Train to Somewhere

Name: Eden Peters

Date: Tuesday March 21, 2017

Grade: 1/2 Split Class

Unit/Subject: Literacy – Inferences (reading)

Materials

• The book “Train to Somewhere”, written by Eve Bunting

• Graphic organizer on making inferences

Objectives

• To enhance the students understanding on making inferences

• To review the concept of supporting the inference

Anticipatory Set

The children will be sitting on the carpet while the book is read aloud on the smart board.

Instructional Input

Before the lesson begins, we will review how to make an inference. It is very similar to the last unit that they explored on ‘Making Predictions’, so it will be more of a review lesson.

Guided Practice

Based on the title and the cover page, the students will make an inference about what they think the story is going to be about. I will help them with this inference and throughout the story we will pause and make more inferences.

Modeling

The first inference will be done as a class and therefore will be deemed the model example.

Checking for Understanding

To ensure the children understand how to make an inference, we will stop the story before the last page and they will use their graphic organizer to independently create an inference using their background knowledge and connections to the pictures and text.

Questioning Strategies

While the students are creating their own inferences, I will ask them questions to ensure they understand what they are writing and why they are writing it. For example I may ask:

• Why do you think this?

• Have you ever heard a similar story?

• What does the picture tell you?

Closure

To close the activity I will read the last page of the story (and either confirm or reject their inferences) and then collect their graphic organizers. Once they are all collected, the children will stretch and wait for the classroom teacher to give them further instruction.

Reflection

This activity went really well. The children seemed to understand the concept of making an inference as well as the idea of supporting it with background knowledge. The story that we read was quite complex (as it was about an orphan getting adopted), however they all understood it and were able to follow along the story line. If I were to do another lesson on inferences, I would have the children create more than one inference on their own to further demonstrate their understanding. Overall I feel that this was a very successful lesson.