Lesson 1

Lesson Title Making inferences to support your understanding of the text

Discipline English Language Arts

Grade Level 5th grade

Central Learning Focus

Learning Standard(s) CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.1: Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and
What standard(s) are most when drawing inferences from the text.
relevant to the learning CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection,
goal(s) and objective(s)? and research.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups,
and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their
own clearly.
Central Focus (i.e., Goal) The focus of this lesson is for students to use their background knowledge along with details from the text to make
What is the central focus of inferences about their historical fiction books.
the lesson?
Student Learning Students will be able to list (in writing) 4 inferences about their historical fiction books (e.g. about the
Objective(s) characters, social issues or events) using the first four pages of the text.
What are the specific Students will be able to list (in writing) 2 details from the text for each inference made, quoting accurately to
learning objective(s) for provide evidence.
students in this lesson? Students will be able to describe (in writing) why they think one detail from the beginning of their book is so
significant.
Students will be able to describe (orally) why they think the author included 1-2 details in the text.
Prior Knowledge Prior to this lesson, students must have an understanding of the Holocaust and the events that occurred during that
What prior knowledge must time period. Students must have an understanding of the time period their historical fiction book was written about
students already have in and the events happening; this will have been done through prior research of the topic.
order to optimize the
lessons success?

Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks

Resources and Materials Smart board (projector)

What instructional resources and Rose Blanche by Ian McEwan (used for modeling and possible re-teach)
materials will be used to engage Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (used for modeling and assessment)
students in learning? Book club historical fiction books (used for group work)
 Graphic organizer (inference puzzle)
Inference anchor chart
Book Club Talk anchor charts
Inference puzzle work sheet
Exit ticket (assessment)
Writing utensils
Launch The lesson will begin by having students share why they think it may be important to pay close attention when
___5____ Minutes reading the first couple of pages of a book. The teacher will then explain to students that those first few pages
How will you commence the or the first chapter of a book contain details that help readers make an inference about why the author may
lesson? What will you do to have chosen to write the book, or what the theme of the book may be. To help students make a personal
engage the students at the connection, they will be asked, Do you skip the first five or ten minutes of a movie? It will be emphasized that
beginning of the lesson? What is if you do skip the first few minutes of a movie, you are missing out on valuable information that will help you, as
your hook? How will you tap into a viewer, better understand the purpose of the movie. They will be asked to tap into their prior knowledge and
prior knowledge? turn and talk to discuss what they think the word inference means. Students will be advised to think about the
who, what, when, where, why and how of a book to think about the inferences they want to make. To engage
students and allow them to make a personal connection, they will be shown a silhouette of a Pokmon and will
be asked to identify that Pokmon. Once the Pokmon is identified, students will be asked to explain how they
knew which Pokmon it was. This will show students that they are making inferences throughout the day even
when they do not think they are, whether it is at school or at home.
Mini-lesson Following the launch of the lesson, the teacher will discuss the essential question of the day, How do readers
_____11______ Minutes use text evidence to make inferences and support their understanding of the text? The teacher will discuss in
How will you explicitly present the detail what it means to make an inference, and the parts students need to put together to make one evidence
principle ideas/content knowledge (details from the text) and schema (their background knowledge). The teacher will introduce a puzzle map that
to the students? How will you will help students organize their ideas. Evidence will be represented as the first puzzle piece and schema will
present the new content? be represented as the second puzzle piece. When pieced together, these two pieces will be the same size as a
larger puzzle piece that will represent the inference being made. To allow students to make a connection with
other content being studied at this time, students will be asked to turn and talk and discuss what connection
they can make between this puzzle map and fractions two halves equal a whole, the small evidence and
schema puzzle pieces equal the large inference piece. Students will also be provided with the steps necessary
to be an active reader and make inferences about their text:
- Think about the who, what, when, where, why and how of the book.
- Record the details (on a post-it, or in their reading journals) to use as evidence.
- Think about why the author presented the details. Why are the details important for the story?

To model making an inference for students, the teacher will project on the smart board a page from the book
Rose Blanche by Ian McEwan, along with an inference puzzle which will be filled out to show students how it
can help them organize their ideas. The teacher will first discuss the picture being projected to see what
inferences could be made about the setting. The teacher will then move on to using the text on the page to
make further inferences about the setting. This will show students the details they should be paying close
attention to, and will also model the use of who, what, when, where, why and how to help understand what
they are reading. While modeling, the teacher will think out loud to allow students to hear the thought process,
and engage them in helping complete the puzzle by asking questions such as:
 Who is narrating the story?
Where does the story take place?
What is happening in this scene?
How do you know this?
What details helped you understand this?
How did you use your schema to help you make an inference?

Subsequent to the modeling of making an inference, the teacher will project an excerpt from the book Number
the Stars by Lois Lowry. This excerpt will be used for students to apply the skill as a whole group. The teacher
will read the excerpt to students and work with them to develop an inference. Students will be asked to turn
and talk to discuss their ideas. Students discussions will be prompted through questions such as:
What inference can we you about what the author is trying to tell us?
Why do you think the author is including this detail?
How do you think this detail may help us understand the rest of the book?
How can you apply your schema to help you make an inference about this text?
How did you use the 5ws and H to help you?

The teacher will fill in the inference puzzle with help from the students, to show once again how they can use it
to organize their ideas.
Structured Practice/Application Following the active engagement in which students participated in applying the skills presented in the lesson,
_____15_____ Minutes they will move on to working with their historical fiction books and applying the skills to help them better
How will students apply what they understand the characters and the authors purpose for writing the book. Students will be given the option to
have learned? How will they work individually or with with the members their groups to complete their assignment. They will be required to
demonstrate their knowledge? complete four inferencing puzzle maps using the first three pages of their books, or the first chapter depending
on the information available in their books. Each map will have three pieces, an evidence piece, a schema
piece, and an inference piece; students will be using details from their books and their background knowledge
about the time period their book is written about to make four inferences.
Student Feedback Feedback will be provided to students throughout the entire lesson.
What type of feedback will you During the launch of the lesson, students will receive positive feedback for their participation and their
provide to the students? application of their background knowledge and (e.g. Thank you for sharing.)
During the mini-lesson, students will receive positive feedback during turn and talk, participation,
application of their background knowledge and making personal connections (e.g. I like how you made
a personal connection to help you understand.) The teacher will check for students understanding of
the lesson by asking them to make a fist to four check 1 finger if they do not understand at all, two
fingers if they think they understand but need to review, three fingers if they understand, four fingers if
they feel they can help one of their classmates.
During structured practice students will receive positive feedback for their discussions in their book
clubs and will receive prompting questions to help deepen their discussion (That is a good point
________ made. Can you add to ________ idea? Do you agree with ________?)
During the closure of the lesson, students will receive positive feedback for their participation, as well
as for providing their classmates with feedback and building on their ideas (e.g. I like how you added to
________idea.)
Closure/Extension As a closure to the lesson, students will meet the teacher at the meeting area to share the inferences they
_____5_____ Minutes made about their historical fiction books, students will be asked to provide each other feedback, students in the
How will you bring closure to the same book clubs will be asked to build on each others ideas. Following the discussion, students will leave the
lesson and/or extend it? meeting area with an exit ticket to complete in order to assess their understanding of the lesson.

Academic Language

Academic Language The academic language that will be highlighted in the lesson is:
What academic Inferencing
language/vocabulary will Schema
be highlighted in the Background knowledge
lesson? Details
Evidence

Assessments

Type and description of As an informal assessment the teacher will:

assessments (e.g., summative Listening to students responses to ensure they are appropriate for the material being discussed.
or formative; informal or Ensure that students are using proper academic language during the turn and talk, small group and
formal) whole group discussions.
Describe the tools/procedures Circle the classroom to monitor students work and ensure they are on task.
that will be used in this lesson to Ask high order thinking questions to challenge students and to determine their level of understanding
monitor students understanding of the content.
of the lesson objective(s). As a formal assessment the teacher will:
Describe the rubrics/checklists Assess students understanding through their response on an exit ticket.
that will be used. Assess students understanding through the completion of their inference puzzle maps.
Modifications/Differentiation Students book club books are differentiated according to students reading levels, needs, and abilities.
Describe how you will modify the Students will have the option of working in groups, in pairs or individually to complete their work.
assessment to target learning Students will be presented with slides to visually interpret the lesson.
across diverse student An inference puzzle anchor chart will be presented to students and left up during the lesson for
populations (e.g., English students to use as a resource.
Language Learners, struggling Two book club talk anchor charts will be left up during the lesson to prompt students discussions and
readers and writers, students emphasize expected behavior while working in their clubs.
with IEPs)? How will you provide During the lesson, students will be given the opportunity to apply the skill to an illustration and text.
students with access to the If needed, students will receive sentence starters to help them write down and organize their ideas
various tasks based on individual (e.g. From this detail I can infer ______ about the character in my book.)
and group needs? How will you
Students who are struggling with the lesson will work with the teacher in a small group for a re-teach
provide multiple entry points for
using the book Rose Blanche by Ian McEwan.
the learners?