Decembre Mullins

10/23/2015

Teaching Reading: Comprehension Lesson Presentations

Targeted Literacy Strategy or Skill: Inferential Thinking
Grade level: 3rd
Objective: The student will be able to make meaning through asking questions.
Common Core State Standard/ PASS Standard: RL. 3.1: 1. Read closely to determine what the text
says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it.
Prior knowledge: (What students already know) The students already know how to ask questions to
get answers through the text. The students also know how to track their thinking.
Observations/Rationale: (Before Lesson) What did you notice in your students work that let you
know this lesson was necessary? (This will be an approximation this semester.)
I noticed that students were getting frustrated by not being able to find the answers to their questions
within the text. The students were not comfortable with questions being left unanswered. The students
need to use their background knowledge on how to ask questions.
Materials Needed: My mentor text, sticky notes, and dry erase board, or chart paper.
Lesson from (Name your source including page number): Questioning That Leads to Inferential
Thinking p. 119
Mentor Text: Dreams by Langston Hughes
Materials: Poem, board or chart supplies, and sticky notes.
Student Groups (whole/small group/partners): Small
Mini Lesson Format:
Connect (AKA~ Anticipatory Set, Engagement/Pre-reading):
Read Dreams by Langston Hughes to the class, this should not take more than ten minutes. We
have been learning to read with a question in mind, asking questions while reading, and tracking
our thinking. No we must learn to ask questions that help us infer what the text means. We will
use a poem for this because poems seem to be the most difficult text to understand. We need to
be able to use our background knowledge and ask inferential style questions that will help us
make meaning of our text. Inferential style questions are questions that the text does not
actually tell us, but we can work out the answer by considering the hints and clues in the text in
the light of our knowledge and experience. This does not mean we will get the answers we are
looking for right away, but with a little research and imagination we will be able to get there

Teach (Model/Explain)
Pass out copies of this poem to each table group. Read Dreams by Langston Hughes to the class
out loud. I will begin by modeling my own struggles with understanding the poem by asking a
few questions of my own. Write the questions What does, Hold fast to dreams mean and
When dreams go, do you die. I will then give the students a chance to practice.

Active Engagement (AKA~ Check for Understanding: students try it out, teacher observes):
I will now ask the students to write down some inferential questions of their own. I will call on
students or ask students to read out loud what their questions are. These questions will get wrote
on the board for the whole class to see and discuss. While the students are working on this, I will
walk around and make sure everyone knows what to do, and see if I spot any great questions.

Link (AKA~ Closing the Lesson [with accountability for the skill/process])
Now that we know what inferential questions are and that they dont always have an answer we
will be able to continue our readings without getting frustrated. We will continue to practice this
within the weeks to come.