Bloom’s (Taxonomy) Unit: Inferencing
Last year, I experimented with structuring my Reading lessons according to the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Every concept within a genre would be covered following which level of Bloom’s it was and I would follow Bloom’s within the week I covered the concept.
For the fourth week of the Bloom’s Unit: Fiction, I focused on Inferencing(Analysis). Here’s how it went.
Knowledge: Make An Inference
Hook: Flocabulary Inferencing Video
I(Do): Inferencing Anchor Chart
Modeled Instruction: A Special Day
After reviewing an Inferencing anchor chart, I went through a passage with my kids…modeling what information to pay attention to when they’re preparing to make an inference—as the evidence is always there. I had to prompt the kids a bit, but they eventually figured out that it was a Great Day based off the evidence.
We(Do): One Winter’s Day
Once I got done modeling how to make an inference, I let the kids work with a partner. Amazingly, most of the kids got it correct but a few struggled, so I conferenced with them and steered them to the right direction.
You(Do): The American Favorite
I read the story to the kids(they are 2nd graders). Then I asked them where the parents were taking the main character. In unison, they all said: “Vacation!!!”(And gave evidence, too)
Comprehension: Cause and Effect
Video-Aloud: For The Birds
I introduced Cause and Effect with the Pixar Short: For The Birds. The kids were doing an excellent job. Then one student conducted a master class in interpreting character feelings.
How?
At one point in the clip when the larger bird sits on the middle of line, the birds all have varying reactions. So, I asked the students how the birds felt. A student raised his hand and walked up the board. Then I let him explain the different reaction.
Him: I can tell that bird is sleepy because his eyes are closed. That bird is mad.
Me: “How do you know he’s mad?”
Him: “He has those semi-circles around his eyes.” (Yes, he knows what semi-circles are.)
Him: “That bird is surprised.”
Me: “How do you know?”
Him: “His eyes are wide-open.”
Love student-teachers.
Following up that successful Video-Aloud, I let the kids work in partners to practice the skill.
Apply: Inferring Character Motivations
To let the kids apply the skills that they’ve learned, I put them in groups to solve a crime. They’d have to know context clues, character traits, cause and effect and basic inference.
The activity didn’t go as well as I would have wanted. The kids were kids. They were more focused on winning than looking for all the clues. The next day, I reviewed the activity. About a third of them correctly guessed the criminal: Peter Pan.
Analyze: Most Likely
As I’ve done for all the other concepts, I utilized the TRTW routine to analyze the concept.
Talk 1: “True Move”
“True Move ” is excellent for reinforcing and teaching Inferencing.
In the commercial, a store owner purchases medicine for a young child after he stole it from another store owner. 30 years later, the young boy pays the store owners hospital bill and operates on him…saving his life.
Throughout the video, there are series of questions that are asked. One of them is why the little boy has his head down at the beginning. Amazingly, my kids inferred correctly that he had his head down because he did something wrong.
Later in the commercial, the store owner gives a homeless man a bag. It’s asked: What was in the bag? The kids correctly guessed food. Then I pushed them to give me more. A child responded that it’s food because that’s what he gave the boy earlier in the story…boom!!!
After the old man collapses from a heart attack(30 years later), he’s shown in the hospital. And then a man is shown in a coat. Immediately, the kids guessed that the man in the coat was a doctor…too easy. Then a student said that the man in the coat was the boy…wow.
Read/Talk 2/Write: Dragon Battle
The lesson didn’t conclude that way I would’ve wanted–as the kids didn’t do a good enough job of gathering evidence to understand what would most likely happen in story.
Evaluate: Inference Quiz
On the quiz, I assessed Cause and Effect, Inferring Character Feelings, Basic Inference and Most Likely.
Results: 16/18 kids passed.
Mastered: 6/18 (33 percent)
Meets: 12/18 (66 Percent)
Student Standard: 16/18 (88.8 Percent)
Synthesis: What was the baby probably thinking when he got lost?
For the Synthesis, I asked the kids to get into the baby bird, who got lost in the story, head.
Many of the kids stated that he was probably scared, which is probably how the bird felt, although there was no evidence in the story. It told me that the kids knew how to synthesize information…loved it.
Unit Success: 90 percent (Got To Improve The Most Likely part of it.)
Next: Bloom’s Unit: Non-Fiction and Main Idea
The Phenomenal Student 