inferences and comprehension.

The chapter I read was about making inferences about a text to help the reader deepen his or her understanding. The teaching method that was focused on the most was the Think-aloud. I have seen Think-alouds modeled in my classroom by my head teacher but I had not been fully aware their purpose until I read this chapter. To be honest I don’t know if my students have picked up on the purpose of it yet either unless it was addressed in kindergarten.
I learned that making inferences is an important part of reading because it helps the reader retain information that he or she may not otherwise be able to connect other prior knowledge. When a reader begins to ask questions about a story he or she will probably find that he or she has more in common with the characters, plot and setting of the book than was originally thought.
For my Unit plan I am putting together the literary theme of Realistic fiction and the Social studies theme of “Long ago.” One of the aspects I am expected to teach for the Realistic fiction part is the ideas of schema and making inferences. It’s helpful for me to have reasons I can give the students as to why what we are learning about is important.
In my classroom the comprehension strategies that students receive are most commonly given during small group guided reading times. The strategies they are given during this time are mainly related to decoding unknown words instead of comprehension. Some specific decoding strategies include looking at word chunks, using picture cues, and using context clues.