Text Reading and Comprehension: Making Inferences

What do you think this title means? Accept reasonable responses. Point to the character sitting on the couch. What do you think is wrong with this boy? (He has a cold or flu.) Read the chapter names in the table of contents. Help English language learners know that the word achoo describes the noise a person makes when sneezing. Turn to Chapter 1. Read the title and look at the illustration. Were your thoughts about the boy on the cover correct? Accept reasonable responses. Turn to Chapter 2. Read the title and look at the illustration. Who do you predict will get sick next? (the characters on the couch) What does chapter title refer to? (the video control that’s covered in germs) Turn to Chapter 3. Given the clues we have and what we see in this illustration, what do you predict this story will be about? Write predictions on the board or on a chart.

Very often, you can use prior knowledge and clues from the text and illustrations to figure out the meaning of a word. Turn to page 1 and read the fifth paragraph aloud. The author describes Emmet as being planted on the couch. What do we know about things that are planted? (They don’t move.) Describe a time you were planted on a couch or chair or elsewhere, completely absorbed in an activity. Then invite students to share their experiences. In the illustration, Emmet sits holding a video control. Combine your prior knowledge with the text and illustration clues. What do you think the word engrossed means in this paragraph? Accept any answers that suggest complete absorption in the video game.

Now let’s use prior knowledge and clues in the text and illustrations to understand some other words you will find in this book. Write the remaining vocabulary words. Have students locate the words in the text and use prior knowledge and context clues to explain the meaning of each word.

Explain that authors don’t always tell a reader everything that happens. Instead, they expect readers to combine personal experience with clues from the text to make inferences about events. Display a copy of a Making an Inference Chart. Read the headings on the chart, and fill in the appropriate parts of the chart as you use the following example to illustrate the strategy. Let’s say I have a puppy that enjoys carrying shoes into the backyard. One morning, I reach under my bed and discover that one of my running shoes is missing. I find part of a shoelace by my door. I didn’t see my puppy take the shoe, but I can guess where the shoe is. Where is it? (probably in the backyard) When I decided the shoe was in the backyard, I made an inference, or an educated guess. I combined the clue I found with personal experience to figure out what happened without actually seeing it happen.

Making inferences as we read helps us pay closer attention to a story, and that helps us understand it better. Think about making inferences as we read today. We will talk more about this later in our lesson.

Now we’re going to talk about our book. Before we begin, let’s review what we learned about making inferences. Distribute copies of the Making an Inference Chart. Point to the chart and ask, What two things do you need if you’re going to make an inference? (clues from the story and what you know) Have students record clues and prior knowledge in their charts as you discuss the book.

What inferences can you make about Emmet? (He swims; he likes to play video games; he has a cold.) What clues did you find to support your inferences? (His hair is damp; his mother mentions swim practice; he’s playing a video game; he sneezes.) What inference can you make about Mom? (She cares about her son’s health.) What clues did you use to make your inference? (She has told him before not to come home from swim practice with wet hair; she makes him go to bed; she makes soup.) What inference can you make about Emmet? (He doesn’t always do what his parents ask him to do; he’s sensitive about how his actions look to other students.) What clues did you use to make your inference? (Emmet came home from swim practice with damp hair; he says he’d look ridiculous using a blow dryer.) What inference can you make about what’s going to happen to Dad and Sophia? (They’re going to get sick.) What clues did you use to make your inference? (They played with the video control that hadn’t been disinfected; Sophia sneezed.)

What is an adult checking for if she or he feels your forehead? (whether you have a fever) What clues help you infer that Dad is sick? (An intense wave of nausea overtook him; he staggers to the bathroom; Mom notices his green complexion.) Who is the last person to get sick? (Mom) How long does the family illness go on? How do you know? (The text in the last sentence infers that the illness goes on for days.)

Why is Emmet a hero? (He power washes all of the dishes that have piled up while his family has been sick.) Emmet sneezes. Then he asks his mom a question. What is it? (Why is it constantly dusty?) What inference can you make about Emmet based on what he says after he sneezes? Accept reasonable answers, but help students understand that Emmet has a sense of humor.

Let’s think about our new words. Distribute copies of the Word Web. Have students write the word administer inside the center circle. Then ask students to fill in the remaining circles with words and phrases that have a similar meaning. Work together to create Word Webs for the other words, or assign different words to students and give them time to create and share their own Word Webs.

Now that we have read the book more carefully, let’s discuss it. In Chapter 1, what inference does Mom make after she pats Emmet’s head? (He didn’t dry his hair after swim practice.) What inference does she make after Emmet sneezes? (He’s already sick.) Why doesn’t Emmet go to bed immediately after feeling sick? (He’s engrossed in a video game.) What inference does Mom make about the video control that Dad and Sophia are using? (It has germs on it because Emmet used it.) In Chapter 2, what inference does Dad make after pressing his palm to Sophia’s head? (She is sick.) What inference does Mom make when she sees Dad’s green complexion? (He’s sick, too.) In Chapter 3, Emmet takes Mom a bowl of soup. What inference can you make about Mom? (She got sick, too.) What makes the title of this book appropriate? Responses will vary. Use students’ explanations to determine individual understanding.

Let’s think about how the author organized events to build the story. Ask students to find explicit examples from the text to complete the chart. For example, in Chapter 1, the first word on the page is Achoo. This first sneeze hints at the story’s problem and predicts the events that follow. Write this content in the chart on the board. Encourage students to use more examples from the text to complete the chart.