Teaching Inference

After reading some of Kylene Beers' suggestions on how to get students to make inferences while reading I realized that I had never really thought of the concept before! It's something that I, and so many other independent readers, do without even thinking about it. For students who are still dependent readers and need to be taught specific reading skills, inference is very challenging. Like comprehension, inference is something that needs to be taught explicitly. Before having students make independent inferences while reading a text, there are a few different activities that can be done in the classroom to teach inference:

• It's not only important for students to make their own personal and creative inferences, but also accurate inferences that the author intended all readers to make. In chapter 5, Beers made the point that there is generally a certain knowledge base that readers need in order draw the same inferences -- cultural and historical knowledge of the text is crucial. In my future classroom, I plan on always spending at least one class period discussing the history of the text before we begin it. This can include the time period it is set in, when it was written, the setting, the background of the author, or the culture. The proper historical knowledge base will ensure that students will infer what was intended.
• Inference requires a certain amount of critical thinking on the reader's part. Employing a Socratic Method style of discussion would really help to get students to explain their own inferences. By questioning, and often opposing, their theories and conclusions, the teacher (and other students) can draw out more explanations and reasoning of their inferences. Continuous "why" questions will help students expand their thinking.
• I also really like the idea of giving students a creative outlet in which to portray their inferences. An assignment that has them creating a new book cover for the text they have read could really help them to visualize what they have read. They should create their cover with someone who has never read the text in mind -- the student will focus on what other people can infer from their cover. 
• Since I have a background in film, I always try to create an opportunity to include it in the English classroom. A great way to teach inference is by showing students a clip from the middle of a movie they have never seen. They will have to determine the relationships of the characters, what they are doing, why they are where they are, what they are talking about, etc. Using a film is a great introduction of inference skills before the text is presented. This clip from The Philadelphia Story will not only force the students to infer, but it also shows a young girl making inferences based on what she saw outside her window. 
• Showing the trailer to a movie can also get students using their inference skills. They will have to deduce what kind of people the characters are, what they will be dealing with, what the title of the film means, and at the most basic level -- the genre of the movie. This trailer for Bringing Up Baby will provide a wide variety of inferences since the plot of the film is already so zany.
• And finally, I got the idea of showing a funny example of poor inferences from a colleague, Anna (who has some other great ideas to promote inference). She used the classic "Who's on First?" skit with Abbott & Costello. I thought that this Marx Brothers clip, from a similar vein, would also be a fun example for students: Where's the Flash?