If students’ vocabulary is good but comprehension lags, the problem could be inferences.
Inferences are connections between what is said in the text and what we know to be true based on our experiences.
Good students delight in bringing their own world view to their reading, enriching the reading experience. But struggling readers don’t know they are supposed to do this. They think everything must be right there on the page. If asked to answer a question based on inference, they might say, “It doesn’t say,” or “The answer isn’t here.”
How can you teach inferences? According to Kylene Beers*, using the “It says—I Say—And So” chart helps.
Suppose, for example, the students read “The Three Little Pigs.” You ask, “Why can’t the wolf blow down the house made of brick?”
It says: The third little pig made his house out of brick.
I say: Brick is strong and heavy. And it is stuck together with cement.
And so: The brick is too strong to be blown down by the wolf.”
For the “It Says—I Say” strategy to work, this strategy must be used regularly, with modeling by the teacher or by students. A good place to start is with fairy tales or other well-known stories. Later, move on to grade level texts.
*When Kids Can’t Read; What Teachers Can Do. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2004
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