Reading Strategies

Drawing Conclusions

When readers draw conclusions, they use clues from the story to figure out an idea that the writer did not directly state.  Readers may revise their conclusions as the story progresses and they gain new information.  Help students look beyond the obvious and make inferences.

Read the following passages aloud to students for examples of drawing conclusions:

• Sarah’s mother walked her to the bus stop.  Sarah got on the bus and waved goodbye to her mother.

  •  What conclusions can you draw?  Sarah is going to school.

  • Could this really happen?  Yes- reality

• Little Bunny hopped over to Owl’s house.  Little Bunny opened the door and all the forest animals yelled,
  “Surprise!”  Little Bunny saw balloons and presents on the table.

  •  What conclusions can you draw?  It’s Little Bunny’s birthday

  • Could this really happen?  No- fantasy

Copy the following chart, bold words only.  After determining the conclusion, have students identify the clues in the story that led them to that conclusion.  Write the clues in the chart.

Read aloud the first 3 lines of the story Raising Dragons.  Ask students: Where does the speaker live?  Has the story told us where the speaker lives?  How did we figure it out?  Complete a drawing conclusions chart together.

Drawing Conclusions = Putting together what we see with what we read.  

Many of the illustrations in the story Raising Dragons also provide assistance in drawing conclusions.  There are often supporting details in the illustrations of picture books.  Some illustrations you may want to explore with students: the story begins with an old world map that includes Dragon Island and Oceanus Dragonicus, there is a dragon shaped cloud at the beginning of the story and after Hank left, the airline serving Dragon Island is in the background of the illustration on the page where they say goodbye (Air Dragon), note the changing expression on Hank’s face.  These illustrative details enrich the text.

Students can practice drawing conclusions using the following chart:

For example, on the page where the girl and her father discover the egg - read the first paragraph and then ask students:

• What do you see in the picture?

• What did you read?

• What could the object be?

Have students fill in the columns in their charts.   

Continue filling in the chart with the following pages/questions:

• Who plows the fields?

• What does Hank do to the corn?

• Why did Hank give the girl a wheelbarrow full of eggs?

Inference Activities online from Quia:
What Can You Infer?
Inference Battleship

Fantasy and Realism

Read the story to students - have them listen for examples of fantasy and realism.  Write events in the chart and put an X by either fantasy or realism.  Ask questions such as, “Could this happen in real life?”  “Why or why not?”

Resources for this lesson:
Elements of Fantasy Poster – show poster to students and discuss each element as an introduction to the genre of fantasy
Raising Dragons Fantasy Chart – graphic organizer for students to complete
Additional resources:
Fantasy bookmark

Making Predictions

Think about the story so far and predict what will happen next or how the story will end.  Read part of story with students, stop, have them complete the Plot Prediction Graphic Organizer.  Share.  Continue reading to find answer.
Plot Prediction Graphic Organizer

Setting

Compare/contrast the setting of where the girl lives and the island where she takes Hank to live with a graphic organizer.
Setting Graphic Organizer

Story Map

You can use a story map to help students recognize problems and solutions in a story.
Story Map Graphic Organizer

• Characters - have students identify the two most important characters in the story.  They may also want to draw a small picture in the main character box.  Students can also write three words to describe each of these characters. 

• Setting - younger students can draw the place and label it, older students can write a description of the setting.

• Problems - have students identify what goes wrong in the story and who is involved.

• Solutions - how are the problems solved?

Strategies That Work by Stephanie Harvey