Inference Hooey: Part III Addressing Process for Building a Mental Model

The second thing people do when they make inferences is building a mental model. Especially when they don't have one to begin with. And that's a real life skill, ya'all. I have to do stuff all the time that I know nothing about. Like learn how to turn on the dad gum television. Or build one of those boxes so I can look at the eclipse.  But that's another set of stories.

Comprehension Purpose Questions: 

To me, this implies two things: Either WE set a purpose for them. Or THEY set a purpose for THEMSELVES. Both are essential. Most sane people don't do things they don't have reasons for. Reading isn't any different. Setting a purpose before you read allows you to, well, have a purpose. In addition, it allows you to:

• have a basis from which to examine the ideas, 
• think actively, 
• have a standard from which to monitor comprehension, 
• and establish what content you must review to reach understanding (Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement, 2001; Collins-Block, Rodgers & Johnson, 2004; Coyne, Chard, Zipoli, & Ruby, 2007; Duke & Pearson, 2002; Dycha, 2012; Vaughn & Linan-Thompson, 2004). 

Set by the Teacher:  The reading academies suggested that teachers develop and pose Comprehension Purpose Questions (CPQ's)  before students read. The example in the academy came from an article on the Shasta Dam. "How does the Shasta Dam help people in California?" and "How is the building of the Shasta Dam an example of humans overcoming nature?" were two good examples of CPQ's. "In what state is the Shasta Dam?" and "When was the Shasta Dam built? were non examples. 

Set by the Student: The reading academy did not address a strategy for setting their own purposes for reading, but there are many resources for teaching students how to do this work. 

Here are some ideas: 

1. Anticipation Guides (Befre/After)

2. Say Something Chart (During) 

3. SQP3R (Before, During, After)

4. List/Group/Label (Before)

5. Probable Passage (Before/After)

6. Coding Text (During) 

Caution: Don't forget that the point here is NOT about the strategies or posing questions to interrogate the reader. The point here is that getting your mind right about what you are about to read is a process that you go through so that you can comprehend. It's a mental model that good readers use to be successful. 

Types of Inferences: Kids also need to have a mental model about the types of inferences that might confront them as they make sense of text. Beers lines these out for us along with suggestions (2003). Perhaps modeling each of these instances would be a good starting place for mini-lessons. 

1. recognize the antecedents for pronouns
2. figure out the meaning of unknown words from context clues
3. figure out the grammatical function of an unknown word
4. understand intonation of characters' words
5. identify characters' beliefs, personalities, and motivations
6. understand characters' relationships to one another
7. provide details about the setting
8. provide explanations for events or ideas that are presented in the text 
9. offer details for events or their own explanations of the events presented in the text
10. understand the author's view of the world
11. recognize the author's biases
12. relate what is happening in the text to their own knowledge of the world
13. offer conclusions from facts presented in the text (Beers, 2003, p. 65). 

Use Text Structure: 

Authors are purposeful in selecting text structures and genres that will most effectively convey their message and purpose and voice. This reminds me of learning how to play canasta. And most recently of teaching my grandson to play Old Maid. When grandma taught me to play canasta, we started playing with an open hand while I learned the rules. That way she could advise me about the choices evident from the cards in my hand. Text structure is how we learn to play the game with narrative and expository texts. What we have in our "hand" determines how we play the game. If you don't know the possibilities and strategies that structure the game, you probably aren't going to win. Or you can throw a fit and tip the game table like my grandson did when he drew the old maid from the deck. That too. I think sometimes that's what kids do, they just refuse to play/read because they think they can't win. Fortunately, the game doesn't have to be over when you draw the Old Maid. 

In the TEA academies, their recommendations for narratives included: discussing the relationships among characters, setting, and events and linking relationships to the larger theme. Beers goes a bit further and suggests that we should have an anchor chart of the types of inferences and specifically name them as we model and discuss the connections. 

Recommendations for informational tests included using specific structures commonly used and learning key words associated with each of these structures. 

For both genre types, TEA suggested the use of graphic organizers. I don't think you need any help in finding those. 

Caution: Again, let's be clear. The point is not to identify text structures, but to use them to help make inferences because the provide a mental model for the process we use as readers to make meaning. 

Beers, K. (2003). When kids can't read: What teachers can do. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. 

Collins-Block, C., Rodgers, L., & Johnson, R. (2004). Comprehension process instruction: Creating reading success in grades K-3. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Coyne, M. Chard, D., Zipoli, R. & Ruby, M. (2007). Effective strategies for teaching comprehension. In M. Coyne, E. Mame'enui, & D. Carnine (Eds.) Effective strategies that accommodate diverse learners (pp. 80-109). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Duke, N. K. & Pearson, P. D. (2002). Effective practices for developing reading comprehension. In A Farstrup and S. Samuels (Eds.), What research has to say about reading instruction. (pp. 205-242). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Dycha, D. (2012). Comprehension, Grades K-3. In M. Hougen & S. Smartt (Eds.), Fundamentals of literacy instruction and assessment, Pre-K-6. Baltimore, MD: Brookes.

Vaughn, S., & Linan-Thompson, S. (2004). Research-based methods of reading instruction: Grades K-3. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.