Journal #3 Making Inferences - 4 views

• 
  #1 Lauren Scherr on 27 Feb 12

   

  The middle school I am teaching in has been doing a yearly exam across all three grade levels that is called the Reading Comprehension Measurement (RCM). We created (and when I say we, I was actually a major part of it for the English classes this year) a test in which all students in each core class will read one article throughout the school. Sixth-eighth grade Language Arts all read one article, sixth-eighth grade math all reads an article, etc. Students then take a RCM test based on the article they read that determines their skills at inferencing, summarizing, vocabulary, and a few other key areas of reading. They will take the same test in each of those core content areas in 6th, 7th and 8th grade to determine their growth in reading skills from the beginning to the end of middle school.
  
  The area where we determined that students in our school had the most weakness was with making inferences. For those who aren't familiar, it's basically when you encounter an unfamiliar word and are able to figure out what it means using context or prior knowledge.
  
  The principal at our school has determined that from now on we have to work on inferencing with our students in all of the core classes. Every core teacher has to give him a copy of a short article they plan to use to teach inference each week and there is a graphic organizer we are teaching all students to use so they become familiar with a few proven methods of deciphering the meaning of unknown words.
  
  I think that the idea is great, but neither I nor the other teachers at the school, are fully sold on the execution. While it makes sense to do this and help students to improve on their vocabulary, having them do it in 4 of their classes every week is a bit of a Herculean task. It's especially difficult for the math, science, and social studies teachers to find time in their lesson every week to work on inferences with students. It's not so difficult in my language arts class, because teaching vocabulary is part of our standard schedule anyways.
  
  What I do like is the graphic organizer we are using. It's a very simple format of guess and check. They have to fill in unfamiliar words from the article, and then write down what clues are given as to the meaning of the word. We are teaching them to look for surrounding words or clues in context that might point them in the direction of the meaning. We are also teaching them to use their prior knowledge to look at parts of the word they are familiar with and to make connections to the word if they've heard it anywhere before. We are also teaching them to dissect larger words into smaller parts that are more familiar in order to try and come up with the meaning. Students then make a guess as to what the word or passage might mean based upon the clues. Finally we check together and see if the students' guesses match the actual meaning of the word.
  
  I do think that it's good that we're building on a skill that they are obviously deficient in. We'll see in a few weeks how things progress and if students find it useful or not.

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">The middle school I am teaching in has been doing a yearly exam across all three grade levels that is called the Reading Comprehension Measurement (RCM). We created (and when I say we, I was actually a major part of it for the English classes this year) a test in which all students in each core class will read one article throughout the school. Sixth-eighth grade Language Arts all read one article, sixth-eighth grade math all reads an article, etc. Students then take a RCM test based on the article they read that determines their skills at inferencing, summarizing, vocabulary, and a few other key areas of reading. They will take the same test in each of those core content areas in 6th, 7th and 8th grade to determine their growth in reading skills from the beginning to the end of middle school. <br /> <br /> The area where we determined that students in our school had the most weakness was with making inferences. For those who aren't familiar, it's basically when you encounter an unfamiliar word and are able to figure out what it means using context or prior knowledge. <br /> <br /> The principal at our school has determined that from now on we have to work on inferencing with our students in all of the core classes. Every core teacher has to give him a copy of a short article they plan to use to teach inference each week and there is a graphic organizer we are teaching all students to use so they become familiar with a few proven methods of deciphering the meaning of unknown words. <br /> <br /> I think that the idea is great, but neither I nor the other teachers at the school, are fully sold on the execution. While it makes sense to do this and help students to improve on their vocabulary, having them do it in 4 of their classes every week is a bit of a Herculean task. It's especially difficult for the math, science, and social studies teachers to find time in their lesson every week to work on inferences with students. It's not so difficult in my language arts class, because teaching vocabulary is part of our standard schedule anyways. <br /> <br /> What I do like is the graphic organizer we are using. It's a very simple format of guess and check. They have to fill in unfamiliar words from the article, and then write down what clues are given as to the meaning of the word. We are teaching them to look for surrounding words or clues in context that might point them in the direction of the meaning. We are also teaching them to use their prior knowledge to look at parts of the word they are familiar with and to make connections to the word if they've heard it anywhere before. We are also teaching them to dissect larger words into smaller parts that are more familiar in order to try and come up with the meaning. Students then make a guess as to what the word or passage might mean based upon the clues. Finally we check together and see if the students' guesses match the actual meaning of the word. <br /> <br /> I do think that it's good that we're building on a skill that they are obviously deficient in. We'll see in a few weeks how things progress and if students find it useful or not.</div>

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