Reading Strategy: Using Context Clues to Infer Meaning

My students have gotten pretty good at using context clues to infer meaning because we practice, practice, practice! We use context clues in our Journeys Vocabulary Cards to find the meaning of unknown words at the beginning of the week. I also use the following resources:

Instructional Fair Inferencing

Cloze: Comprehension in Context

and last but not least, my favorite...

Mini Mysteries and More Mini Mysteries - great because kids make inferences from the clues in the story to solve a mystery!

(when I bought it, it didn't come with a CD to read along...I love this new addition!)

see how I use this in the class

I use the following books/series for my students to get independent practice: The Trial of Cardigan Jones, Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Babysitters Club Mysteries, and The Boxcar Children.

Click here for Inferencing Mini Lesson ideas.

Visualizing

One of the most powerful reading and writing strategies to use is visualizing. I find that students who can visualize what happens in a story, especially when it does not include pictures, tend to have much better reading comprehension than students who do not. They are also better creative and narrative writers because they tend to be more aware of sensory details when experiencing something and transfer it over to their own writing.

Something I like to do is have students take a "mental picture" of me or an area in the classroom. I literally make them pretend they are pressing a camera button and close their eyes. Then I change something and asj them what was different. (Today I had a Promethean Board pen in my hand and I hid it.) They should start transferring this skill to the stories they read. Here are some resources I use to help students improve their visual memory.



Students are given about 30 seconds to a minute to study a picture. Then they are asked to answer questions about it. It helps them pay attention to details! My second and third graders were able to easily use Book #1.



For K-1, I'd use Spot the Differences pictures.

Great visualizing resources website with list of trade books for visualizing

Characterization

I usually start off my first reading lesson of the year with characterization, having students use an about me graphic organizer to describe themselves and then explaining that characters from books could be described using similar organizers.. I'll probably still do that, but this summer I discovered Wordle and Tagzedo. I love them and I am sure my students will too! Check out some of these resources to help students with characterization. I like to use a Venn diagram with our Reading Buddies so that kids an easily learn about each other instead of being stumped as to what to talk about when they first meet.

Wordle

Tagzedo

All About Me book from Enchanted Learning

tons of characterization graphic organizers

Prediction Pete

In my classroom, I have a stuffed wizard named Prediction Pete, an Ask Zandar globe (remember that game?), a wizard hat, and a star pointer. I also use this icon on my sheets whenever I want students to make a prediction. As soon as they see it, they know what to do!

Anticipation guides are also a great way of having students predict, make inferences, and make conclusions about story events because they offer more structure. Click on either of my examples (astronomy or Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day - my favorite book EVER!) to download templates.

Here are some  other resources for using the prediction strategy:

Prove It
Harcourt Digger Dog
Guess What Happens Next
Prediction Practice Sheet
Seed/Plant Prediction Sheet
Predicting and Inferring Organizer
Anticipation Guides for Literacy

Very Easy True Stories books with picture walks - a series

Somebody Wanted...But...So...Then

I forget where I heard it, but someone once told me that any book or story can be summarized with the following phrase:

(Somebody) wanted __________, but __________ so ____________; then ___________.

Let's try it:

Cinderella wanted to go to the ball, but she didn't have a dress so her fairy godmother made her a dress and then she went to the ball.

(Click for a rebus story)

Little Red Hen wanted to get help making bread, but dog, cat, and duck didn't want to help, so she made it alone then she ate it all herself.

So the grammar fanatic in me says these are run-on sentences, but it makes summarizing very easy for younger children!

Here's our anchor chart:

Download my graphic organizer or check these out:

Fortune Teller foldable
Roller Coaster

Beginning, Middle, End form