This past class was very informative for me. Many of my classmates had a hard time with the “It says….”, “I say…”, and “And so…” graphic organizer. All we were being asked to do was infer, but I wonder if the trouble was because background knowledge was lacking.
The exercise during this past class was a great lesson to me on how to extend a lesson for clarity and meaning before moving on. I believe the new resource was more effective than the resource from the book because it asked us to say what we read in our own words first, then find the evidence, then infer. I also liked how we were given numerous primary sources to draw one large conclusion at the end. As students, we were forced to think about the topic at hand, work through the material, and form individual responses. I can see using these steps with my students to teach them how to make conclusions based off several pieces of information.
Hello Chandley,
Background knowledge is key and I am glad you wondered about that! The more background knowledge students have the better their instructional learning experience will be. This is why conducting formative assessment activities ahead of the lesson and front-loading are two very important strategies. Making inferences is something that is easier for some than others. It is a skill that must be practiced on a daily basis in order to improve.
Thank you for your reflection. Lynne