More inferencing ideas!

Lesson idea #1

Length: 20-25 minutes

Materials:

      Cut out 8-10 pictures from magazines that you think would be fun to make an inference with.

            Glue magazine pictures onto a piece of construction paper

            Large Sticky Notes

Directions:

1)    Show students the pictures. Take one picture and make an inference and show them how to write their inference down on a large sticky note. “I think she is saying/thinking…” or “I think he is feeling…” and then stick it below the picture.

2)    Your students job is to pick one of the pictures and make an inference and stick it below their picture they chose. If you see students flocking to only a couple of pictures, encourage some of them to go to another picture.

3)    After they are done, collect all of the pictures and read aloud the inferences that were made.

Lesson idea #2

Length: 10 -15 Minutes

No Materials Needed!

Directions:

Play the game: Pass the ….

This is a game that requires no talking, but great acting skills. To begin have all students in one large circle. Tell them we are going to be playing, Pass the… The person who starts passing is going to have an object in their mind and they are going to use their body to show what it could be, No TALKING is allowed!

When the last person passes it to the person who started it, students can guess what the object was. Take three guesses, if no one has guessed correctly the student then may share what it was.

The first time, the teacher should start the object as a practice run through. After playing and you feel your kids are ready, break them into smaller groups to play this game.

Lesson idea #3

Materials:

            Tuesday by David Weisner

Tuesday is a wordless book (it might have 5 words all together) to make the story you need to make inferences to tell what is going on in the story.

As you “read” the story, encourage students to make inferences to tell the story. Have one or two students comment on each page to create the story. Prompt students and point to different parts of the illustrations if you think they are missing something. Remind students to look at expressions, and body language and the scenery to help tell the story.

**Inferencing can happen anytime and anywhere. Encourage students to make inferences in books they are reading or looking at.

Lesson idea #4

Materials:

Zoom by Istvan Banyai

This is another wordless book. Each page makes you zoom away from it was first looking at. This book is fun for students to use the setting to help figure out what they are looking at and can help develop inferencing skills because they are encouraged to be detectives that pay attention to small details.

Lesson idea #5

Materials:

            The Great Fuzz Frenzy by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel

            This is another fun read aloud. Not only will your students laugh at the funny moles that trying to figure out what invaded their underground home. As you work your way through the story it can be interesting to listen your students make inferences about what the moles think of this “Great Fuzz.”

           

Lesson idea #6

Materials:

            The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, The Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood

            Use this funny little mouse to help your students practice inferencing. The illustrations bring this story alive and my students thought it was one of the funniest books of the year! It also is a story about sharing, there are lessons to be learned from every story.

Inferencing!?!? What is that? (!)

Grades: K-3

Day 1

Length: 10-15 minutes

No materials needed!

Directions:

Good readers can make inferences. As readers, we need to make inferences because the author does not always tells us how someone is feeling or thinking. It is our job as the reader to make inferences.

To make an inference we use someone’s facial expression, body language, and tone of voice to help us know how they are feeling or what they are thinking.

Today, we are going to practice using our facial expression and our body language to show different emotions.

First I am going to be acting out different emotions and I want you guys to make an INFERENCE of how I might be feeling. Feelings to act out; happy, sad, surprised, embarrassed, mad, etc. (This is a great way to introduce “fancier words” or words that are synonyms to the above emotions.

After students make several inferences, allow students to partner up and have them do different emotions and the other student should make an “inference” about how their partner is feeling.

Day 2

Length: 20 minutes

Materials:

            No, David! By David Shannon (I love my big book that I have of this story)

Directions:

·      Today while we read No, David! By David Shannon we are going to make inferences about how David or his mom might be feeling based on the words and the illustrations.

·      Begin by looking at the title page. (You might want to act out this picture for your students). Ask what do you think this person is thinking or feeling? I think she is thinking “you are in big trouble mister!”  I made an inference using this illustration.

·      As you read each page, challenge your students to look at each illustration and try to figure out what David is feeling or thinking. Reinforce the word “inference” every time your student successfully makes an inference.

·      Inferencing questions: What do you think he is thinking? What do you think he is feeling? What do you think is going to happen to them?

·      After reading, reinforce that the students made some great inferences and review some of the inferences that they made.

** This book is also good to make Text to Self Connections, but keep your students focused on inferencing. My students loved when I read this book, we could of read this book close to 15 times through out the school year all for different purposes.

***Make a reader’s theater script with this book!

Day 3

Length: 20 Minutes

Materials:

      David Gets in Trouble by David Shannon

Directions:

·      Remind students about inferencing. Inferencing is when we use facial expression, body language and tone of voice to figure out how someone might be feeling or thinking.

·      Have students make an inference about the front cover.

·      Before reading, have students choose a neighbor that they are going to share their inferences with as we read the story today.

·      Pause on pages and ask one of the following prompting questions. What do you think happened? How do you think ____ is feeling? What do you think _______ is saying/thinking?

·      After reading, review some inferences that you listened to and praise students for making good inferences.

Day 4

Length: 20 minutes

Materials:

      David Goes to School by David Shannon

Directions:

Like the previous two stories, the illustrations by David Shannon makes inferencing easy! While you read encourage students to share their inferences either with a buddy or with the whole group. Feel free to redirect if need be. Some of my students liked to get carried away and I reminded them that they have to use the illustrations that are there and cannot make up any inference they wanted. To redirect give another example from you, tell them what you are looking at to make your inference and then share it.

Day 5

Length: 25-30 Minutes

Materials:

      No, David! By David Shannon

      Type up phrases that you hear around your school to make a class book!  (See a list at the end of this lesson)

            No, ____________! (I always made a No, First Graders book)

Directions:

·      Today we are going to be making a classroom book that is similar to No, David! By David Shannon. We are going to be the illustrators and just like David Shannon we are going to make sure our pictures are large and shows how someone is feeling, thinking or doing because of the words that are on the page. For example, If you heard me say, “Sit Down!” what would you be doing? What would your face look like?

·      Reread No, David! Don’t feel like you have to stop every page for students to make an inference. The purpose to reread this story is to get students and idea of what kind of illustrations and what they could draw for their page that they are going to be responsible for in the class book.

·      After reading, show students what they will be doing by completing the title page with a picture of you and your body language. Remind students to draw big and to use details.

·      Give each student a page of your pre-made book.

·      Collect drawings and place in a book called “No, ______________!”

*When the book is finished use it as a read aloud and have students make inferences! One rule is that if it is there drawing they cannot be the ones who make the inference.

Phrases you might hear in an elementary school:

Slow down!

Be quiet!

Put that down!

Sit down!

Come back here!

Really?!

Again!?

Put the toy away!

Not right now!

Don’t do that!

Who put this here?

Why?

I love to read!

Wow! I didn't realize how time flies so quickly when you are having fun! 


I have now seen Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love come to life on the big screen and amazed at how the story came through. I am surprised because I usually detest when books are made in to movies, but I was pleasantly surprised! I now want to sell all of my belongings and go travel the world specifically learn to speak italian and eat, find a "Richard" to tell me like it is, and find my true love in Bali. 


A girl can have dreams you know! 


I also this week have read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Yes the title is a mouth full, but it is worth reading in between the Daily 5 and Debbie Diller's Making the Most of Small Groups! If you like historical fiction this is a winner! 


I also have been impressed upon to read a classic Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. I am loving the inner monologues and the unique characters! I don't know about you, but I could read forever! 


If I could only channel my passion for reading to ALL of my kiddos, hmmm...  


I am looking for book recommendations! Please send them my way:)

The World of Charlie and Lola

The brilliant Lauren Child has a gift of bringing characters alive that easy to relate too. The problems she uses in her books are every day problems that all kids at one point or another go through or can relate to. Her books allow for students to make text-self connections with ease. Her straightforward writing also allows students to practice identifying problem and solution in stories. Her style of writing and the font she chooses and the emphasis she places on letters or different words, help teach students how to read with more inflection. When used correctly it can build their fluency skills.

The following is a list of my favorite Charlie and Lola books:

(All books are best read with using your best English accent!)

My Wobbly Tooth Must Not Ever Never Fall Out

Boo! Made You Jump! (Halloween)

Help! I Really Mean It!

I’ve Won, No I’ve Won, No I’ve Won

I’m Really Ever So Not Well

This is Actually My Party

I Can Do Anything That’s Everything All on My Own

Whoops! But It Wasn’t Me

You Can Be My Friend

I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato

But I Am an Alligator

I Want to be Much More Bigger Like You

I Am Not Sleepy and I Will Not Go To Bed

There are so many more to choose from it is hard not to get carried away! If you have little ones at home there are board books too!

The First Reading Lessons!

Reading! Reading! Reading!

            I like to use the phrase “good readers” in my classroom. It is important to explain to kids what good readers do. If they don’t know what they do how will they become “good readers.” Many students who come into first grade our emergent readers, they are beginning to read simple words. They usually have some sight word knowledge, however, part of every students success in reading is developing their confidence! Everybody is a reader in my classroom, whether they are reading chapter books or reading wordless books and creating their own story. It is our job as educators to assure students that they are readers!

One of the first lessons, I like to give at the beginning of the year is “What do good readers do?” Before allowing them to answer this question, I like to read the story Mommy Doesn’t Know My Name by Suzanne Williams. I ask them to pay close attention to what I do while I read to help them answer the question at the end of the story. On chart paper I write, what do good readers do? Then I ask students to help me create a list of what good readers do?

What do good readers do?

            They sound out words

            They use the pictures

            They change their voice

            They don’t read too fast

            They read the words

            They THINK

The second lesson, I like to do is: where do good readers read? I like to ask this question because of a couple of different reasons: 1) I want them to realize reading is important in their lives, not just at school and 2) Reading can happen anywhere! Any book would work for this lesson. I enjoy reading A Quiet Place by Douglas Wood. Like the previous lesson, have chart paper and write the question where do good readers read?

Where do good readers read?

            At home

            In bed

            At school

            In a restaurant

            In the bathroom (yes, a student actually said this!)

            In the den

In the car

            Under a tree

            At the cabin

*The places are endless, have each child come up with one place.

The third lesson is How to Choose a Just Right Book! As you can imagine, this task is harder than it seems, considering the reading gap in each classroom is larger than it has ever been before. So this lesson should be done more than once throughout the school year. I like to pick out one of my big books to read so everyone can see the text. I also like to bring in a medical text book with small print and large words that even I can’t sound out (the students love to see there teacher struggle).

How to Choose a Just Right Book

1)    I can read most of the words. (Five finger rule)

2)    The words are not too small, too big, but just right.

3)    The pictures help me read the words I don’t know.

I know there are probably more rule, but these are the ones I can remember and reinforce with my students. 

Skippy jon Jones, Ay, Caramba!!!

Have you every met a Siamese Cat who thought he was a Chihuahua? Well, now you have with the help of Judy Schachner? The following lesson plans are more text-text connection ideas. 

Skippy jon Jones; Ay Caramba!

Grades: 1-3

Length: 5 days

Objective: 1) To make text-text connections.

Lesson 1: Skippy jon

Materials:

            Skippy jon Jones by Judy Schachner

Directions:

1)    Read Skippy jon Jones in your very best Spanish accent! Students can practice making text to self connections if they want. However, it might be best just to allow the flow of the story to happen.

2)   Complete a story map, including characters, setting (you might want to explain how the story is in Skippy jon Jones imagination and doesn’t really happen when he enters into the closet), beginning, middle, end, as well as, identify the problem and solution.

3)    Completing the story map will help students remember the story better for tomorrow so they can make text to text connections.

Lesson 2 – In the Dog House

Materials:

            Skippy jon Jones in the Dog House by Judy Schachner

            Chart paper with text-text connections written at the top

            Large Post-It Notes

Directions:

1)    Today we are going to be reading another story by Judy Schachner called Skippy jon Jones in the Dog House. Have students use their schema, or what they already know to help predict what characters they might see, what might happen, etc.

2)   While we read today I am going to be making some text to text connections. That means when I read the story today it might remind me of another story or text we have read before.

3)   Read Skippy jon Jones in the Dog House. While reading pause and share 2-4 connections that you can make to other texts (the text doesn’t have to be Skippy jon Jones).

4)  After reading, write one of the connections you made onto a sticky note by either drawing or writing your connection or both.

Lesson 3 - Mummy Trouble

Materials:

            Skippy jon Jones in Mummy Trouble by Judy Schachner (I recommend having this book on c.d.)

            Chart Paper

            Large Post-It Notes

Directions:

1)    Review text- text connections. Have students think about the other Skippy jon Jones books we have read this week.

2)   Today you are going to be in charge of making text-text connections, while we read and after we read.

3)   While you read aloud, give plenty of opportunities for students to turn to their buddy or share with the whole group.

4)  After reading, give each student a sticky note and have them draw or write their connection. You might want to write the words you want them to use on the board. The part when _________________ happened, reminded of when ______________ happened in the book _______________.

5)   After all connections are completed. Go through each one and either you share it or have the student share theirs (I like to have the student share their connection.)

Lesson 4 –the Big Bones

Materials:

            Skippy jon Jones and the Big Bones by Judy Schachner

            Chart Paper

            Large Post-It Notes

Directions:

1)    Access students schema of Skippy jon Jones and have them share a little about what they already know.

2)   Tell students that we are going to continue to make text-text connections while we read.

3)   Have students share their text-text connections either with a buddy or with the whole group as you read.

4)  After the read aloud, have students write their connection on a sticky note and place it on the chart.

5)   When everyone is finished, have each student read their connection and share it with the class.

Lesson 5 – Lost in Spice

Materials:

            Skippy jon Jones Lost in Spice by Judy Schachner

            Chart Paper

            Large Post-It Note

Directions:

Follow Lesson 4. 

Do you like Judy Schachner and Skippy jon Jones, here are some other great reads by Judy Schachner:

The Great Bean Caper, Costume Crazee, A Surprise for Mama, and other reads are for your little ones at home.

Also available is Skippy jon Jones as a hand puppet!