LESSON PLAN OUTLINE

JMU Elementary Education Program

The following information should be included in the header of the lesson plan:
Candice Manuel
Mrs. Cheryl Shifflett
Monday September 22, 2014 2 1:35-2:35pm
September 21, 2014

A. Comprehension-Introduction to Inferring
B. CONTEXT OF LESSON
The students have learned to make story predictions, draw conclusions, and relate previous
experiences to main ideas in the second grade. I have also asked students about their third grade
chapter books that they are reading. I ask them what is happening in their stories and what they think
will happen next. The students have been practicing predicting with their Journeys text book. While
reading the story A Fine, Fine School the students needed to make predictions based on what the
Principal in the story would say next. This is an appropriate activity at this time because the students
are able to predict what a story might be about or what might happen next in a story. The students are
ready to begin making inferences based on what their background knowledge is and what evidence
they have seen or read.
This lesson fits into what I know about child development because at the third grade level
students still need to practice concrete concepts before practicing concepts abstractly. The students
will be stating what their background knowledge is and what they see to help organize their thoughts
and ideas in order to make inferences. This lesson will help prepare the students for more abstract
inferences within texts.
C. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Understand
Know

The students will understand

their background knowledge
and the evidence from texts,
pictures, and other sources
enable them to make
inferences

The students will know to use

their schema, texts, pictures,
and other clues (supporting
details) to make an inferences

Do

The students will identify

details from their own
experiences and knowledge to
make inferences
The students will identify
information from text,
pictures, or other clues that
supports an inference
The students will give
examples of good inferences

D. ASSESSING LEARNING

Objective
The students will understand their
background knowledge and the
evidence from texts, pictures, and
other sources enable them to make
inferences
The students will know to use
their schema, texts, pictures, and

Assessment
The students will say they need
background knowledge (schema)
and evidence to make an
inference.

Data Collected
I will listen to students say key
words (background knowledge,
what I already know, schema,
evidence, details, and inference).

The students will discuss with

their partner how they made their

I will walk around the room

listening to student discussions

other clues (supporting details) to

make an inferences

about their inferences. I will listen

for their explanations of their
supporting evidence.

The students will identify details

from their own experiences and
knowledge to make inferences

inferences. Ex: You were hula

hooping because when I hula hoop
I twist in a circle and you were
twisting.
The students will write down their
background knowledge that
matches their inference

The students will identify

information from text, pictures, or
other clues that supports an
inference

The students will write down

supporting evidence from text,
pictures, or other sources that
matches their inference

The student will fill in charts and

write the evidence they found to
support their inference.

The student will fill in charts and

write their background knowledge
they used to make an inference.

The students will give examples of The student will write or say I
I will listen to the student say or
good inferences
know it is So and So because my
write My background knowledge
background knowledge is .. And is and My evidence is
the evidence in the picture, text
etc. is..
E. RELATED VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING (and NATIONAL STANDARDS if required)
READING
3.5 The student will continue to read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional text and poetry
b) Make connections between previous experiences and reading selections
c) Make, confirm, or revise predictions
g) Draw conclusions about text
j) Identify supporting details

F. MATERIALS NEEDED
SMARTboard timer
Movement cards x3
Guess Who Questionnaire for each student
Mystery Box
Clue Cards x3
Picture Cards x3 and worksheet for each group:
Inference Carousel: Making Inferences with Pictures. Teachers Pay Teachers. Retrieved
September 16, 2014, from http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/InferenceCarousel-Making-Inferences-with-Pictures-518792
Simont, M. (2001). The stray dog : from a true story by Reiko Sassa / retold and illustrated by
Marc Simont. New York : HarperCollins Publishers, 2001.
Sloat, T., & Ruffins, R. (1998). There was an old lady who swallowed a trout. New York: H.
Holt.
Slobodkina, E. (1947). Caps for sale; a tale of a peddler, some monkeys & their monkey
business;. New York: W.R. Scott.
Stead, P. C., & Stead, E. E. (2010). A sick day for Amos McGee. New York: Roaring Brook
Press.
The Stray Dog worksheet for each group
Tori's Teacher Tips: About Me. Tori's Teacher Tips: About Me. Retrieved September 16,
2014, from http://toristeachertips.blogspot.ca/p/about-me.html
PROCEDURE
Preparation of the learning environment

 I will make five activity stations around the room.

1. Back left table closest to the teachers desk- Mystery Box activity
2. Back right table near the back entrance door-Picture activity
3. Front left table in the class library-The Stray Dog activity
4. Carpet area-Movement activity
5. Student desks-Guess Who? Activity
Engage 15 minutes (1:35-1:50)
The students will gather on the carpet in the front of the room. I will call the first row,
second, and third rows. I will have prepared a poster size piece of paper that explains
what inferring is and possible beginnings to answers the students can use. I will begin
to tell a short story about how I had new neighbors who moved in across the street,
but I have not yet seen them to introduce myself so, on trash day I took some of their
garbage out of the trash can to investigate. I will show the students the items I found
and they will use the examples below to guess who might live across the street.

Inferring
Schema + Evidence= Inference

My guess is
Maybe
Perhaps
It could be that
This could mean
I predict
I infer
(McGregor, Tanny)

I will ask the students what they think it means to infer. We will discuss the components
of making a good inference. We will discuss how we guessed who moved in next door.
The students will say what we already know and what the evidence shows us is an
inference.
I will take out another item the students have not yet seen and the students will infer who
the item may belong to. On a poster piece of paper will be written:

Inference

What I know
+
Evidence

Who does this hat belong to?

 Implementation of the lesson- 35 minutes (1:50- 2:25)

I will explain each activity the students will be doing. Each activity will have a number and the
worksheet to go along with each activity will have a matching number. The students will team
up with their clock buddies and participate in a variety of inferring activities. There will be
five inference stations and each station will take approximately seven minutes. I will use a
SMARTboard timer so students will know how much time they have to complete as items as
they can during that time.

What
Students will
be doing

Movement Cards
*One student will
choose a
movement from a
cup. The student
will use physical
movements to
describe the
movement
without talking.
The partner of the
student will infer
what the student
who is moving is
acting out. There
are 16
movements. The
students will
complete as many
movements as
they can using
their background
knowledge and
the evidence they
see. Example:
hula hoop, hitting
a ball etc.

Guess Who?
*Each student will
answer a
questionnaire
about themselves.
The questions will
include facts
about their hair
and eye color,
favorite activities
and sports etc.
Once the students
finish the
questionnaire they
will fold the paper
and writ their
number on the
back. Each
student will
choose one
questionnaire that
is not theirs and
infer whose paper
they believe they
have and how
they know it is
that students
paper.

Mystery Box
*I will provide a
box with a
mysterious item
inside. The
students will not
know what is in
the box, but they
will be provided
with 4-5 clues
about the item.
The student will
choose one clue at
a time and begin
to infer what they
believe the item
is. The student
will state what
they think it is and
why they think it
is.

The Stray Dog

*The students will
read The Stray
Dog and find
three inferences.
The students will
complete a
worksheet
explaining what
the book tells
them and what
they already know
to help them infer
what is happening
in the story.

Pictures
*The students will
be given fourteen
pictures and they
will infer what is
happening in the
pictures. The
students will
explain what their
background
knowledge is and
what they see in
the picture to
make an
inference. The
student will
complete as many
as they can and do
not need to do the
pictures in order
from 1-14.

Closure- (2:25-2:35)
The class will come together as a whole group and I will lead a discussion about what
inferences were made.
1. Ask questions about the mystery box
What inferences did you make?
How did you make that inference?
Students should state their background knowledge and
evidence
2. Go around the room and ask about each mystery person.
The students will say who they believe their mystery person was and
identify the reasons why.
Questions:
Who did you infer was your person?
What was your background knowledge?
What was your evidence?

After each student says their reasoning and person the student will say
which student number they have and they will know if they inferred
correctly or not. If the inference is not correct I will have both
students (the correct and the inferred student) stand up to see the
similarities. The inferred student may still be a correct inference and
can be used to compare and contrast.

Clean-up
I will collect all of the materials from the activities around the classroom and the
worksheets from the students.
G. DIFFERENTIATION
High Readiness Students
If students finish activities before the seven minutes are finished they will be given a
childrens book to draw inferences from. The books will have more words than The Stray Dog
to challenge higher level thinking skills. The students will be provided with a sheet to show
their background knowledge and their evidence. The students may choose from:
A Sick Day for Amos McGee
Caps For Sale
There Was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Trout!
Low Readiness Students
Students will be able to use more clues for the mystery box such as the five senses (touch,
feel, smell, hear)
Some students may need extra guidance how to fill in their inference charts. The first one will
be done with a teacher.

H. WHAT COULD GO WRONG WITH THIS LESSON AND WHAT WILL YOU DO ABOUT IT?
Students may become distracted because they are working in pairs and may begin to not do
their activities. I will be walking around the room to ensure students are completing the activities
correctly and safely. If students begin to be too loud I will ask the class to use their partner voices so
others do not hear their answers or inferences.