the new to the known”

Pearson & Johnson (1978)


“the construction of the meaning of a written text through a reciprocal interchange of ideas between the reader and the message in a particular text”

Harris & Hodges (1995)


“thinking guided by print”

Perfetti (1995)


“the process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning throughinteraction and involvement with written language. It consists of three elements: the reader, the text, and the activity or purpose for reading”

Rand Reading Study Group (2002)

Take Five

• Does the comprehension instruction you see in your classrooms reflect a deep understanding of what reading comprehension is?

Today’s Goals Review skills and strategies

Learn about think alouds

Learn more about inferences in reading

Examine research-based approaches for building inferential skills

Select from among these approaches and apply them to a chosen text

Reading Comprehension

Skill or Strategy?

What’s the difference between a comprehension skill and a comprehension strategy?

A skill is applied automatically, but a strategy is a thinking process that is used consciously and intentionally to achieve some goal.

That seems pretty clear. Why all the confusion?

There are two reasons. First, Scott Paris and his colleagues point out that a skill for proficient readers may be a strategy for developing readers. For example, a beginner may need to consciously infer a sequence of events, while you and I tend to do it automatically.

In fact, as Dan Willingham points out, some of the “strategies” we teach children are rarely used by proficient, older readers. An example is constructing a timeline or story map to help us understand a narrative.

The second reason is that different writers on the subject have listed what they believe to be important strategies, but their lists are different. For instance, Dan Willingham offers one list, and Janice Almasi suggests a slightly different one.

But isn’t there a commonly agreed upon list of comprehension strategies?

No. There are numerous lists but none that everyone accepts. The lists contain common items, such as summarizing, but there is no agreed upon list. It’s no wonder that in the Literacy Dictionary, Harris and Hodges state, “There is little consensus in the research literature on what constitutes a comprehension strategy.”

But didn’t the National Reading Panel identify research-based

comprehension strategies?

No. The NRP was concerned about instructional strategies that research has shown to be effective. The word strategy has two meanings that are sometimes confused.

So, does the difference between a skill and a strategy really matter?

It’s best to think in terms of elements. Whether a commercial program calls an element a skill or a strategy is not very important.

Which of the GPS elements are most important?

They’re all important, but three are the basis of many other elements. These three are also required for most of the “strategies” listed by experts – no matter whose list they’re on! So it’s important that K-3 teachers focus on those three elements.

Which three GPS elements are the building blocks of the others?

They all concern the ability to infer. Let’s take a look.

GPS Elements that are the cornerstones inferential comprehension.

j Identifies and infers main idea and supporting details.

l Identifies and infers cause-and-effect relationships and draws conclusions.

m Recalls explicit facts and infers implicit facts.

How do these elements support others?

Identifies and infers main idea and

supporting details.

Identifies and infers cause-and-effect relationships and draws conclusions

Recalls explicit facts and infers

implicit facts

b. Makes predictions from text content

c. Generates questions to improve comprehension

g. Summarizes text content


g. Summarizes text content

p. Recognizes the author’s purpose


f. Makes judgments and inferences about setting, characters, and events and supports them with evidence from the text

i. Makes connections between texts and/or personal experiences

What is an inference?

An inference is a logical conclusion reached by combining two or more facts.

Some inferences are certain, others are matters of conjecture.

Let’s consider two examples.

Example One

TextLos Angeles is in California. California is west of the Mississippi River.

Certain InferenceLos Angeles is west of the Mississippi.

Example Two

TextThe temperature on Pluto is hundreds of degrees below zero. Pluto has no atmosphere, and very little sunlight reaches it.

Probable InferenceThere is no life on Pluto.

An inference is a statement about the unknown

made on the basis of the known.

S. I. Hayakawa

This means that all predictions are inferences!

What is inferential comprehension?

Inferential comprehension means grasping facts that are not explicitly stated.

A reader does this in two ways: 1. by linking a fact in the text with a fact in prior

knowledge

2. by linking two facts in the text

Let’s see how this works.

Linking a fact in the text with a fact in prior knowledge

Every cat is either male or female.

2 + 4 = 6

Prior Knowledge Text

Molly’s cat just had six kittens. She named the girls Flossie and Florie.

Linking a fact in the text with a fact in prior knowledge

Every cat is either male or female.

2 + 4 = 6


Molly’s cat just had six kittens. She named the girls Flossie and Florie.

Inference

Hmm, the other four kittens must

be boys.

Linking two facts in the text

Knowledge of concepts is activated, but a key inference comes from combining text facts.


Atlanta is the largest city in Georgia. Augusta is the second largest.

Linking two facts in the text

Knowledge of concepts is activated, but a key inference comes from combining text facts.


Atlanta is the largest city in Georgia. Augusta is the second largest.

Hmm, I’ve neverheard of Augusta,but it must be in Georgia.

Why is inferential comprehension so important?

Take five to discuss this at your table.

Why is inferential comprehension so important?

When students infer as they read, they link facts presented explicitly in the

text,they link facts in the text with prior

knowledge,they process the content actively, which

helps them understand and remember it better.

Key Inferential Elements

1. Inferring facts

2. Inferring main ideas

3. Inferring cause-and-effect relationships

Before During AfterBased on the comprehension framework from the Reading First Teacher Academies, it is important to think carefully about the best time to implement an instructional technique: before, during, or after reading.

Many of the techniques we will discuss today are best used during reading, while teachers work with students to guide their comprehension. Some techniques can be implemented before or after reading, and a few can be used at multiple points during a lesson.

As we discuss each technique, think about the best time to use it.

Key Inferential Elements

1. Inferring facts

2. Inferring main ideas

3. Inferring cause-and-effect relationships

What does this element involve?

The reader logically connects two facts to arrive at a third fact that is not stated.

Both of the original facts may be in the text.

OR One fact may be in the text and the other in

the reader’s prior knowledge.

How can teachers foster this ability?

The best place to start is by modeling the process of inferring a fact.

You can do this through a think-aloud.

Teacher Think-Aloud: One Fact in Text

A teacher should model how a stated fact can be linked to prior knowledge.

1. Choose a single sentence from a core selection, a trade book, or a read-aloud. The sentence must clearly state a fact that will support an inference based on knowledge children are likely to possess.

2. Think through how you yourself went about linking the facts.

3. Plan your think-aloud.4. Make sure you involve students when you deliver it.

Hurricane season along the East Coast of the United States begins in June and continues until the end of November. The peak hurricane months are August and September. The East Coast averages about five hurricanes a year. Over other parts of the world, hurricanes happen year-round.

Since Georgia children live on the East Coast, this passage has real significance for them! Of course, the author had no way of knowing where they live, but the teacher can underscore this fact and use it to make an inference.


Teacher: [After reading the first sentence aloud] Look at our map. Here is the East Coast. You can see that Georgia is on the East Coast.The author says that hurricanes might come between June and November. We need to be careful then! Let’s look at our calendar. I can see that in the spring we’ll be safe from hurricanes.

The teacher makes sure that an important fact not mentioned in the text is understood. Then a stated fact is used to make the inference.

Teacher Think-Aloud: Two Facts in Text

A good reader is constantly linking the information in each new sentence to sentences previously read. This process is called bridging, or making “backward” inferences. A teacher can demonstrate the process by thinking aloud. Here are some typical situations where bridging is appropriate:

1. A pronoun refers back to an antecedent in a previous sentence.

Toad woke up.“Drat!” he said.“This house is a mess.I have so much work to do.”Frog looked through the window.“Toad, you are right,”said Frog. “It is a mess.”Toad pulled the covers over his head.

Toad woke up.“Drat!” he said.“This house is a mess.I have so much work to do.”Frog looked through the window.“Toad, you are right,”said Frog. “It is a mess.”Toad pulled the covers over his head.

The teacher points to the word it and says, “Now when Frog says, “It is a mess,” the word it goes back to the word … [here the the finger slowly moves up the page] … house.”




2. A noun is used to refer to another noun. (Technically, this type of reference is called anaphora.)

Red ants are very busy bugs! The spend each day finding food and bringing it back home. They also build tunnels and guard their eggs. These insects are great workers.

Red ants are very busy bugs! The spend each day finding food and bringing it back home. They also build tunnels and guard their eggs. These insects are great workers.

The teacher points to the word insects and says, “Now when I see the word insect, I know the author is really just using another word for … [here the the finger slowly moves up the page] … ants.”




2. A noun is used to refer to another noun. (Technically, this type of reference is called anaphora.)

3. A logical conclusion is drawn by combining the ideas of two sentences.

The blue whale is as long as a basketball court. Its eyes are as big as softballs. Its tongue weighs as much as an elephant. It is the biggest animal that has ever lived on earth – bigger than any dinosaur.

The author offers two comparisons to convey how large a blue whale is. An inference can combine these comparisons and arrive at a fact the author does not state. The teacher can think through the process.


Teacher: Wow, blue whales are really big! I thought dinosaurs were bigger, but I guess none of them were. The author says that a blue whale is as long as a basketball court! Hmm, that must mean that dinosaurs were not that long.

The teacher uses the dinosaur and basketball comparisons to infer a new comparison, reasoning aloud for the students.

Task 2

1. Choose a segment of text in a trade book or core

selection in which facts that can be linked through a

think-aloud.

2. Plan how this think-aloud would be worded.

3. Prepare to share!

Teacher Think-Aloud: Linking Facts with Charts and Diagrams

Think-alouds can also link facts by means of charts and diagrams.

The teacher constructs one on a white board or chart paper during a guided reading lesson or a read-aloud.

Let’s look at two examples.

Inside the earth it is very hot – hot enough to melt rock. The melted rock is called magma.

Sometimes the magma pushes through cracks in the crust. When magma comes to the surface, it is called lava. The lava cools and becomes very hard. It becomes igneous rock.

Inside the earth it is very hot – hot enough to melt rock. The melted rock is called magma.

Sometimes the magma pushes through cracks in the crust. When magma comes to the surface, it is called lava. The lava cools and becomes very hard. It becomes igneous rock.

There is lots of information in this text and no topic sentence to help organize the thoughts. With the help of students, the teacher might construct a time line while thinking through text.

Magma is Magma pushes Magma comes Lava coolsmelted rock through cracks to surface and becomesinside earth igneous rock

Granite is an igneous rock. It once was magma. Some granite is gray with small, shiny black and white crystals. Some granite has large pink, black, and white crystals.

The crystals in granite are called quartz. Some pieces of quartz are white like milk. Others are clear like glass.

Sometimes quartz has bands of many colors. Jewelry is made from it. The marbles you play with may be made of banded quartz.

Basalt is another kind of igneous rock. It is usually dark in color – gray, green, or black. It is the most common of all igneous rocks.

There is lots more information here, and the teacher may be able to link it by constructing a chart. Again the students can help. Note that as the teacher constructs the chart, s/he thinks through each step aloud. The chart links facts and the links are examples of inferences.

The teacher might say, “Let’s see if we can put all of these facts together. I think a little chart will help. We’re reading about kinds of igneous rocks here. The author mentions three kinds. I’ll write them on the left. They are granite, quartz, and basalt. On the right, let’s jot down a few of the facts we just read.”

granite

quartz

basalt

Task 3

1. Choose a another segment of text in a trade book or

core selection in which facts that can be linked through a

think-aloud.

2. This time look for a segment you can think through as

you construct a simple chart or diagram.

3. Plan how this think-aloud would be worded.


Once children begin to catch on to the thinking process used to make inferences,

you can use questions to prompt them.

Let’s revisit some of these examples as the teacher uses questioning strategies

rather than think-alouds.

Teacher Questioning: Bottom-up Clusters

A teacher can prompt inference-making by asking a series of three questions. The first two call for facts that are in the text or in prior knowledge. The third question calls for an inference that links the two facts.

INFERENTIAL

LITERAL LITERAL

Teacher Questioning: Bottom-up Clusters

A teacher can prompt inference-making by asking a series of three questions. The first two call for facts that are in the text or in prior knowledge. The third question calls for an inference that links the two facts.

1. Start by examining your own reading of the text. Find a point at which you reached an inference.

2. Plan two questions that students will need to answer to make the inference.

3. Plan how to word the inferential question.4. Lead the students through the cluster when you come

to the appropriate point in the text.


In this example, the teacher leads a child in combining a fact in prior knowledge with a fact in the text to infer a new fact. You’ll recall that another way to do this was through a think-aloud.


Teacher: [After reading the first sentence aloud] Look at our map. Here is the East Coast. Would you say that Georgia is on the East Coast?

Child: Yes.

}The answer to this question is not in the text. The teacher wants to ensure that the students have it available.



Child: Yes.Teacher: And when is hurricane season?Child: From June to November. }

This answer to this question is in the text. The child is now ready to make the inference.



Child: Yes.Teacher: And when is hurricane season?Child: From June to November.Teacher: Right. Do you think a hurricane

might hit Georgia in the spring?Child: No. }

The inference is now easy to make because the facts the child needs have entered the discussion.

Now let’s revisit our blue whale example, in which both of the facts needed for the inference are in the text. Instead of using a think-aloud, a teacher might use a question cluster.


Teacher: How long is a blue whale?Child: As long as a basketball court.Teacher: Are blue whales bigger than

dinosaurs?Child: Yes.

}The teacher begins with two literal questions.


Teacher: How long is a blue whale?Child: As long as a basketball court.Teacher: Are blue whales bigger dinosaurs?Child: Yes.Teacher: So, was there was ever a dinosaur

as long as a basketball court? Child: No.

}The teacher begins with two literal questions.

Then comes the inference.}

Task 4

1. Return to the segment of text you chose for the first

think-aloud.

2. Plan how this segment might be approached through a

bottom-up question cluster. (Remember to include three

questions – two literal to focus on the facts the child will

need, followed by the inferential question itself.)


Teacher Questioning: Top-down Clusters

As students become familiar with making inferences, a teacher should get into the habit of asking inferential questions without the literal set-up questions. If a student cannot provide a reasonable answer, the teacher prompts by asking follow-up questions that are the basis of the inference. When these key facts have been “injected” into the discussion, the teacher returns to the original inferential question.

INFERENTIAL INFERENTIAL

LITERAL LITERAL

Teacher Questioning: Top-down Clusters

This process is the reverse of the bottom-up cluster. In a top-down cluster, the teacher makes the hopeful assumption that students will successfully infer without having to be prompted.

1. Examine your core selection (or trade book) for a point at which you can ask an inferential question. The core TE may very well suggest such questions.

2. Decide on a literal question or two to ask if the child you call on cannot make the inference.

3. Ask these questions if the need arises and then return to the original inferential question.

Let’s revisit the whale example yet again.

What if the teacher had started with the inferential question?


Teacher: Was there was ever a dinosaur as long as a basketball court?

Child: I think so.



Child: I think so. }The teacher begins with an inferential question, but the answer is wrong.



Child: I think so.Teacher: Well, how long is a blue whale?Child: As long as a basketball court.Teacher: Are blue whales as big as dinosaurs?Child: They’re bigger.

}The teacher drops to the literal level. These two facts are needed for the inference



Child: I think so.Teacher: Well, how long is a blue whale?Child: As long as a basketball court.Teacher: Are blue whales as big as dinosaurs?Child: They’re bigger.Teacher: So, could a dinosaur have been as long as a

basketball court?Child: No, I guess not. }

The teacher returns to the original inferential question, with better success.

McKenna (2002) provides a good discussion of Question Clusters and

how they can be used to build inferential thinking.

What have we learned?Take ten minutes to process this information.

Try to use these terms as you discuss:

automaticmodelingpromptcoresupplement

Let’s review Using facts to make inferences is not an automatic

process. Not all children will actively infer – or even realize that doing so is a part of good reading.

Teachers can encourage children to infer by modeling the process through think-alouds.

Once children are familiar with inferential thinking, teachers can use question clusters to prompt children to make inferences.

Teachers should stress think-alouds and inferential questions suggested by the core TE.

Teachers may also supplement core discussions by adding think-alouds and question clusters at appropriate points.

Student-Generated Questions

• The NRP found that instruction in which students pose questions is effective in improving comprehension proficiency.

• This finding is not surprising since good readers often ask themselves questions as they read, in a kind of internal dialogue.

How can teachers use student-generated questions to foster inferential comprehension?

Teaching Students to Generate Questions

1. Begin with Raphael’s Question-Answer Relationships (QARs). Students must realize that not all questions require the same type of thinking. They must also realize that the answers to comprehension questions are not always explicitly stated in the text.

2. Focus on “Think-and-Search” questions. These require the reader to combine explicitly stated facts.

3. Focus on “Author-and-You” questions. These require the reader to combine explicit facts with prior knowledge.

Raphael based QARs on the idea that there are two kinds of inferences.

“Think and Search” QAR(Both facts are in the text.)

“Author and You” QAR(Facts in the text plus facts in prior knowledge)

Raphael and Au (2005) provide a good discussion of Question-Answer Relationships and how they can be

used to build inferential thinking.





4. Move on to Reciprocal Questioning (ReQuest), focusing on these two question types.

Reciprocal Questioning (ReQuest)

Reciprocal Questioning (ReQuest) is a research-based approach that led to the creation of Reciprocal Teaching. It reverses the traditional roles of the teacher (who asks the questions) and the student (who answers them). In ReQuest, the kids ask the questions as though they were the teacher.The idea is simple: In order to ask a good comprehension question you must actually comprehend the selection yourself! In addition, ReQuest encourages students to self-question, which is a habit of proficient readers. Through the years many variations of Tony Manzo’s technique (originally used in tutoring) have been developed for classroom settings. ReQuest is easy to implement. Let’s look at some ways.

Variations of ReQuest One student asks the teacher as many questions as s/he

can think of. Teacher calls on students at random. Student asks

teacher a question, teacher asks student a question, then calls on another student.

Teacher reflects each student’s question to another student.

Students call on other students to answer until everyone has had a turn answering and asking a question.

Students first become familiar with Raphael’s QARs. They then ask particular types of questions during a ReQuest session.

Take Five

Which variations of ReQuest would be appropriate at K, 1, 2, and 3?





4. Move on to Reciprocal Questioning (ReQuest), focusing on these two question types.

5. For students with adequate fluency, move to Reciprocal Teaching. This approach has a student-generated questioning component based on ReQuest.

Coach’s Corner

The approaches we have reviewed today are summarized in a quick reference sheet, on which you’ve been making notes.

Review the list to make sure you are comfortable with each approach.

What questions do you have?

Back at School

Work with teachers at one grade level as they plan to apply one or more of these approaches to trade books and/or core selections.

Follow up with individual teachers to see how it went.

Make plans for the other three grades.

References

Almasi, J.F. (2003). Teaching strategic processes in reading. New York: Guilford.Baumann, J.F. (1986). The direct instruction of main idea comprehension ability.

In J.F. Baumann (Ed.), Teaching main idea comprehension (pp. 133-178). Newark, DE: IRA.

McKenna, M.C. (2002). Help for struggling readers. New York: Guilford Press.Menke, D.J., & Pressley, M. (1994). Elaborative interrogation: Using “why”

questions to enhance the learning from text. Journal of Reading, 37, 642-645.Paris, S.G., Wasik, B.A., & Turner, J.C. (1991). The development of strategic

readers. In R. Barr, M.L. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, & P.D. Pearson (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (vol. 2, pp. 609-640). New York: Longman.

Pearson, P.D., & Johnson, D.D. (1978). Teaching reading comprehension. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

Raphael, T.E., & Au, K.H. (2005). QAR: Enhancing comprehension and test taking across grades and content areas. The Reading Teacher, 59, 206-221.

Willingham, D.T. (2006-07). The usefulness of brief instruction in reading comprehension strategies. American Educator, Winter, 39-45, 50.

Winograd, P.N., & Bridge, C.A. (1986). The comprehension of important information in written prose. In J.F. Baumann (Ed.), Teaching main idea comprehension (pp. 18-48). Newark, DE: IRA.

Taking Aim at Comprehension: Teaching Children to Infer

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