READING SKILLS

comprehension
 • What Is It?
• Making an inference involves using what you know to
make a guess about what you don't know or reading
between the lines. Readers who make inferences use

MAKING the clues in the text along with their own experiences to
help them figure out what is not directly said, making the
INFERENCES text personal and memorable. Helping students make
texts memorable will help them gain more personal
pleasure from reading, read the text more critically, and
remember and apply what they have read.
• Why Is It Important?
• Researchers have confirmed that thoughtful, active,
proficient readers are metacognitive; they think about
their own thinking during reading.
• They can identify when and why the meaning of the text
is unclear to them and can use a variety of strategies to
solve comprehension problems or deepen their
understanding of a text (Duffy et al. 1987).
• Proficient readers use their prior knowledge and textual
information to draw conclusions, make critical
judgments, and form unique interpretations from text.
Inferences may occur in the form of conclusions,
predictions, or new ideas (Anderson and Pearson,
1984).
 • Predicting is closely related to inferring.
Readers predict actions, events and
outcomes that are confirmed or
dismissed during the reading experience.
Predicting is like forward inferring.
When inferring, the reader looks back to
confirm thinking. When predicting, the
reader always looks forward.
PREDICTING
• When readers predict, they use information in
the text and their background knowledge to
make smart guesses about what they may
encounter in the text. Readers use this strategy
to prepare to read and monitor their
comprehension during a reading experience.
 Helps students to ask questions
while they are reading

Encourages students to skim or re-

BENEFITS read portions of the story to better
understand it or to recall facts about
the characters or events

Provides a way for students to

monitor their understanding of the
material
 • Great readers draw conclusions based on hints from the
author in a story. When you draw conclusions, you use the
DRAWING information from the passage to make a guess about
something. Readers use the author’s hints, or evidence, to
CONCLUSIONS
support their conclusion.
THANK YOU