Chapter Five

When it comes to inferences, it is important to realize what they are.  Through these chapters it has become obvious to me that in order to become an effective teacher it is important for us to reflect on our own learning and realize what we do. This will in turn aid our students on what we expect them to do when it comes to reading. Some of the suggestions that Beers uses for how to help make inferences section, I found to be helpful, such as doing think aloud exercises with the students. However, when she discusses using a comic strip or cartoon as an aid I found this to be something that I think would be focused for younger children. Granted Beers states that when students do not understand a cartoon, “Most often, students bring in political cartoons” (71). While I do think having the students challenge themselves would be beneficial; it would definitely take some time to get to that point, making sure to establish a strong sense of inference first. As I do my readings, I try to think about and consider the students that I intern for at Bristol Central and what would work for them.  

I think that for these students, using more literature that appealed to them, such as music lyrics, would help them greatly. I believe that using this type of reading would get them engaged and then would get them to create their own inferences and meaning of the words. Furthermore, I think it is important to remember when it comes to students making inferences that they will create those implications based on their own background knowledge and things that they can relate to and have seen before. I make it a point to stress to my students that the beautiful thing about reading is that everyone interprets and infers meaning differently and that as long as there is evidence supporting that point, it is possible.