I thought I'd chime in on the inference vs. prediction discussion. I have been working with students on understanding that an inference is when you combine your background knowledge with clues from the text. We have also spent time discussing the "evidence" that you have when you make an inference. I took an idea from Tanny McGregor's book and instead of using my purse to determine importance I used my the contents of my purse to help kids infer what they know about me. For example, one can infer that I like to read because of my library card and the Borders card on my keychain. Library card and Borders card = evidence. That kind of thing...
An interesting book that I have used with inference is Visitng Day by Woodson. The story begins with a little girl getting ready for something. We read one page at a time and infer meaning based on evidence from the text and pictures. Towards the end of the story the kids learn that the little girl is going to visit her father who is in prison. It's a powerful book. One of the big ideas that kids come away with is that your inference continues to change as you keep getting new "evidence" from the story. Lisa/OH _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
