First Grade Blue Skies

I am so happy to be guest posting for one of my favorite bloggy friends, 

Ms. Coe here at Little Miss Kindergarten!

I thought I would talk a little bit about drawing conclusions today.  This is a comprehension skill that I love to teach and have seen so many great ideas around blogland for it and inferences.  First, I want to distinguish (or not) between the two.  To me, a conclusion is the final act...you draw a conclusion from the inferences you make.  I have read that inference is the process of drawing conclusion through logic, and that it can also refer to the conclusion drawn.  And also that some people use them interchangeably and that it is ok to do so.  (I had always wondered about the difference and finally took the time to read about it.)

Anyway, one great book I like to use for both skills is Sam's Sandwich, by David Pelham.  Many of you may remember that I have discussed this book before (here;) and it is one of my all time favs.  Kids have to figure out what nasty little treat Sam has put in his sister Samantha's sandwich...they use what they know about the book and what they can figure out about Sam...his evil grin, the pictures, etc...and also what word fits and rhymes...all to figure out what word is missing.  

They love it!

I created a quick little pack of drawing conclusion activities.

I used it as a whole group activity on my projector and then put it in one of my lit. stations inside plastic sleeves for the kids to practice the skill.  (The pages could also be used independently)

*example of the pages included:

Another fun activity to work on drawing conclusions is to use painter's tape to cover up words in a book...(ones that can be figured out by context) and allow kids to figure out what word they think will go into the spot. I always introduce it as a "Think Aloud" in whole group, thinking through what makes sense, what doesn’t...recording their guess on a web.  As the kids become better at using clues to figure out the word, I add the tape to big books in my word work station and let students record what words they think go in the blank spot (where the tape is).  The recording sheet below is a way for kids to have accountability and to record their guesses. When I put the painter's tape over the word in the big book, I write a number on top of the piece of tape so that it matches the number on the recording sheet.  Naturally, I have to show the kids how to do this in whole group and model the way we carefully peel up the tape to peek at the word after we have written our guess. 

This recording page is generic enough that you should be able to put your own spin on it if you like, depending upon the needs of your students!  Click here; or on the picture below to get your copy!

I hope someone can use some of the things I have shared and a BIG THANK YOU goes out to Laral for having me over to visit and share on her great blog!

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