Literacy Leaflet
Reading Strategies, Tips, and Tricks You Can Use
April 2015 Edition
Making Inferences
Inferencing is a reading strategy that requires the use of one's background knowledge and text in order to infer information that is not explicitly stated in the text. For many of our students, this skill can be very difficult. There are different ways you can practice this skill at the basic level, and increase the difficulty of the task, as the student masters his or her ability to find a deeper understanding of what the author is trying to convey. There are different levels of inferencing questions. Some questions are “Right There” questions, where the answer is stated directly in the text. Other questions are “Think and Search”, where it requires putting the clues from the text together in order to answer the question. The last type of inferencing questions is “On My Own”, where the answer is developed from background knowledge to make a connection with the text. Here are some activities and ideas to help build inferencing skills with your students:
1. Picture books are a great starting point for lower level readers. Before reading the text, do a “picture walk” and have students use the images on each page to infer what is happening in the story. Using the pictures to make inferences eliminates the need to understand language, and encourages students to use their background knowledge to determine what might be happening.
2. Graphic Organizers are another great tool to use to provide a visual for the information obtained in the text. One example of a graphic organizer is to make three columns, one labeled “What the text says” and the other “What I know (about the topic)” and the last “What I Can Infer”. Students can take a piece of information from the text and determine what they already know about the topic or situation, and then make an inference. Start with a simple text or a familiar text to show how to use the graphic organizer, and increase the difficulty of the text as students strengthen their abilities to make inferences.
3. Riddles are a good way to practice using inferencing skills. Students can use the clues to figure out what is being described. Try out this interactive riddle game at http://www.philtulga.com/Riddles.html . This could be used for a whole class or small group lesson.
4. For more ways to practice inferencing in your classrooms, Reading Rockets has some great ideas and activities for all levels. Follow this link for more information: http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/inference
Tech Trends: Inference Ace
Inference Ace is a great app to help reinforce the skill of inferencing. Inference Ace and Inference Ace 2 help students to improve reading comprehension by making inferences in multiple ways. Within each app, there are varying levels, each working on a different type of inference, such as who, what, where, when, why, actions, categorizing, and more. The student is given a short paragraph and need to choose the correct answer based on the information given in the text. There are supports or hints given to help the student determine a correct response, if needed. Each student can have their own account, which also tracks the performance for each level. There are two ways to use the apps. One way is to have the student unlock or master each level in order to move on to the next skill. Another way is to have the teacher choose the different skills the student needs to practice, by tapping on the characters nose 3 times, which will automatically unlock all levels. These apps are great to use with students who need help with inferencing skills.
April: Autism Awareness Month & School Library Month
In April, we celebrate Autism Awareness Month and School Library Month. Many school and public libraries across New Jersey are committed to creating programming that meets the needs of individuals with Autism.
TCI Parent Resource Library
For parents who are interested in accessing school library reading materials related to Autism, TCI is proud to offer a Parent Resource Library at our Verona Campus.
To see our available titles:
Log on to TCI’s library catalog: http://bit.ly/1CHne0j
Click on Verona Campus
Choose the Catalog tab
Click on Resource Lists from the left sidebar, then the Public Lists tab in the right corner
Choose the Parent Resources option
Titles on this list cover topics such as parenting, social skills, and behavior strategies, and provide information to educate and advise you as a TCI parent. The list is printable and can be sorted by title, author, or call number. We offer a diverse collection which includes non-fiction and picture books. To check availability and borrow materials, please email Ms. Weiss, TCI’s Media Specialist, at LWeiss@tcischool.org for more information.
DID YOU KNOW?
AMC Loews movie theaters provide sensory-friendly films on Saturday mornings at 10:00 AM. Visit the link below to see the list of participating theaters:
https://www.amctheatres.com/programs/sensory-friendly-films
Autism Resources
Libraries and Autism: www.librariesandautism.org
Autism Speaks: www.autismspeaks.org
Walk Now for Autism Speaks: http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/
Autism New Jersey: www.autismnj.org
State of NJ Department of Autism: http://www.state.nj.us/humanservices/ddd/home/ooa.html
Children’s Specialized Hospital-Community Hub: http://www.childrens-specialized.org/kohlsautismawareness
Autism Society: http://www.autism-society.org/
National Autism Association: http://nationalautismassociation.org/
Contact Information
Noelle DiGiacomo- Livingston Campus
Kate Honig- Verona Campus
Erin Perkins- Verona Campus
Leanne Weiss- Media Specialist