Comprehension

by Stephanie Harvey, Anne Goudvis, and Colleagues
Nonfiction reading strategies for

every instructional setting
Whole-Group Instruction
Teaching with Digital Resources
ELL Support
Small-Group Instruction
Independent Practice
Staff Development
Resources for PLCs
active literacy learning for every student
Toolkit lessons promote flexible thinking. They encourage students to extend their learning
beyond the text at hand, nudging them to ask questions that will lead to new learning.
Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis
The Comprehension Toolkit Series

The Comprehension Toolkit series by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis fosters active
literacy learning and launches students into the exciting world of nonfiction reading,
writing, and thinking and it supports your teaching in every instructional setting.
The Comprehension Toolkit (Grades 36) introduces a repetoire of tools and thinking strategies that
help students understand, respond to, and learn from increasingly complex nonfiction text.

Connecting Comprehension and Technology provides practical lessons that teach students
how to navigate, evaluate, collaborate, and communicate through digital resources.
ELL Support
The Scaffolding for English Language Learners previews and extensions are designed to
help students unpack the vocabulary and language structures in every Toolkit lesson.
The Comprehension Intervention small-group lessons narrow the instructional focus, concentrating
on critical aspects of the Toolkits lesson strategy to reinforce kids understanding.
The Toolkit Texts series provides a library of engaging, ageappropriate nonfiction articles in a reproducible format.
Resources for PLCs

Comprehension & Collaboration serves as a guide for teachers who want
to realize the benefits of well-structured, cross-curricular projects.
The Inquiry Circles DVD, a companion to Comprehension & Collaboration,
uses compelling video footage to show inquiry circles in action.
Staff Development
Staff Development with The Comprehension Toolkits offers a step-by-step,
insiders view of how to support teachers as they implement effective
comprehension instruction and sustain active literacy practices.
Save with The Comprehension Toolkit Teacher Pack
oolkit instruction takes kids thoughts, ideas, and opinions seriously. To foster vibrant communities
where all students are active literacy learners, a series of components were developed to support
students of varying abilities and needs.
This sampler will show you how these expansive instructional tools work together to teach a single
foundational reading strategy in a variety of instructional settings. First, you will see how a strategy is
introduced through whole-group instruction. The two lessons that follow this show how to extend the
learning with digital resources. Then, a set of preview and extension activities show how to address the
special learning needs of English language learners. Two small-group lessons then model how to reinforce
the strategy for students who need extra support. And finally, a series of nonfiction texts offer opportunities
for independent practice. This sampler concludes with additional resources for staff development and
professional learning communities.
As you review this sampler, remember that the goal of this series is to give you an explicit framework that
equips you to design instruction that engages kids and encourages them to extend their learning beyond the
text at hand, nudging them to ask questions that will lead to new learning.
Contents
Overview of the Comprehension Toolkit strategy books pgs 23
Overview of Comprehension Intervention pg 8283
Strategy Book Instructional Design pgs 415
Sample Lesson: Use Context to Infer Word Meanings pgs 8488
Sample Lesson: Infer Meanings of Unfamiliar Words pgs 1631
Sample Lesson: Use New Vocabulary pgs 8993
Overview of Informational Texts pgs 3233

Sample Lesson Text about the Titanic pgs 3449
Short Texts for Independent Practice
Short Text Titles pg 50
Overview of the Toolkit Texts series pg 94
Sample Short Texts pgs 5153
Sample Texts pgs 95103
Professional Support pgs 5457

Staff Development
Overview of Connecting Comprehension and Technology pg 58
Overview of Staff Development with the Comprehension Toolkit

pgs 104105
Sample Lesson: Infer with Visual Cues pgs 5966

Sample Lesson: Infer with Media Cues pgs 6775
Resources for PLCs

Overview of Comprehension and Collaboration pg 106
ELL Support
Overview of Inquiry Circles DVD pg 107
Overview of Scaffolding the Comprehension Toolkit for English

Language Learners pg 76
Additional Resources
Sample Lesson: Infer the Meaning of Unfamiliar Words pgs 7781
The Primary Comprehension Toolkit, Grades K2 pg 108

The Comprehension Toolkit Teacher Packs pg 109
For sample lessons and additional information, visit www.ComprehensionToolkit.com
Strategy Books
Instruction in The Comprehension Toolkit centers on six strategy books organized around research-based
comprehension strategies. Each strategy book contains a series of lessons that build on one another to teach readers
how to use the strategy, construct meaning, and understand what they read.
Monitor Comprehension
When readers monitor their comprehension, they keep track of their thinking while reading. They listen
to the voice in their head that speaks to them as they read. They notice when the text makes sense or when
it doesnt. We teach readers to fix up their comprehension by using a variety of strategies including
stopping to refocus thinking, rereading, and reading on. All of the comprehension instruction suggested in the
Toolkit supports readers to monitor and use strategies to maintain understanding and repair comprehension
when it breaks down.
Contents 1 Follow Your Inner Conversation: Listen to the voice in your head and leave tracks of your thinking

2 Notice When You Lose Your Way: Monitor your inner voice to focus your thinking

3 Read, Write, and Talk: Think your way through the text
Activate and Connect
The background knowledge we bring to our reading colors every aspect of our learning and
understanding. Whether we are questioning, inferring, or synthesizing, our background knowledge is
the foundation of our thinking. You simply cant understand what you read without thinking about
what you already know. Readers must connect the new to the known. Sometimes, however, our background
knowledge consists of misconceptions that get in the way of new learning. So we have to prepare kids not only
to think about what they already know, but also to change their thinking when they encounter new and more
accurate information.
Contents 4 Follow the Text Signposts: Use nonfiction features to guide learning

5 Merge Your Thinking with New Learning: Read and think about new information

6 Connect the New to the Known: Activate and build background knowledge
Ask Questions
Questions are at the heart of teaching and learning. They open the doors to understanding the world.
Posing questions allows us to seek out information, solve problems, and extend our understanding.
As we try to answer our questions, we discover new information and gain new knowledge. The
best questions spark more questions and spur further research and inquiry. When we read nonfiction,
our questions abound. Our questions help us to clarify confusion when we meet unfamiliar information,
concepts, and vocabulary. They propel us to read on and do further research. Questions nudge curious minds
to investigate.
Contents 7 Question the Text: Learn to ask questions as you read

8 Read to Discover Answers: Ask questions to gain information

9 Ask Questions to Expand Thinking: Wonder about the text to understand big ideas
Whole-Group Instruction: Strategy Books
Infer Meaning
Inferring is the bedrock of understanding. Inferring involves drawing a conclusion or making an

interpretation about information that is not explicitly stated in the text. Typically, skillful writers do
not spill information on to the page for all to plainly see. They leak the information slowly, one idea
at a time, enabling the reader to make reasonable inferences. Inferential thinking allows readers to make
predictions, surface themes, and draw conclusions. When reading nonfiction, readers may have to crack
open language word by word to get at the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary and concepts. Often answers
to questions must be inferred.
Contents

10
11
12
13
14
15
Infer the Meaning of Unfamiliar Words: Use context clues to unpack vocabulary
Infer With Text Clues: Draw conclusions from text evidence
Tackle the Meaning of Language: Infer beyond the literal meaning
Crack Open Features: Infer the meaning of subheads and titles
Read With a Question in Mind: Infer to answer your questions
Wrap Your Mind Around the Big Ideas: Use text evidence to infer themes
Determine Importance
What we determine to be important in text depends on our purpose for reading it. When we read
nonfiction, we are reading to learn and remember information. We cant possibly remember every
isolated fact, nor should we. We need to focus on important information and merge it with what
we already know to expand our understanding of a topic. We sort and sift rich details from important
information to answer questions and arrive at main ideas. We identify details that support larger concepts.
We teach kids a way to use information to develop a line of thinking as they read, surfacing and focusing their
attention on important ideas in the text.
Contents 16 Spotlight New Thinking: Learn to use a Fact/Question/Response chart

17 Record Important Ideas: Create an FQR with historical fiction

18 Target Key Information: Code the text to hold thinking

19 Determine What to Remember: Separate interesting details from important ideas
20
Distinguish Your Thinking From the Authors: Contrast what you think with the authors perspective

21 Construct Main Ideas From Supporting Details: Create a Topic/Detail/Response chart
Summarize and Synthesize
Synthesizing information nudges readers to see the bigger picture as they read. Its not enough
for readers to simply recall or restate the facts. Thoughtful readers integrate the new information
with their existing knowledge to come to a more complete understanding of the text. As readers
encounter new information, their thinking evolves. They merge the new information with what they
already know and construct meaning as they go. As they distill nonfiction text into a few important ideas,
they may develop a new perspective or an original insight.
Contents

22
23
24
25
26
Read, Think, and React: Paraphrase and respond to information

Think Beyond the Text: Move from facts to ideas
Read to Get the Gist: Synthesize your thinking as you go
Reread and Rethink: Rethink misconceptions and tie opinions to the text
Read, Write, and Reflect: Create a summary response to extend thinking
whole-group instruction
Reading comprehension occurs when readers engage in an inner

conversation with the text, merge their thinking with it, ask questions,
infer, think about whats important, and summarize and synthesize.
strategy books
The Comprehension Toolkits six strategy books contain 26 lessons. The regular structure of each
lesson provides a coherent framework on which to build your own lessons and language for
understanding informational text.
The title highlights the lessons

comprehension strategy, while
the subtitle identifies each lessons
instructional focus.
The opening photograph shows

either Steph or Anne in one of the
classrooms where they developed
and used the lessons.
Samples of the graphic organizers or

thinksheets used in the lesson are
shown here. Blank thinksheets are
provided in the back of each cluster
book and on the CD-ROM.
This facsimile provides an example of the

lesson text used in the lesson. This and
other magazine-based texts are provided
in the Source Book of Short Text in a
reproducible format. A full-color version
of this article is provided in an electronic
version on the CD-ROM.
The reading strategies in the Toolkit are taught through exemplary nonfiction text. This introductory statement
explains how and why the text was chosen for a specific lesson. Text Matters helps you use the selected lesson
text more effectively or choose alternative teaching texts that best meet the needs your students.
These pages introduce key

features of the instructional design that will
support your teaching.
The Lesson Overview establishes the instructional framework for the lesson. This includes stating the lessons
goals, identifying the gradual release plan, and listing the resources you will need to teach the lesson.
The Goals and Assessment feature lists

the learning goals of each lesson and
links them to the Reflection & Assessment
section at the conclusion of the lesson.
The Why & What overview explains the
rationale behind the lesson and how the
comprehension strategy promotes active
literacy.
Gradual Release of Responsibility

When & How provides a concise
preview of the lessons teaching moves.
Framed around the Gradual Release
of Responsibility, each lesson provides
explicit, scaffolded instruction through
modeling and guided practice and then
releases responsibility to students with
opportunities for collaborative practice,
independent practice, and application.
The first two pages of each lesson offer a

multifaceted overview of the lesson.
This list describes all of the materials you and your students will use in the lesson.
To provide kids opportunities to read text worth thinking about, the Toolkit draws on engaging, age-appropriate magazine articles,
Internet articles, historical fiction, picture books, and nonfiction trade books. These texts are provided in a variety of formats:
reproducible masters, full-color electronic files, and trade books. This list tells you where you can find them in your Toolkit.
The Lesson In Action section of each lesson lets you watch Steph and Anne teach,
listen to their language, and see the ways in which their students respond to the text.
Side-column teaching tips provide added insight and instructional support.

Connect and Engage launches the lesson
by using a compelling image, an interesting
title, or a personal story to capture students
enthusiasm and activate their background
knowledge.
The side column provides the teaching
moves for each lesson.
The main column showcases the teaching

language that brings the lesson to life.
Steph and Anne believe in the power of

co-constructing meaning. They also
understand that during whole group
instruction, frequently only the most vocal
kids share their thinking. To assure that
all students remain engaged, Steph and
Anne stop every few minutes and ask their
students to turn to each other and share
their thinking.
To foster an Active Literacy Classroom,

Anne and Steph regularly gather their
students together in large groups or
clusters. Even when teaching with an
overhead projector and a transparency
like this, their instruction stays up close
and personal. After assessing their
students understanding, they form small
flexible groups to meet the needs of
individual students.
Toolkit lessons promote flexible thinking. They encourage

students to extend their learning beyond the text at hand,
nudging them to ask questions that will lead to new learning.
Bracketed information explains the

unspoken actions that shaped the lesson.

During the modeling process, the teacher
explains the strategy and thinks aloud
when reading to show thinking and
strategy use.
Interactive read alouds are a fundamental

teaching tool used in an Active Literacy
Classroom. In an interactive read aloud,
the teacher reads the text and guides the
discussion while the students listen, talk
to each other, and jot down their thinking.
If we want kids to think deeply about their reading, we have to provide text they
can sink their teeth into and then give them opportunities to talk about it.
Thinksheets like this help students sort out

information and show their thinking. These
organizers invite students to think deeply
and widely about their own questions,
opinions, reactions, and inferences.

During guided practice, students gradually
gain more responsibility for task engagement
and completion. They practice the strategy
through shared reading, reasoning through
the text, and co-constructing meaning with
discussion and text lifting.
Thoroughly field-tested in real classrooms,

these lessons build on the actual
conversations Steph and Anne had
with their students and on the guided
discussions that helped students to
develop their own line of thinking.
Nonfiction reading is messy and noisy. Nonfiction is the information

genre, and information begs to be shared. So we need to keep in mind
that independent reading of nonfiction can be a bit wild and woolly.
Throughout the Toolkit, artifacts including

anchor charts, Post-its, and overhead
transparencies show the lesson in action.
Additional teaching tips are shared

through italicized margin notes.
Kids need to process and discuss information they meet so they can
understand it. Talking as a group about unfamiliar concepts and new
information supports everyone to gain accurate information.

During collaborative practice, students share
their thinking with one another and reason
through a text in pairs or small groups.
To ensure that no one will miss text

information because they are unable to read
the text, Steph and Anne pair students during
collaborative practice. These work buddies
or partners change frequently so that students
get to know each other as readers.
10
Sharing sessions are not worth the time if no one is

listening. Polite invitational sharing sets a tone that
promotes listening and talking about the topic at hand.

During Share the Learning the class
re-gathers to share and reflect on their
learning and lay the ground work for the
next lesson
Samples of shared discussions and

observations emphasize the collaborative
teaching and learning fostered in an
Active Literacy Classroom.
This lesson on using context clues to

infer the meaning of unfamiliar words
is the first lesson in Strategy Cluster 4,
Infer Meaning. This lesson builds on the
questioning strategies students learned
and practiced in the previous Strategy
Cluster, Ask Questions.
In the lessons that follow, students
will continue to learn how to take
information from the text and merge
it with their own thinking to come up
with an idea that is not explicitly written
in the text. In Lesson 11 students will
learn how to draw conclusions from
text evidence. In Lesson 12 students
learn how inferring beyond the literal
meaning of words can provide a deeper
understanding of a text. Lesson 13 cracks
open common features of nonfiction
text and teaches students how to infer
the meaning of subheads and titles.
In Lesson 14 students learn to use
inferential thinking to answer their
own questions. And Lesson 15 teaches
students how to use text evidence to
infer themes.
11
The Reflection and Assessment section at the end of each lesson illustrates
Anne and Stephs strategies for monitoring student progress and informing
instructional decision-making.
Underscoring the ongoing and authentic

approach to evaluation, the Goals and
Assessment list from the overview page
is repeated here.
This opening paragraph summarizes the

focus of the assessment and locates the
assessment within the context of the lesson.
Blank versions of all the thinksheets used

in lessons are available on the Resources for
The Comprehension Toolkit CD-ROM and at
the back of their respective strategy books.
12
Assessment is a continuous operation that is at the heart of

teaching and learning. Authentic assessment provides us with
a lot of information about our students learning and progress
as well as information that guides future instruction.
Actual samples of student work show

typical responses to the lesson. These
include samples of student work that
exhibit success in meeting lesson goals
and samples of work that show a need for
more practice or instruction.
Steph and Annes commentary on each

work sample explains what they see and
how they use it to inform instruction.
In addition, strategy book rubrics and

assessment pages review and evaluate
student understanding of all the lessons
in each strategy book.
13
The Lesson Guide is a distillation of the Lesson in Action. You can copy it, hold it on your lap, and use
it to guide your teaching. But you dont just use the Guide once. Because it is written in open, generic
language, you can also use it for additional strategy lessons using other text you have chosen or during
science and social studies.
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Lesson 10 G u i d e
THE
OF UNFAMILIAR

The gradual release of responsibility
framework headings give the lesson its
overall structure.
TEACHING MOVES
Page 12
This Lesson Guide can help you teach students to use background
knowledge and text clues to figure out the meaning of new words in
any text of your choice.
Use context clues
to unpack vocabulary
TEACHING LANGUAGE
CONNECT & ENGAGE

Explain inferring.
Does anyone know what it means to infer? Turn and talk about that.
Inferring involves taking information from the text and merging it with our
own thinking to come up with an idea that the author hasnt actually written
down.
We infer in many ways, like to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words.
Today I will model how I infer the meaning of a vocabulary word I dont know
using context clues.
Teach an equation for inferring to

make inferring concrete and to
support kids as they try to make
their own inferences.
You know about math equations.Well, here is a literacy equation that will help
us to infer.We think about what we already know and merge our background
knowledge with the clues in the text in order to infer the meaning of a word or
phrase, like this: BK+TC=I.
If our inference doesnt seem reasonable, we can gather more clues and more
information. If we ignore the clues in the text, we are really just guessing.
Remember to think about whether your inference makes sense.
Explain how to use the strategy of

inferring to figure out unfamiliar
words in context.
As I read today, I will show you what I do when I come to a word I dont know.
First, I need to think about what I do know and then also consider the context
for that word. I need to read the words and sentences that come before and
after the word because they will help me to infer the meaning.
MODEL
All the teaching moves from the lesson

appear together and provide a concise
overview of the lesson.
Model how to infer the meaning of

unfamiliar words and use a form to
help kids understand and
remember the meanings.
Suggested teaching language is provided

to help you guide kids through each
step of the lesson. These suggestions are
written in open, generic terms that can be
used with any text.
12
14
I am going to model for you how I infer meanings of words as I read from
this article. I have a form on the overhead with four columns labeled Word,
Inferred Meaning,Text Clues, and Sentence.
As I read, I am going to record unfamiliar words in the first column and then
write what I infer the word means in the second. In the third column, I will
write down what clues helped me infer the meaning.When I have a solid idea
of what the word means, I will write a brief sentence using the word in the
fourth column.
One of the reasons we write the word in a sentence is that if we can do that,
we probably understand the meaning.
As I read this sentence, I see a word that I am not sure about so I need to
consider clues to help me infer the meaning.
Thinking back to our equation, BK + TC = I, I will use my background
knowledge and merge it with text clues to infer the meaning and fill in the
form on the overhead.
Can you see how I used the context of the sentence to find clues to the
meaning of the word? Turn to each other and talk about that.
The Comprehension Toolkit: Infer Meaning
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The Lesson Guide shows you specific teaching language and

teaching moves. Because we focus on teaching the reader, not
just the reading, the strategy instruction in each lesson can be
applied to a wide range of text.
Page 13
The Teaching Moves outline your instructional sequence and the

Teaching Language gives you an idea about what to say to your students.
TEACHING LANGUAGE
Teachers oftentimes use the chosen lesson

text the first time they teach a strategy.
But later, when kids need more instruction
or practice, they choose new text and use
the Lesson Guide to reteach it.
TEACHING MOVES
GUIDE
You each have a copy of the text and the four-column form.
Lets try a page together. Ill start reading. Hmmm, theres a big word.Turn to
each other and talk about what you infer it means. Any ideas?
Support kids as they read and infer

the meaning of unfamiliar words.
The features in nonfiction help us visualize and understand information better.

Visualizing is inferring from the picture in your mind.Visualizing helps us infer
meaning.
Explain how readers use the

features to visualize and infer
meaning.
Lets fill in the form together and you can fill in yours on your clipboard.
Now that we have written the word, the inferred meaning and the clue that
helped us infer, lets try writing a sentence together.

Word Keepers love words and care for them. Each time we learn a new word
together, we will need a Word Keeper who will keep track of its meaning for us.
Who would like to be the Word Keeper for?
Introduce and explain the idea of

Word Keepers.
C O L L A B O R AT E
I am going to hand each of you a page or two of an article to read, talk about,
and practice using context clues to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words.
OK, take moment to peruse the article.What does it mean to peruse?
After you have looked over the article, you can begin reading sections to each
other.When you come to a word that you arent sure about, you can add it to
the form. Dont forget to think about our equation: BK + TC = I.
Have kids work together in pairs to

read through the text and practice
inferring the meaning of words as
they fill in their charts.
I love the word peruse because it is a word that has to do with readinga
literacy word. I love that! Who wants to be the Word Keeper for peruse?
Give away a word to remind

students what it means to be a
Word Keeper.
SHARE THE LEARNING
Its time to finish up your reading, writing, and thinking and come to the sharing circle.You can share a word that you didnt understand and then describe
how you inferred the meaning. And you may share a sentence that you wrote,
too. Of course you are always free to share some interesting content as well, as
long as you come up with a word first, OK?
Now I am going to give each of you a blank vocabulary form to keep track of
and figure out unfamiliar words when you read on your own. Great job, you
guys.Thanks so much.
reflection&
assessment
Invite kids to share their fourcolumn forms with new words and
concepts and explain the process
for figuring them out.
DID YOUR STUDENTS :
Lesson Goals & Assessment are repeated

here as a constant reminder of the key
lesson objectives.
merge their background knowledge with text clues to make an inference (BK+TC=I)?
use the context to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words?
visualize from features to infer meaning?
use new vocabulary in a sentence to demonstrate understanding?
Lesson 10: Infer the Meaning of Unfamiliar Words
guide
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15
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Lesson 10
THE
OF UNFAMILIAR
Goudvis from The Comprehension Toolkit

2005 by Stephanie Harvey and Anne
only.
may be photocopied for classroom use
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. This page
Word
Inferred Meaning
Clues
Sentence
Text Matters
When we teach kids how we use context clues to infer the meaning of
words, we choose text that features some vocabulary we suspect will be
unfamiliar to them. This gives them an opportunity to infer the meaning
of new words. We also make sure that the text does not define the words
immediately after featuring them as is frequently the case in textbooks,
because then students wouldnt need to infer the meaning.
From Kids Discover - Titanic, Copyright 2005, All rights reserved.
INFERRED MEANING
21
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through whole-group instruction.
Try this lesson with your class.
Use context clues

Goals&
assessment
WE WANT STUDENTS TO :
merge their background knowledge

with text clues to make an inference
(BK+TC=I).
use the context to infer the meaning of
unfamiliar words.
visualize from features to infer
meaning.
use new vocabulary in a sentence to
demonstrate understanding.
why&what
Inferring is at the heart of reading. Writers dont spill information onto the
page; they leak it slowly, leaving clues along the way to keep the reader
engaged in the act of constructing meaning. Inferring involves taking what
we know and merging it with clues in the text to come up with information
that isnt explicitly stated there. Inferring is the strategy readers need to
figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words. To help readers understand
what it means to infer, we teach a literacy equation, BK (Background
Knowledge) + TC (Text Clues) = I (an Inference). Readers can use the equation
to crack the meaning of unfamiliar words. In this lesson, we teach kids to use
the context and the features to visualize and infer the meaning of unknown
vocabulary.
when&how
CONNECT
&
ENGAGE
Explain inferring.
Teach an equation for inferring to make inferring concrete and to support kids
as they try to make their own inferences.
Explain how to use the strategy of inferring to figure out unfamiliar words in
context.
resources&materials
LESSON TEXT
Kids Discover Titanic pages 2, 3, and 4

[See the Source Book of Short Text
pages 2022.]
CLASSROOM SUPPLIES
Overhead transparency of form with four

columns labeled Word, Inferred Meaning,
Clues, and Sentence [See Strategy
Cluster 4 page 71 or the CD-ROM.]
MODEL
Model how to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words and use a form to help kids
understand and remember the meanings.
GUIDE
Support kids as they read and infer the meaning of unfamiliar words.
Explain how readers use the features to visualize and infer meaning.
Introduce and explain the idea of Word Keepers.
Overhead projector and marker
Have kids work together in pairs to read through the text and practice inferring
the meaning of words as they fill in their charts.
STUDENT SUPPLIES
Give away a word to remind students what it means to be a Word Keeper.
Clipboard with Word/Inferred

Meaning/Clues/Sentence form
Copy of the Titanic article
Pencil
SHARE THE LEARNING

Invite kids to share their four-column forms with new words and concepts and
explain the process for figuring them out.
overview
17
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CONNECT & ENGAGE

Explain inferring.
Teach an equation for inferring

to make inferring concrete and to
18
I love it when youre all gathered up here close and personal with your clipboards ready to think, read, and write. For the past few lessons, we have been
focused on the questioning strategy. Weve been thinking about the questions
we have as we read, and weve noticed how our questions can actually lead to
better understanding. For the next few lessons, we are going to work on a new
strategy that builds on the questioning strategy. Its called inferring, and it is at
the heart of reading. We frequently answer our own questions by making an
inference. Does anyone know what it means to infer? Turn and talk about that
for a minute. [Kids come up with a range of responses and then I continue.]
When writers write, they dont spill information onto the page.They leak it
slowly so readers can draw their own conclusions. In fact, thats one of the
things that makes reading so much fun. The reader has to figure things out.
Readers need to pay close attention to the clues in the text to make an inference.When we think about what we already know and then carefully consider
the clues in the text, we can draw a conclusion or make an inference.
own thinking to come up with an idea that the author hasnt actually written
down. We use inferring in many ways. For instance, we infer to figure out the
meaning of unfamiliar words. In todays lesson, I will model how I infer the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary words and how I use context clues to crack the
words. Is this making sense? Turn and talk about your thinking. [Kids talk.]
Look, let me show you an equation.You know about math equations. Well,
this is a literacy equation to help us infer! To infer the meaning of a word or
phrase, we think about what we already know and merge our background
knowledge with clues in the text, like this:
BK (Background Knowledge) + TC (Text Clues) = I
(Inference) BK+TC=I [I write the equation on the chart.]
Cool, huh?
If our inference doesnt seem reasonable or make
sense, we can gather more clues and more information
to make a more reasonable inference. If we ignore the
clues in the text, we are really just guessing.The more
clues we have, the better our inference is likely to be.
And we cant forget to check our background knowledge, because if the inference doesnt make sense, it
might be because our BK is off the mark.
Today, I have brought a magazine article about the
Titanic story. Were going to read and talk about the
Titanic tragedy over the next two lessons. How many
of you know something about the Titanic? Turn to each other and talk about
what you know about this terrible tragedy. [Kids talk to each other and I listen in.
After a minute I ask them to share.They share a variety of responses, most of which reflect
that the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank and that many people perished.]
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Such a terribly sad story. Over the next few days we are going to learn much
more about this event. As we read more about the Titanic, I am anticipating that
we will meet some unfamiliar words and concepts, so I thought it would be useful
to work on inferring in vocabulary.Turn and talk to each other for a moment about
what you do s a reader when you come across a word you dont understand. [Kids
talk and then share out.]
As I read a bit of this today, Ill probably come across some new words.When
that happens, I am going to show you how I use the strategy of inferring to figure
out the meaning of unknown words.When I come to a word I dont know, I need
to think about what I do know about, and also consider the context, for that word.
I need to read the words and sentences that come before and after the word
because they will help me to infer the meaning. And I need to think about our
equation. Let me give you an example of how it works.

words in context.
MODEL
OK, I am going to model for you how I infer the meanings of words as I read
some of this Titanic article from Kids Discover. I have a transparency with four
columns labeled Word, Inferred Meaning,Text Clues, and Sentence.
write what I infer the word means in the second column. In the third column, I
will write down what clues helped me infer the meaning of the word. When I
have a solid idea of what the word means, I will write a brief sentence using the
word in the fourth column. One of the reasons we write the word in a sentence
is that if we can do that, we probably understand its meaning.Writing the word
in a sentence demonstrates our understanding. Lets see what we can infer. First
Ill model, and then you will have a chance. Let me read a couple of paragraphs.

unfamiliar words and to use a form
to help kids understand and
Iceberg! Right Ahead!

By the time these words range out on the RMS Titanic, it was too late. The warning came
at 11:40 p.m. on the clear, cold night of April 14, 1912, in the icy seas of the North Atlantic.
Within 40 seconds, the ships starboard (right) side was raked below the waterline by the
submerged spur of an iceberg. Less than three hours later, the Titanic sunk beneath the
water. At least 1,523 of its roughly 2,228 passengers and crew were dead or dying.
Had the Titanic missed the iceberg that Sunday, it may have simply been remembered
as one of the largest, most luxurious ocean liners of its time. Yet so much went wrong
that the Titanic has become a symbol for disaster. The great ships story is a drama
with a little of everything: heroism and fear, humility and arrogance, wealth and
poverty, life and death.
Wow, so sad. If only it had missed that iceberg, this terrible tragedy would
have been averted. In the next few days, we are going to use the Titanic story to
get into themes, which will be really interesting for you. But before we focus
on the big ideas, I thought we had better practice how to infer the meaning of
words so that we dont get hung up on them.
As I read this last sentence, I see a word I am not quite sure about, humility,
so I need to consider clues to help me infer the meaning.The first thing I notice
is that the writer has paired some words together in that sentenceheroism
and fear, wealth and poverty, life and death, humility and arrogance. I know the
meaning of most of these words.And I know that wealth and poverty and life and
death are opposites.
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Thinking back to our equation, BK+TC=I, Im going to try to use my background knowledge and merge it with text clues to infer the meaning of the word
humility. I know the meaning of the word arrogance. People who
are arrogant are full of self-importance. They seem to think they
are better than other people. So I can infer what humility is by considering that it is the opposite of arrogance. People with humility
probably dont think they are better than other people. Someone
with humility is humble. Is this making some sense? Can you see
how I inferred the meaning of the word humility by using the context of the sentence? Turn to each other and talk about that.
OK, I am going to try to fill in this form up here on the overhead. I will write humility in the first column. In the second
column under Inferred Meaning I will write being humble.
Someone who is humble is not full of self-importance. In the third
column under Text Clues, I can write the opposite of arrogance
because by using context I can infer that humility is the opposite of
arrogance since the other pairs of words were opposites. And now Ill try a sentence. She accepted the award with humility and grace. I wrote that because
when someone who is humble is honored, they probably wouldnt brag about it
and act like theyre hot stuff. Is this making some sense? Good, lets move on.
GUIDE
Lets try the next page. Ill read the title.Building a Colossus. Hmmm, theres
a big word, colossus. Skim the text and the pictures and then turn to each other
and talk about what you infer it means.
Any ideas? Clark?
Clark: It means humongous.
Good thinking. Do you all agree? What clues did you use to infer that colossus
meant humongous?
Clark: I looked at the picture of those huge propellers next to the people. They were giantsized and I got a good idea of how huge the Titanic really was.
Jeanine: The diagram on the bottom of the page showed how much bigger the Titanic was
than other ships.

meaning.
20
You were able to infer the meaning of colossus without even reading.You used
the features as clues to help you infer the meaning of the word. Remember
when we used text features to help guide our reading earlier? Well, we can infer
from text features as well as text words.The features in nonfiction help us visualize and understand information better. These images, the propellers and the
diagram, help create a picture in your mind of the humungous size of the
Titanic.The features in nonfiction often use comparison to help us visualize size
or shape. Visualizing like this helps us to infer meaning. Visualizing is inferring
from the picture in your mind. Such good thinking. Lets all remember to use
visualizing to help us infer.
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OK, now as I fill in the form on the overhead, you

can fill in the form on your clipboard. Ill write the
word colossus in the first column. What should we
write in the Inferred Meaning column?
Gavin: That it means huge.
Thats right, and we could write any synonym for

huge. You already shared some others, like humongous and giant-sized. Ill write giant because colossus is actually a noun. Colossal is the adjective. Write
the synonym in the second column. Now for the third
column.What did we use for context clues?
Jeanine: We used the photograph and the diagram.
We visualized.
Thats right. We used visualizing to infer. So I can

put used features in that column. And you could jot down the exact features
that helped you infer.
Now turn to a partner and try to come up with a sentence about the Titanic
using the word colossus, and then well share some of your sentences. [Kids work
together to come up with a sentence and then share some out.]
Your sentences sounded great. Ill write one of them on my form, and you
can write the same sentence or come up with one of your own for the sentence
column. [I write a sentence on the overhead as they write one of their own or copy mine.]
Look, our lesson today was on words and how you infer the meaning of unfamiliar words. There are few things that literacy lovers care more about than
words. I am a wordsmith, a person who loves words.The more words we know,
care about and can use, the better our life goes. So we need to take care of our
words and learn more of them.
You guys know what a zookeeper is, right? Well, just as a zookeeper cares for
animals and loves them,Word Keepers love words and care tremendously about
them. From now on, I am going to give words away to you.When you take that
word, you become its keeper and take care of that word just like a zookeeper
takes care of animals.
So who would like to be the Word Keeper for colossus? I will write it on a
Post-it and give it to you, and then you are responsible to keep track of the
meaning of the word.
Okay, Sadie, what does colossus mean?
Sadie: Gigantic, huge.
Good thinking. Does it mean gigantic or giant? In other words, is it a noun or

an adjective?
Sadie: Its a noun, so I guess it means giant.
Exactly. So I will give you this Post-it with the word on it. And now you are
responsible to remember the meaning of the word colossus. You are the Word
Keeper for colossus. You need to remember the meaning first and foremost,
because the meaning is the most important aspect of a word. But since you are

Word Keepers.
Having Word Keepers in your classroom is

a great way to get kids fired up about
words and to help them learn more.We
keep a pack of 3x3 Post-its in our pocket
to give away words to kids.We expect
them to be responsible for the meaning,
the spelling, and the part of speech. Early
in the year, we give them words that we
use again and again in active literacy.We
give them the strategic cluster words such
as Background Knowledge, Inference, and
Synthesize. In content topic studies, we
give them words that are related to the
content.As we read literature, we give
them unfamiliar words in the story. Often
we reserve wall space for the words and
kids put their Post-its of the words on the
Word Keeper wall so they are visible for
all to see. Kids learn the words they keep,
but they also learn many of the words
other kids are keeping.This is a terrific
way to grow vocabulary.
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the Word Keeper, you are also responsible for the spelling and for knowing the
part of speech, too. Word Keepers are great lovers of words so they want to
know them inside out!
So, if any of you forget the meaning of colossus or anything else about the
word, you can check with Sadie because she is the Word Keeper for colossus. I
will continue to give words away every day until everyone in the room is keeping some words for the rest of us.Thanks, you guys.
Kids Discover is such a cool magazine. I am going to hand each of you a page or
two of the article to read, talk about, and practice in pairs the strategy we just
learnedusing context clues to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words.
OK, take a minute to peruse your article. What do you think it means to
peruse?
Henry: To read it over. To examine it.
Good thinking! I love the word peruse because it is a word that has to do with
reading, a literacy word. I love that! Henry, how would you like to be the Word
Keeper for peruse?
Henry: OK.
I will write it on this Post-it and give it to you. What does it mean again,
Henry?
Henry: To look over the text.
Exactly. And what part of speech is it?

Henry: I think its a verb.
Give away another word to help

kids get used to the idea of what
it means to be a Word Keeper.
22
It sure is. Ill jot the part of speech on the Post-it, too. And take a good look
at it tonight, because you never know, I may just ask you how to spell it tomorrow since you are the Word Keeper.
So if any of you need help remembering anything about the word peruse,
Henry will be taking care of that word.Thanks, Henry.
If, while you are perusing the article, you come to a word that you are not
sure about, you can add it to the form. Dont forget to think about our equation
BK+TC=I. It helps to talk to each other about the unfamiliar word. Jot down
your inference and remember to write down the clues that helped you figure out
the meaning, as well as a sentence to demonstrate that you understand the word.
As you can see, there is a lot to read in Kids Discoverlots of features and
captions. Remember that you can visualize from the features to help you infer
meaning.You can read many parts of the page.You dont even have to read in
order, for that matter, because it is chock-full of information. While you are
reading, see if you can find at least two words that you didnt know before but
can infer by using context. Go ahead. [Kids spend about 15 minutes reading
through the article in pairs as I move about and listen in on their conversations.]
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SHARE THE LEARNING

Finish up your reading, writing, and thinking and come on up to the sharing
circle.
You can share a word or concept that you didnt understand and then share
how you inferred the meaning. Share a sentence you wrote, too. And of course
you are always free to share some interesting content after you give a word.
[Kids volunteer to share.They hold up their forms and share some words they werent
sure of and talk about how they used the context to infer the meaning.They also share
sentences they wrote with their partners, and they comment on the content as well since
they are all quite fired up about the Titanic.]
We are going to keep working on inferring for the next week or two.
Tomorrow we are going to continue inferring with the Titanic.The Titanic lends
itself to practicing inferring because there are so many unanswered questions
about it.We have to infer the answers.
In the meantime, I am going to give each of you another copy of this vocabulary form to keep with you when you read on your own.You can use it to keep
track of and figure out unfamiliar words. If on occasion you discover that you
really cant infer the meaning, ask someone what the word means. That can
often help. And when all else fails, you can always use a dictionary, of course,
but inferring is much more efficient and thoughtful. Right now Ill collect your
forms and take a look at them. Great job, you guys.Thanks so much.
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reflection&
assessment
DID YOUR STUDENTS :
merge their background knowledge with text

clues to make an inference (BK+TC=I)?
unfamiliar words?
demonstrate understanding?
In assessing student work from this lesson, we check for several things.
We review the four-column forms to see:
if they made reasonable inferences about word meaning.
if they considered the clues that led them to infer the meaning.
if they wrote sentences that demonstrated understanding.
We also assess our students understanding by listening to their discussions throughout this
lesson and throughout the sharing piece.
1 Taylor was able to infer the meaning and
describe the clues that helped in each unfamiliar

word that he came across. He even noted in the
Text Clues column that the word hypothermia
was actually defined in the story. Each of his sentences demonstrates a clear understanding of
the words.
2 Kayleigh also was able to infer the meaning of
the unfamiliar words she came across (facing

page). She found helpful clues to lead her to infer
their meaningsthe overstuffed chairs and
thick carpets for opulent, and the pictures of the
rooms as well as the text description to understand the word accommodations. Her sentences
demonstrated terrific understanding. Although
she has written a very thoughtful sentence and
definition for society, this was not the precise
meaning of the word in the text. Kayleigh was
relying on her background knowledge of the
word society, and she showed a good understanding of the most common definition of the
word. In this case, however, the text was referring
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to the notion of high society, wealth, and position. Multiple meanings throw up barriers to
cracking unfamiliar vocabulary, which is one
reason we need to teach the strategy of inferring
meaning in context. I would point out to
Kayleigh that she has a great definition of society
in general. But I would take her back to the text
to show her another meaning of the word as it is
used in the text.
3 Jane did an excellent job of using inferential
thinking and context clues to figure out the

meaning of words. She provided solid evidence
for her definitions in the Text Clues column and
mentioned that she read on to better understand the meaning of the word opulent. She got
the accurate meaning of the word society as it is
used in the text, but then her sentence reflected
the more common, general meaning of the
word. This is not surprising, as multiple meanings trip readers up.
In fact, many kids had trouble with the definition

of society used in the text. So this provides
a great teaching opportunity. I would begin the
next days lesson with a review of some of the
words, and I would include a discussion of the
word society and talk about the multiple meanings of the word, noting how it is used in the
text as well as the more common definition.
I would then focus the general discussion on
multiple meanings to help kids become more
aware of these.
reflection & assessment
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Lesson 10
THE
OF UNFAMILIAR
Teaching Moves
CONNECT
&
Use context clues

Teaching Language
ENGAGE
Explain inferring.
Does anyone know what it means to infer? Turn and talk about that.
own thinking to come up with an idea that the author hasnt actually written.
We infer to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words.Today, I will model
how I infer the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary and how I use context clues
to crack the words.
Teach an equation for inferring

to make inferring concrete and to
Let me show you a literacy equation to help you infer! To infer the meaning
of a word or phrase, we think about what we already know and merge our
background knowledge with clues in the text. BK+TC=I.
If our inference doesnt seem reasonable, we can gather more clues and more
information. If we ignore the clues in the text, we are really just guessing. And
we cant forget to check our background knowledge, because if it doesnt
make sense, it might be because our BK is off the mark.

words in context.
MODEL
unfamiliar words and to use a form
to help kids understand and
I am going to model for you how I infer the meanings of words as I read
some of this article. I have a form on the overhead with four columns labeled
Word, Inferred Meaning,Text Clues, and Sentence.
write what I infer the word means in the second column. In the third
column, I will write down what helped me infer the meaning.When I have a
firm idea of what the word means, I will write a brief sentence using the
word in the fourth column.
One of the reasons we write the word in a sentence is that if we can do that,
we probably understand its meaning.
Thinking back to our equation, BK+TC=I, I will use my background knowledge and merge it with text clues to infer the meaning of the word.
Can you see how I used the context of the sentence to find clues to the
meaning of the word? Turn to each other and talk about that.
GUIDE
Lets try the next page. Ill read the title. Hmmm, theres a big word.Turn
to each other and talk about what you infer it means. Any ideas?

meaning.
The features in nonfiction help us visualize and understand information

better.Visualizing is inferring from the picture in your mind.Visualizing
helps us infer meaning.
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Teaching Language
Teaching Moves
GUIDE
OK, now as I fill in the form on the overhead, you can fill in the form on
your clipboard.What should we write in the Inferred Meaning column?
Write the synonym you inferred in the second column.
Now for the third column.What did we use for context clues?
OK, now turn to a partner and try to come up with a sentence about the
topic using the new word, and then well share some of your sentences.

Word Keepers love words and care tremendously about them. From now on,
I am going to give words away to you.You become the keeper of that word
the Word Keeperand you take care of and love that word just like a
zookeeper takes care of and loves animals.

Word Keepers.
I am going to hand each of you a page or two of an article to read, talk about,
and practice the strategy we just learned, using context clues to infer the
meaning of unfamiliar words.
OK, take a minute to peruse your article.What does it mean to peruse?
I love the word peruse because it is a word that has to do with reading, a literacy word. I love that! Who wants to be the Word Keeper for peruse?

After you have perused the article, you can begin reading sections to each
other.When you come to a word that you are not sure about, you can add it
to the form. Dont forget to think about our equation BK+TC=I.
Give away another word to help

kids get used to the idea of what
it means to be a Word Keeper.
SHARE THE LEARNING
OK, finish up your reading, writing, and thinking and come on up to the
sharing circle.You can share a word or concept that you didnt understand
and then describe how you inferred the meaning. Share a sentence you
wrote, too. And of course you are always free to share some interesting content as well, as long as you come up with a word first, OK?
Now I am going to give each of you this blank vocabulary form to keep with you
when you read on your own.You can keep this as an ongoing support to keep
track of and figure out unfamiliar words. Great job, you guys.Thanks so much.
DID YOUR STUDENTS :
merge their background knowledge with text clues to make an inference (BK+TC=I)?
use the context to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words?
reflection&
assessment

use new vocabulary in a sentence to demonstrate understanding?
guide
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Infer Meaning
Strategy Wrap-up:
Creating an Anchor Chart to Capture
What We Learned about Inferring Meaning
Teaching Language
Now that we have done some lessons on inferring when we read, lets take a
look back at what we have learned.We can co-construct an Anchor Chart about
this strategy that will serve as a visual reminder and help us to infer. The
Inferring Anchor Chart can help guide us as we continue thinking about how to
use inferring to help us understand what we read.
Ill begin by sharing something important that I do when I infer and I will
record it on the chart. When I read, I think about what I know and merge it
with text clues to draw a reasonable conclusion, to make an inference.While I
am jotting this down on the chart, turn to each other and talk about something
you have learned about inferring that is important to think about when we
read. Be sure say it in a way that makes sense to you.
[Kids turn and talk.]
Lets share some of your thoughts. [We want to capture kids comments that show
their understanding of the strategy as well as our lesson language to guide future teaching and learning.]
What We Learned
about Inferring
We think about what we know and merge
it with text clues to draw a reasonable
conclusion.
We tie our predictions and inferences to
evidence in the text.
We use the context to infer the meaning
of unfamiliar words.
We use the text clues to infer the
answers to unanswered questions.
We use text evidence to infer themes and
big ideas in the text.
We use our background knowledge and text
clues to infer the meaning of features
such as subheads and titles.
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Assessment Checklist for Infer Meaning

These are questions we have asked our students, but you can adapt them to fit your own
students unique needs.
Expectations for
student thinking
and learning
Use the context to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words and concepts
Merge background knowledge with text clues to draw a reasonable conclusion
Infer to interpret the deeper meaning of language
Use background knowledge and text clues to infer the meaning of subheads, titles,
and features
Infer the answers to unanswered questions
Infer to surface big ideas and themes supported by evidence from the text
Use inferential thinking to read critically
Questions
you can ask
yourself to assess
student understanding
Do they use the context to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words and concepts?
Are they using their background knowledge and merging it with text clues to draw
conclusions?
Do they use the context to interpret the meaning of language?
Are they inferring to understand a variety of text features?
Are they using text evidence to infer answers to questions that are not answered in the text?
Are they surfacing themes and big ideas to arrive at a deeper understanding?
Questions
students can
ask themselves
Did I infer to figure out the meaning of new words?

Did I think about what I knew and merge it with the information?
Did I find evidence in the text to support my inference?
Did I read between the lines to get at deeper meaning?
Did I use the text features to infer what the text was about?
Did I use text clues to infer the answers to questions when I couldn't find the answer
in the text?
Did I infer the themes from evidence and clues in the text?
Language of
inferring
Im thinking that . . .
This information makes me think . . .
Maybe . . .
Maybe it means . . .
It seems to me . . .
Perhaps . . .
Probably . . .
Thats probably why . . . what . . . how . . .
From the text clues, I can conclude . . .
The evidence suggests
Strategy Cluster 4: Infer Meaning
69
29
70
30
Uses text evidence to infer

big ideas and themes
Uses text evidence to infer

the answers to questions
Uses inferring/visualizing
to gain meaning from text
features and visuals
Some Evidence 2
Little Evidence 1
9:38 PM
Uses inferring to interpret

the deeper meaning of
language
Strong Evidence 3
Date
4/23/06
Merges background knowledge with text clues to

draw conclusions
Uses the context to infer

the meaning of unfamiliar
words and concepts
Oral and/or Written Evidence
Name
Annotated Rubric for Strategy Cluster 4:

Infer Meaning
Page 70
2005 by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis from The Comprehension Toolkit
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. This page may be photocopied for classroom use only.
4/23/06
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Date______________________________
Word
Inferred Meaning
Clues
Sentence
Name ____________________________________________________
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31
informational text
The Source Book of Short Text is a collection of exemplary nonfiction texts
that support or extend each Toolkit lesson. The Source Book provides two
kinds of text: Lesson Text and Nonfiction Short Text.
Sections
Lesson Text
Nonfiction Short Text
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2005 by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis from The Comprehension Toolkit (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann). This page may be reproduced for classroom use only.
5/19/05
7:50 PM
54
Lesson text
Page 79
Lesson 20: Can Kids Stop Kids from Smoking (1 of 1)
Many Toolkit lessons are drawn from articles found in childrens

magazines such as TIME for Kids, National Geographic Explorer,
and Kids Discover. Lesson Text is a collection of those articles.
Provided in a reproducible format, the 24 articles in this collection
can be easily made into handouts or overhead transparencies.
These articles include:
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
Can Kids Stop Kids from Smoking? in TIME for Kids

Titanic in Kids Discover
Titanic: Past and Present, Part Three from The Titanic
Historical Society website
Mexico in National Geographic Reading Expeditions
Garanas Story: A day in the life of a young Afghan refugee
in National Geographic Explorer
Western Roundup in TIME for Kids
The Maya in Kids Discover
The Comeback Humpbacks in National Geographic for Kids
Used with permission from TIME For Kids Magazine
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5/19/05
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23
Lesson 23: Garanas Story (6 of 6)
79
Lesson Text are provided in a reproducible

format in the Source Book of Short Text
and in full color on the Resources for The
Comprehension Toolkit CD-ROM.
2
64
32
Lesson 22: The Maya (1 of 10)
From National Geographic Explorer, Garanas Story, 2002. Reprinted by permission.
From KIDS DISCOVER MAYA, Copyright 2005 , All rights reserved.From KIDS DISCOVER MAYA, Copyright 2005 , All rights reserved.
3
Lesson 22: The Maya (2 of 10)
Whole-Group Instruction: Informational Text
65
TK_Sourcebook_Shorts.qxp
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
The Greenhouse Effect
The First Olympics

Navajo Code Talkers
Hurricane Hunters
Your Circulatory System
The History of Photography
The Tour de France
The Life of Frida Kahlo
How Computers Work
The Greenhouse Effect
The atmosphere absorbs some of this

heat and warms up. If it werent for our
atmosphere, the Earth would be almost
50 degrees Fahrenheit colder than it
is now. This warming is called the
Greenhouse Effect, and we couldnt
live on the Earth without it.
The Role of Gases
The atmosphere is made up of a

mixture of different gases; its about
three quarters nitrogen and one quarter
oxygen. Oxygen and nitrogen, however,
arent very good at absorbing heat. Most
of the heat absorbed by the atmosphere
is collected by small amounts of other
gases such as methane, nitrous oxide,
and above all, carbon dioxide. These
atmosphere, but they can also be produced by factories, cars, and coal-burning power plants. Over the past century
humans have been creating more and
more greenhouse gases as the number
of cars and factories increases, and
many scientists are worried that these
man made gases may absorb even
96more heat and warm the Earth to record
levels. This is called the Enhanced
Greenhouse Effect and its result is whats
known as global warming.
Adapting to global warming will be
difficult, and many people are working
to find ways to cut back on the amount
of greenhouse gases that we are putting
into our atmosphere.
World War II Navajo Code Talker
Navajo Code Talkers
Page 132
By the time The United States

entered World War II in 1941, Native
Americans had been forced onto
tracts of land called reservations.
Indian children who went to school
had long ago been forbidden from
speaking their native languages
and forced to use English.
But one of those very same forbidden languages would become
If youve ever been inside
6%
a key to the United
States success
of a greenhouse, your first
scattered from
in the Pacific atmosphere
theater of World War
words were probably, Wow,
its hot in here! A greenII. The Japanese were intercepting
house is built of glass and it
and translating English messages,
heats up because lots of sunmaking strategy difficult. The U.S.
light gets in, warming the
19%
military
needed a code that the
ground and plants inside.
absorbed by atmosphere
Japanese did not know.
However, the warm air has
The language of the Navajo
no way to escape. Its similar
21%
to a car thats been parked
became that code. Navajo was
4%
scattered
by clouds
in the sun for hours with the
perfect
for several
reasons: 1) at the
reflected
51%
windows closedthe temtime there were by
nosurface
Navajo living
absorbed by earth
perature rises because the
outside the United States who could
heat has no way to get out.
Light from the sun heats up the
Earth
and
surrounding
become translators for the enemy;
Help from the
atmosphere.
2) the Navajo language had not yet
Atmosphere
been studied
by are
linguists;
gases are unusual
in that they
trans- 3) Navajo
The planet Earth is surrounded by our
parent to solar
butcomplex
absorb heat
is aenergy,
unique,
language;
atmosphere, which traps heat in a way
energy. Therefore,
they is
dont
blockto
outpronounce;
similar to a greenhouse. The sun radiates
4) Navajo
difficult
light from the
sun,
but
they
catch
the
energy, in the form of light, that passes
and 5) Navajo did not have a
heat as its radiated back by the earth
right through our atmosphere and heats
written dictionary.
and keep it in the atmosphere. They are
up the Earths surface. Much of the suns
Young
Navajo men were
called greenhouse
gases.
energy is absorbed by land, oceans,
recruited as Marine Corps Radio
trees, and other plants. The earth also
Outside Influences
Operators.
Theirgreenwork was considradiates some energy back into space,
Carbon dioxide
and other
many
to of
have
but in the form of heat instead of light.
house gasesered
are aby
natural
part
our been the
To help teachers build a library of engaging, ageappropriate nonfiction text, the Source Book of
Short Text also provides Nonfiction Short Text, a
text pack of 43 short informational essays specially
written for the Toolkit. Organized thematically and
by reading challenge, Short Text cover a range of
topics including:
n
3:59 PM
Page 96
key to the U.S. success in many

World War II battles. But since
the Code Talkers were sworn to
secrecy, when they came home
at the end of the war no one knew
what they had done and they
could not talk about it.
Finally, in 2000, they were
awarded the Congressional Gold
Medals from the U.S. Congress. The
Code Talkers were credited with
saving countless lives and winning
many battles. The Navajo code
became one of the most important
and most successful military codes
ever used.
Nonfiction Short Text
5/20/05
3:58 PM
Special Collectors Dept., J. Willard Marriott Library,

University of Utah
5/20/05
If kids are not reading engaging, interesting, thought-provoking text, why

bother? We need to provide kids opportunities to read text worth thinking
about. Students need a steady diet of texts that present a variety of
perspectives, opinions, and interpretations.
132
The Comprehension Toolkit Trade Book Pack

The Trade Book Pack contains the seven engaging trade books
referenced in the Toolkit lessons.
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
How Many Days to America? by Eve Bunting

Cheyenne Again by Eve Bunting
Lightning (Nature in Action) by Stephen Kramer
Now Let Me Fly by Dolores Johnson
The Mary Celeste: An Unsolved Mystery from History by Jane Yolen
The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles
The Top of the World: Climbing Mount Everest by Steve Jenkins
Because these popular books may already be owned, and because some
teachers may want to purchase class sets, these books are available as
an optional purchase. See the back cover for more details.
33
4/25/06
8:04 PM
Page 20
2
20
34
Lesson 10: Titanic (1 of 12)
From Kids Discover Titanic, 2005. All rights reserved.
8:04 PM
These dynamic4/25/06
informational
texts
can be projected or used as handouts
during whole-group instruction.
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Lesson 11: Titanic reproduction tickets (1 of 1)
RMS Titanic, Inc. All rights reserved.
5/19/05
7:47 PM
Page 33
TITANIC
Past and Present
by Edward S. Kamuda
Additional text and editing by Karen Kamuda, Paul Louden-Brown
While passengers and crew were having
aware of the danger from ice. On Friday he had
lunch, wireless operators, John George Jack
received ice warnings from the French Line vessel
Phillips and Harold Bride, were busy catching up
La Touraine and on Saturday Furness, Withy &
on a backlog of passenger messages. The previ-
Companys steamer Rappahannock reported
ous evening the wireless set had broken down
having passed through heavy field ice.
and not until early Sunday morning were the
Titanic steamed on and had passed this area
two men able to send or receive messages.
without spotting any ice but messages from
Wireless telegraphy was fairly new, and many
Baltic and the Cunard liner Caronia indicated
ships had none. Bride and Phillips worked for
that ice would continue to pose a threat during
the Marconi Company who installed the sets on
the voyage. Smith altered course steaming six-
ships as a franchise, encouraging people to use
teen miles further south before making the turn,
the new technology to send messages back to
at the so-called corner and headed due west
land. Operators were paid per message. Until
towards the Nantucket Lightship.
the miracle of wireless telegraphy, when a ship
From the German steamer Amerika wireless
was at sea for weeks there was virtually no
operator Otto Reuter sent at 1:45 PM: Amerika
communication until she landed.
passed two large icebergs in 41 degrees 27 N., 50
At 1:40 pm the operators working routine

was disturbed by an incoming message from
degrees 8 W., on the 14th April.

Previous messages had been promptly deliv-
the White Star liner Baltic: Captain Smith,
ered to the bridge but this one never got there.
Titanic. Have had moderate variable winds and
Titanics wireless unexpectedly went dead and
clear fine weather since leaving. Greek steamer
Phillips, busy trouble shooting, shoved aside
Athinai reports passing icebergs and large
probably the most critical ice warning. (This
quantities of field ice today in latitude 41.51 N.
important document is in the Titanic Museum,
longitude 49.11 W...Wish you and Titanic all suc-
Titanic Historical Society collection). By early
cess. Commander. This particular message was
evening, Phillips finally got the set operating.
handed directly to Captain Smith, who, instead
Approaching the iceberg danger zone, Titanic
of posting it in the chart room, gave it to Bruce
remained on course, her powerful quadruple-
Ismay who casually put it in his pocket. Later in
expansion engines and single low pressure tur-
the day Smith asked for it back. Smith was very
bine drove the liner smoothly through the water
2002. All rights reserved. Titanic Historical Society, Inc.
Lesson 11: Titanic Web Article (1 of 3)
33
47
5/19/05
7:47 PM
Page 34
at a moderate 22.5 knots. The temperature was
relieved Lightoller. The two men chatted briefly
falling fast and by 8:55 PM it was only one
about the falling temperature, now down to 32
degree above freezing. Second Officer Charles
degrees and the emphatic reminder to the look-
Lightoller sent word to the ships carpenter
outs to be on their toes for any signs of ice-
John Hutchinson to see that the fresh water
bergs. Lightoller then went below leaving
supply did not freeze. Soon afterwards Captain
Murdoch to the darkness and freezing night air.
Smith entered the bridge and together with

Lightoller discussed the conditions.
They noted the lack of wind and the unruf-
room. In the main dining saloon, stewards
Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee had been told
preparing for Monday morning breakfast, care-
to keep a sharp eye peeled for small ice and
fully arranged gleaming silverplate and fine
growlers.
china edged in 22k gold on immaculate damask
The night was crystal clear; there was no
linen. As her passengers slept or relaxed, Titanic
moon and the sky was filled with stars. The sea
in a blaze of light from her sidelights illuminat-
looked as smooth as plate glass, paradoxically, a
ing the ambient darkness, forged steadily
disadvantage for the lookouts. Without waves
ahead, speed unabated, a white wave of foam
breaking around an icebergs base leaving a
curling around her bow. The clock on the first
wake, it would be hard to spot without reflec-
class grand staircase decorated with a carved
tive moonlight, especially if a berg was showing
panel of two classical figures representing
its dark side.
Honor and Glory crowning Time showed
Having assured himself that all was well,
11:40 PM
A few moments later Fleet in the crows nest
instruction If in the slightest degree doubtful,
began to make out what was at first, a small,
let me know. Lightoller continued to peer into
irregular black object directly in their path.
the darkness. Out beyond the ships bow lay an
There is ice ahead he said to Lee, the other
inky, black expanse of water.
lookout, as he instinctively rang the crows nest
Phillips, the senior operator was interrupted

by a message from the Atlantic Transport Line
steamer Mesaba. The message read: Ice report.
bell three times indicating to the bridge that

something lay directly ahead.
Sixth Officer James Moody answered the
In latitude 42 north to 41.25 north, longitude
telephone; What did you see? Iceberg, right
49 west to longitude 50.3 west. Saw much
ahead! shouted Fleet. Without emotion in his
heavy pack ice and great number large ice-
voice Moody said Thank you. replaced the
bergs, also field ice. Weather good, clear.
receiver and called loudly to Murdoch Iceberg,
Phillips replied: Received, thanks. Mesabas
right ahead. By now the First Officer had
wireless operator waited to hear that the mes-
already seen the iceberg and rushed to the
sage had been relayed to the captain and sent
engine room telegraph moving the handles to
two words: Stand by. Instead Phillips contin-
Stop then Full Speed Astern and immedi-
ued sending the backlog of passenger messages
ately ordered hard a starboard. Moody stand-
to Cape Race. Another ice warning that was
ing behind the helmsman, Quartermaster
never delivered to the bridge.
Robert Hitchens, replied, hard a starboard. The
At ten oclock, First Officer William Murdoch
48
around a card table in the first class smoking
fled sea. Up in the crows nest lookouts
Captain Smith retired for the night, with the
34
By 11:30 PM most passengers had gone to

bed, but a few night owls were gathered
helm is hard over, sir.
5/19/05
7:47 PM
Page 35
flooding uncontrollably. The flooding in boiler

room number 5 was controlled by the engine
intended to order hard a port to bring the
room pumps, but the sheer weight of water, in
stern away from the iceberg but it was too late;
the first five compartments, drew the liners
she struck. And as the iceberg glided by, break-
bow down, pulling her head lower and lower.
ing iron rivet heads fastening the steel shell
A critical design flaw her watertight compart-
plates causing massive leakage below the
ments which did not reach high enough,
waterline, tons of ice fell onto the focsle and
allowed water to flow from one compartment
well deck. Murdoch closed the electric switch
into another like liquid flowing in an ice cube
controlling the watertight doors. Deep inside
tray. That Titanic would founder was a mathe-
the ships alarm bells rang as the massive water-
matical certainty. The only question was when?
tight doors sealed each of the liners sixteen
Andrews estimated another hour. The recent
compartments.
theory put forward that Titanic sank principally
baker. We were working on the fifth deck

1, 2, 3 holds and number 6 boiler room were
her helm and began to turn to port. Murdoch
Walter Belford was Titanics night chief

amidships baking for the next day. There was a
due to poor grade steel or brittle steel is not

only untrue, it is also a moot point.
At first there was an understandable reluc-
shudder all through the ship about 11:40 PM
tance from some passengers in first and second
The provisions came tumbling down and the
class when stewards ordered them to put on
oven doors came open.
their lifejackets and go up on deck. To leave the
Captain Smith rushed onto the bridge;
warmth and safety of their stateroom at mid-
What have we struck? he asked. An iceberg,
night when all was quiet and nothing seem-
sir, replied Murdoch. Then the First Officer
ingly alarming happening didnt make sense. In
explained what he had done.
third class it was a different story, a complicat-
After receiving an initial report that no
ing factor was United States Immigration regu-
damage was found, Smith ordered the carpen-
lations which required gates on immigrant ships
ter to go down and sound the ship. When he
(Titanic was officially listed as an Emigrant Ship)
returned he had bad news that Titanic was
to separate steerage (third class). Stewards had
taking on water. Soon passengers began notic-
difficulty with language and perhaps fearing a
ing the lack of vibration from the engines and
stampede for the lifeboats, some stewards kept
worried about the impact from the collision.
passengers below until they received word for
J. Bruce Ismay, in his suite on B-deck, was
The 46,000-ton liner seemed to take a prolonged length of time, gradually responding to
them to be allowed on deck.
awakened by scraping noises. He quickly put on

an coat over his pajamas, made his way to the
bridge and asked Smith Do you think the ship
2001-2004 The Titanic Historical

Society, Inc
is seriously damaged? Smith replied, I am

afraid she is.
Thomas Andrews had gone below and gave
his assessment of the damage to Smith. In less
than 10 seconds Titanics first six watertight
compartments had been opened to the sea by
www.titanichistoricalsociety.org &
www.titanic1.org
THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE TITANIC HISTORICAL
SOCIETY, INC.
the iceberg. The first five; the forepeak, number
35
49
5/20/05
3:58 PM
Page 91
The Source Book

OF SHORT TEXT
Short Text Titles
and Reading Level Designations

Ancient History
Music
American History
Visual Art
* The First Olympics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92

** Buried Alive! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
* The Great Depression: Mired
in Poverty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
** Riding the Rails to Hope . . . . . . . . . . .95
* Navajo Code Talkers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
** Japanese-American Internment . . . .97
* The Passion of Cesar Chavez . . . . . . .98
** Boycott for Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
Advertising
* The Case Against Soda . . . . . . . . . . .100

** Influential Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . .101
Economics
* How Much Is Enough? . . . . . . . . . . .102

** The Money Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Aliens
* Alien Cover-Up? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104

** Seeing Aliens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
Magic
* Magic Women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106

** A Master Magician . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
Animals: Horses
* A Beloved Loser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108

** Horse Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109
Animals: Pets
* A Pet Iguana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110

** The Popularity of Pets . . . . . . . . . . . .111
* Gypsy Musician . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120

** Music with a Cause . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121
* The History of Photography . . . . . . .122
** Flemish Painters: Artistic Survivors .123
Sports/Bike Racing
* The Tour de France . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124

** Racing for Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
Biographies
* Oscar Schindler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126

* The Importance of Hard Work . . . . .127
** On the Wings of a Dream . . . . . . . . .128
** The Life of Frida Kahlo . . . . . . . . . . . .129
More challenging topics
*** September 11, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . .130

*** How Computers Work . . . . . . . . . . . .131
*** The Greenhouse Effect . . . . . . . . . . .132
*** Ozone Hole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133
*** The Textile Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134
KEY:
* Most Accessible text

** More Challenging Text
*** Most Challenging TextGood selections for
teachers to model their own reading process and
for readers who want and need more of a challenge.
Insects
* Making Honey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112

** The Super Ant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
Extreme Weather
* Naming Hurricanes . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114

** Hurricane Hunters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Natural Wonders
* Real Giants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116

** The Power of Niagara Falls . . . . . . .117
Blood
* Whats Your Type? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118

** Your Circulatory System . . . . . . . . . .119
The Source Book of Short Text
50
91
5/20/05 3:58 PM Page

These short
texts let you and
your students practice the strategy with
texts of your own choosing.
92
The Olympic torch burns during each Olympics
swimming, and weightlifting were

added. These were the first modern
Olympics.
The Olympics continue today,
summer and winter, every four
years, in different countries around
the world. They still combine the
traditions of the ancient games, like
the proud march into the stadium,
but have incorporated traditions
established during the modern
games, like awarding medals
to the winners.
The Olympics we know include

many athletic eventsbasketball,
swimming, sprinting, skating, and
javelin throwing to name just a few.
Athletes compete from all over the
world.
But what if the Olympics had
just one event and all of the athletes were from one country? Thats
exactly what is was like at the first
ever Olympics, held in Olympia,
Greece, in 776 B.C., more than
2,700 years ago.
The only event was a foot race,
called a stade, and all of the athletes were from Greece. At the
completion of the race cheering
spectators threw flowers, and the
judge placed an olive-branch
wreath on the head of the proud
winner.
For nearly 1,200 years after
these first Olympics, the games
took place every four years. The
period between games was called
an Olympiad. But in 393 A.D.,
Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I
abolished them, along with all
festivals.
Fifteen hundred years passed
before the Olympic games
returned, in 1896. They were still
held in Greece and featured competitors from fourteen countries,
including the United States. New
events such as cycling, fencing,
Getty Images 10183
The First Olympics
92
51
5/20/05
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Page 93
It was August 26 and

the people of Pompeii were
going about their business,
visiting local shops and
doing their chores, when
they suddenly heard loud
rumblings. They looked up
at the massive mountain
that towered over their city
and saw hot waves of volcanic ash pouring down
the mountainside. They
stopped what they were
doing and fled.
The Great Cover-Up
The year was 79 A.D.

and the eruption was
Mount Vesuvius, as it overlooks Pompeii
coming from Mount
Vesuvius, a 4,200-feet high
began the archeological excavations
volcano that today looks down upon the
of the lost city that have continued
city of Naples, Italy. Over the past two
ever since.
thousand years, Vesuvius has erupted
Viewing History
several times, most recently in 1944, but
In the beginning of the excavation,
never was the damage as great as it
valuable
treasures were discovered
was on that summer day in 79 A.D. The
and taken to a museum in Naples. But
city of Pompeii and the nearby town of
as the workers continued to dig, they
Herculaneum were buried under ten feet
discovered that most of the ancient city
of the volcanic ash; only the rooftops of
was still intact. The volcanic ash had
a few buildings remained visible.
preserved the city. Buildings still stood
It is believed that most of the twenty
along streets, swords and armor worn
thousand people of Pompeii escaped the
by gladiators were found, kettles and
wrath of the mighty volcano. Days later,
jars stood in kitchens, bronze tools were
many of the citizens returned to where
found inside shops.
the city once stood. They started digging,
Today, you can tour the lost city
trying to recover their valuables, but the
of
Pompeii,
and much of Herculaneum
task was too difficult, so they gave up.
has also been unearthed and can be
An Amazing Discovery
viewed. The buildings, the streets, and
For centuries Pompeii remained a
even the graffiti on the walls illustrate
lost and forgotten city. Then, in the year
what life was like at the moment
1748, a peasant struck a buried wall
Vesuvius erupted, nearly two thousand
while digging in his vineyard. Thus
years ago.
Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Photochrom Collection,

[reproduction number LC-DIG-ppmsc-06584]
Buried Alive!
93
52
5/20/05
3:58 PM
Page 94
Herbert Hoover was

elected president of the
United States in 1928. In his
victory speech he said, We
in America today are nearer
to the final triumph over
poverty than ever before in
the history of any land. The
poorhouse is vanishing
among us.
Less than a year later,
in October of 1929, the stock
market crashed. Many
people lost their life savings.
Businesses and banks
closed, and people didnt
The Great Depression lasted from 1929 1945
have jobs. Suddenly there
were more poor Americans
as the Dust Bowl. A lot of farmers had
than ever before.
borrowed a lot of money to buy equipThe Great Depression lasted until
ment. Now they couldnt sell their crops
the end of World War II, in 1945almost
and couldnt pay back the money.
seventeen years of national struggle.
It was a hard time that people who
The United States economic depression
lived
through would remember all their
began to affect the entire world. Some
lives.
Members of the Great Depression
feel it helped dictators like Adolf Hitler
generation
often grew up to be frugal,
come to power. People were desperate
hardworking
people who saved their
to have their lives get better.
money
and
distrusted
banks! They would
Day-to-day life was not good. Things
never forget what it was like to be conwere even worse for people in the
stantly hungry and to go without the
middle part of the United States. In 1931
things they needed and wanted.
and 1932 there was a long drought; the
Midwest and the South became known
Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Collection,

[reproduction number LC-USF34-T01-016247-C
The Great Depression: Mired in Poverty
94
53
professional support
In the Teachers Guide, Steph and Anne explain the research and thinking behind
The Comprehension Toolkit. They include an overview of the Toolkits components
and instructional design as well as guidelines for assessing student work.
Sections
What is Comprehension and How Do

We Teach It?
How Do We Create an Active

Literacy Classroom?
What's Inside The Comprehension

Toolkit?
How Do We Plan and Assess with

The Toolkit?
TK_TeachersGuide_v9.qxp
5/22/05
10:40 PM
Page 38
Flexible Sample Schedule for Ten-Week

Nonfiction Genre Study
One Hour to 90 Minutes a Day
WEEK 1 MONITOR COMPREHENSION
Day 1 Lesson 13 Crack Open Features
Day 2 Lesson 2 Notice When You Lose Your Way
Day 2 Lesson 14 Read With a Question in Mind
Day 3 Practice in self-selected text
Day 4 Lesson 3 Read, Write, and Talk

Day 5 Independent Practice as described in Lesson 3
Contents
Whats Inside The Comprehension Toolkit?

n Understanding the Toolkit
n Launching the Toolkit
n Extending the Toolkit
How Do We Plan and Assess With
The Comprehension Toolkit?
n How Does the Toolkit Fit into the School Day?
n A Note About Materials
n How Do We Choose and Use Text?
n What Do We Do About Assessment?
5/22/05
10:39 PM
Day 1 Lesson 4 Follow the Text Signposts
Day 1 Lesson 16 Spotlight New Thinking
Day 2 Lesson 5 Merge Your Thinking With New Learning
Day 3 Lesson 17 Record Important Information
Day 4 Lesson 6 Connect the New to the Known
W E E K 8 D E T E R M I N E I M P O R TA N C E ( C O N T I N U E D )
WEEK 3 ASK QUESTIONS
Day 1 Lesson 19 Determine What to Remember
Day 1 Lesson 7 Question the Text

Day 2 Lesson 8 Read to Discover Answers
Day 4 Lesson 9 Ask Questions to Expand Thinking
WEEK 4 PRACTICE, EXTEND, AND REFLECT

Spend this week giving kids time to read extensively, helping
them use the Toolkit strategies as they read. Form small,
needs-based groups to provide added support and guided
practice. This is a great week to give more developed
readers an opportunity to test their wings with more
challenging text. Likewise, some readers may need more
time and practice to incorporate and use strategies to help
them comprehend. Spend time conferring with individuals to
better assess their reading progress. You might use the
teacher assessment questions in the End-of-Strategy
Assessments to determine individual growth and need.
Finally, this is an excellent time for kids to reflect on their
own learning using the student assessment checklist found
in the End-of-Strategy Assessments.
WEEK 5 INFER MEANING

Day 1 Lesson 10 Infer the Meaning of Unfamiliar Words
Day 2 Lesson 11 Infer With Text Clues
Day 4 Lesson 12 Tackle the Meaning of Language
Day 4 Lesson 18 Target Key Information

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TK_TeachersGuide_v9.qxp
Day 4 Lesson 15 Wrap Your Mind Around Big Ideas
W E E K 7 D E T E R M I N E I M P O R TA N C E
W E E K 2 A C T I VAT E A N D C O N N E C T
What Is Comprehension and How Do We Teach It?

n Definition
n The Principles That Guide Our Work
n How Do We Create an Active Literacy Classroom?
WEEK 6 INFER MEANING (CONTINUED)
Day 1 Lesson 1 Follow Your Inner Conversation

Day 3 Lesson 20 Distinguish Your Thinking From the Author's
Day 4 Lesson 21 Construct Main Ideas from Supporting Details
WEEK 9 SUMMARIZE AND SYNTHESIZE

Day 1 Lesson 22 Read, Think, and React
Day 2 Lesson 23 Think Beyond the Text
Day 4 Lesson 24 Read to Get the Gist
WEEK 10 SUMMARIZE AND SYNTHESIZE (CONTINUED)

Day 1 Lesson 25 Reread and Rethink
Day 3 Lesson 26 Read, Write, and Reflect
Day 4 Practice writing a summary response
Day 5 Practice writing a summary response with a
self-selected text
During the final two practice days of the Toolkit course of study, kids
work on summary responses and practice independently in their
own reading. The teacher confers with kids individually and in small
groups about their progress and the reflection and assessment
questions. This is an excellent time for kids to reflect on their own
Toolkit learning using the Student Assessment checklists found in
the End-of-Strategy Assessments. The teacher keeps track of how
kids are using a variety of comprehension strategies on the Toolkit
rubrics and Master Tracker as well as through informal observation.
Page 10
Whether the Toolkit is implemented as part of your

literacy block or within your subject area curriculum,
a variety of implementation plans suggest alternate
ways to integrate the Toolkit into your day.
The Gradual Release

of Responsibility
TEACHER MODELING
Teacher explains strategy.
Teacher models strategy.
Teacher thinks aloud when reading to show thinking and strategy use.
GUIDED PRACTICE
After explicit modeling, teacher gradually gives students more responsibility for task engagement
and completion.
Teacher and students practice the strategy together in shared reading contexts, reasoning through
the text and co-constructing meaning through discussion and text lifting.
C O L L A B O R AT I V E P R A C T I C E
Students share their thinking process with one another.
Students work in small groups and pairs and reason through text together.
Teacher moves from group to group, checking on how things are going.
INDEPENDENT PRACTICE
After working with teacher and other students, students try practicing the strategy on their own.
Student receives regular feedback from teacher and other students.
A P P L I C AT I O N O F T H E S T R AT E G Y
The student uses the strategy in authentic reading situations.
The student uses the strategy in a variety of different genres, settings, contexts, and disciplines.
(From Fielding and Pearson, 1994, adapted by Harvey and Goudvis 2005)
a common language for literacy

54Create

Creating a common language for understanding and discussing what we
read, write, and think, enables us to reflect on, monitor, question, and
discuss the ways that we process text. When students use a common
language for active literacy across the day, the year, and even the school,
they better understand and learn from one another. We teach the language
of comprehension and strategic thinking. Kids learn what it is to infer, to
The Gradual Release of Responsibility framework

guides instruction and text selection.
Whole-Group Instruction: Professional Support
The Resources for The Comprehension Toolkit CD-ROM is

a start-anywhere, follow-your-own-interests, menu-driven
professional resource; click on the section that you think
youll find most helpful.
Professional Conversation with Dr. P. David Pearson and the Authors

A video conversation with renowned reading researcher, Dr. P. David Pearson, explores the
research and current thinking on how to teach reading comprehension. Related research and
professional articles establishing the Toolkits research base are also provided.
Topics include: The Three Components of Reading Comprehension Instruction n The Gradual
Release of Responsibility n The Role of Text n The Value of Going Public with Thinking n
The Impact of Writing and Talking about Reading n Assessment that Supports Teaching and
Learning
The Active Literacy Classroom

Using slides from demonstration classrooms, Anne and Steph discuss the instructional
practices that promote active literacy.
Topics include: Setting Up a Literate Environment n Creating a Culture of Thinking
n Explicit Instruction and the Gradual Release of Responsibility n Social Interaction:
Co-constructing Meaning n Making Thinking Visible n Exploring Strategies Across the
Curriculum
Comprehension Toolkit Lesson Walkthrough

An animated walkthrough of the three-part lesson will help you make the most of the Toolkits
carefully-crafted instructional design.
Assessment Overview
Steph and Anne explain opportunities for quick assessment embedded in the lessons as well
as demonstrate how to use assessment data to inform instruction.
Topics include: Assessing Evidence of New Learning
Assessing Evidence of Changed Thinking
Printable Resources
In addition to providing all of the lesson-specific forms and thinksheets integrated
throughout the Toolkit in an electronic format, Printable Resources also includes full-color
versions of all of the Lesson Text from the Source Book of Short Text.
55
The Extend and Investigate resource book suggests strategies and

resources for integrating the six Strategy Clusters across the curriculum
and throughout the school year.
Sections
Strategy Extensions
Content Literacy: Social Studies and

Science Reading
Reading Textbooks as a Genre
Reading Tests as a Genre
Bibliographies
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Topic Study
In Action
Science:
Extreme WeatherTornadoes, Blizzards, Hurricanes
The series of lessons in this unit focus on the description, causes, effects, and the
human costs of a variety of different kinds of storms. The concepts and
questions are most appropriate for 3rd and 4th grade students.
Focus Questions
Description:
Describe what it looks like, sounds like, feels like
Where and when do these storms happen?
Content Literacy
What are some amazing facts about____?

What are some surprising experiences people have had?
Causes and Effects:
How does the storm begin?
Social Studies and Science Reading
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What happens in the aftermath?

What are some of the most devastating of these kinds of storms?
What are some of the human costs of extreme weather?
Content Literacy describes a process for reading about and

investigating topics in science and social studies. Readers
need to integrate their knowledge of comprehension
strategies with content to understand and learn from it. To
this end, Content Literacy offers a topic study template for
you to use with your own content units as well as two fullydeveloped samples of content area topic studies:
Topic Study
In Action
Precautions and Safety:

What are some safety tips to remember?
Social Studies:
Westward Expansion and Cultural Encounters
What precautions can people take?
The series of lessons in this social studies unit emphasizes U.S. history
during the 19th century.
I. Build Background Knowledge Through Exploration
Weather Events:
What We Know, Learn,
and Wonder About
Focus Questions
Toolkit Links:
LESSON 5: Merge Your Thinking with New Learning
Why did people leave their homes to move west? When did this happen?
LESSON 6: Connect the New to the Known
what
TextMatters
how
Who went west to build a new life? What was the journey like?
First-person accounts and news articles bring to life experiences with extreme
How did pioneers adapt to and survive in their new homes?
weather, including blizzards, tornadoes, and hurricanes. The you are there
What
were Native American lives like in the 19th Century? What were their
articles and accounts pique kids interest and spur questions. Kids think
about
cultural practices and their relationship with their environment like before
what they know and ask questions.
western expansion?
Newspaper articles about local or extreme weather events
How
did
the Indians view settlers coming to their native lands?
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/wwatch/hurricanes/index.htm
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/wwatch/tornadoes/witnesses.htm
How did the settlers and pioneers view the Indians they encountered?
How didofthe Native American way of life change with western expansion?
Use Post-its or a notebook to respond to first-person or newspaper accounts
an experience with extreme weather. Kids respond to the article, access
background knowledge, jot down new learning, and wonder about the amazing
facts described in the article.
I. Build Background Knowledge Through Exploration
Western Expansion and Cultural Encounters

(Social Studies)
After kids finish reading and responding to the article, they share out
connections, information, and questions in small groups.
Going West:
Interactive Read Alouds
n Extreme Weather: Tornadoes, Blizzards, Hurricanes

(Science)
16
Toolkit Links:
Gather kids together and construct a chart of amazing facts and lingering
LESSON 1: Follow Your Inner Conversation
questions. Or sort the facts and questions from these first-person experiences
Merge Your Thinking with New Learning
LESSON
according to larger categories that relate to the central concepts for
the 5:unit,
such as causes and effects, the human costs of extreme weather, and so on.
what We read historical fiction and nonfiction narratives of what life was like for Native
Americans as settlers and pioneers began moving west. Focus questions might
include: What happened to traditional native culture? How did native peoples cope
with the influence of settlers and their ideas and values? What were their
attitudes and feelings towards those who came to their land and homes?
TextMatters
Historical fiction and narrative nonfiction present a variety of perspectives on

how life changed for Native Americans during the years of western expansion.
Bunting, Eve. 1995. Cheyenne Again. New York, NY: Clarion Books.
Fitzpatrick, Marie-Louise. 1998. The Long March: The Choctaws Gift to Irish
Famine Relief. Hillsboro, OR: Beyond Words Publishing.
Goble, Paul. 1992. Red Hawks Account of Custers Last Battle. Lincoln, NE:
University of Nebraska Press.
Matthei, G. and J. Grutman. 2003. The Ledgerbook of Thomas Blue Eagle.
West Palm Beach, FL: Lickle Publishing.
Providing lessons summaries, anchor charts, and student work, this section models
how to develop an inquiry project and shows how the Toolkits reading strategies come
together in the content areas.
how
We model an interactive read aloud with The Ledgerbook of Thomas Blue Eagle.
It teaches students about what happened to the Plains Indians traditional way
of life when settlers wagons began rolling across the land.
Using Post-its, kids respond with what they learn and what they wonder,
marking an L for what they learning and a Q or ? for wondering. Students share
Post-its and categorize them in response to focus questions.
Sharing responses and questions guides students to ask questions and seek out
additional information. Students then investigate events they have been
introduced to through picture books.
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Strategy Extension 4: Response Options for

Infer Meaning
Text Notes
Codes Code text to record thinking:
I for inference
E for evidence
Strategy Extension 5: Response Options for

Text Notes
Th for theme
BK+TC=I for Background Knowledge + Text Clues = Inference
Post-its
Codes Code text to record thinking:

Aha! for the big idea
Anchor Charts and Forms (2, 3, and 4 Columns)
S for surprising or shocking information

! for exciting or interesting ideas
Form/Chart
Purpose
L for new learning
Evidence from the Text (words,

pictures, actions, ideas)/Theme
To surface themes based on evidence
Post-its
Facts/Inferences
To support an inference with

information from the text
Questions/Inferences
To tie inferred answers to questions
What I Think/Support for My Idea
To provide evidence for conclusions

and/or opinions
Facts /Questions/ Inferences
To record information and

merge thinking with it
Word/Inferred Meaning/Clues/Sentence
To keep track of and understand

new vocabulary
Additional
Response Options
Strategy Extensions
* for important information
Anchor Charts and Forms (2 and 3 Columns)

Form/Chart
Purpose
Topic/Detail
To support the larger ideas with information
Whats Interesting/Whats Important
To separate interesting but less important

details from important information
Fact/Question/Response
To respond to and extend thinking about

information in the text
Theme Boards
Posters that hold a
collection of the big
ideas or themes that
kids generate from their
reading
Opinion/Proof
To support opinions with valid information

from the text
Charades Wordless
drama that requires kids
to infer meaning from
mime
Topic/Detail/Response
To support the general subject with

information and responses
Wordless Picture Books

Wordless books that
require kids to infer
meaning from pictures
Strategy Extensions provide multiple

options for crafting differentiated
instructionextra practice for students
who need more support in strategic
reading, additional learning for students
who need more enrichment. Lesson
templates help customize instruction.
Important to the Reader/Important to the Author To make a distinction between the readers
own interpretations and the authors argument
Additional Response Options

Feature Books Student-made booklets that present a variety of nonfiction
features (captions, diagrams, call-out boxes, etc.) for students to dip into and
use as examples in their own writing
Teaching Books Short books where students note the illustrations,
writing, and features that are important to include to teach someone about
the topic
106
Posters Vibrant, large student-created posters that incorporate a variety

of visuals, features, and writing to share and teach information
Extend and Investigate: Strategy Extensions
56
113
Whole-Group Instruction: Professional Support
Text Clues
Inferred Meaning
Actual Meaning
Page 56
In content text, the vocabulary and concept load can be a major hurdle to
understanding. We teach students to keep track of unfamiliar words and
concepts on a note-taking sheet that helps them to infer the meaning of these
words using the context.
Date ______________________________
LESSON 10 Infer the Meaning of Unfamiliar Words: Use context clues to unpack vocabulary
Text Matters
The Genre of Textbook Reading
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution/Art Resource, NY
Modeling and Guided Practice

We read the first few paragraphs of page 133 to get a sense of what the text is
about: women fighting for the right to vote. As we read the sixth paragraph, we
encounter the word suffrage in the third sentence: Suffrage for black men came
first Women would have to wait. Besides, many sensible people thought womens
suffrage would be the end of the family. We stop, go back, and circle the word
suffrage, explaining that we will work together to infer the meaning of this
word, using the context and our background knowledge. We introduce and pass
out copies of the Word/Text Clues/Inferred Meaning/Actual Meaning form.
We note that suffrage is an important concept and write it in the Word column.
We note that the paragraph is about voting and ask kids to turn and talk about
the word, using the context to figure it out.
56
Library of Congress
We gather together again, and as kids share their thinking, we write down what
they infer the word suffrage means on the transparency. As we discuss their
suggestions for the inferred meanings of the word, they share the clues that
led them to infer that particular meaning and we record these in the Text Clues
column. We discuss what the word actually means and make sure they all jot
down the correct meaning in the Actual Meaning column.
58
Addressing textbooks as a specialized genre,

Steph and Anne have developed ten model
lessons that target challenges common
to content area textbooks. The Genre of
Textbook Reading provides sample textbook
pages coded with the authors own notes,
templates to be used with your textbooks,
and strategies for unlocking even the
densest textbook text.
From A HISTORY OF US: RECONSTRUCTING AMERICA (VOL. 7), 3RD EDITION, by Joy Hakim,
1994 by Joy Hakim. Used by permission of Oxford University Press, Inc.
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Thinking Through a Test:

Natural Disasters
The Genre of Test Reading
Sample Test
Our Thinking
Get the big picture quickly.
Recognizing that standardized tests have become their own

distinct type of reading genre, The Genre of Test Reading
section offers special strategies for navigating the reading
challenges of standardized tests.
We review the title and subheads to get a

general idea of what the article is about.
Review the questions.

We read through all of the questions, so
can read
as we read the article we
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We notice that three of the questions,

Questions 3, 4, and 6, are about big ideas
and conclusions, so the answers might not
be right there in the passage. Well
probably answer those after we finish
reading the whole article.
Read the text and answer the questions.

We quickly read the first two paragraphs
of the article, remembering that we
noticed a question about a specific word,
devastation, in Question 1. We circle the
word and attempt to answer the question.
If we cant answer it, we move on.
We put the number of the tornado
question, Question 2, next to the tornado
section of the text. We recognize this is a
literal question. We skim this section to see
if we can match the words Most tornado
deaths are caused byWe try to find
those exact words and answer the
question.
We keep on reading, moving through each
section fairly quickly. When we come to the
phrase deadliest of storms in the United
States, we slow down, remembering the
same phrase in a question. We recognize a
literal question and match the words in
the text to Question 5 to try to answer it.
Extend and Investigate Bibliographies

To help teachers grow their nonfiction libraries, a
series of bibliographies lists popular sources of informational and professional text. These include:
Page 78
We underline key words and phrases in

the questions that we think we might find
in the article.
We continue reading and slow down

when we get to the last paragraph. We
know the information in the last section
can be important because it often
contains a synthesis of the bigger ideas in
the article.
80
Test Questions
Reading tests have predictable kinds of questions, and each kind requires a
unique approach. Here are the most common question types and some ideas for
helping kids deal with them.
Vocabulary Questions: questions about specific words
Samples
Which is the best meaning for the
word______
The word _______ in the story means
What is a synonym for________
Which word means the same as _________
What is an antonym for__________
Which word means the opposite of
______________
The word __________ in this story means
about the same as
What does the word ________ in the (2nd,
3rd, 4th) paragraph mean
n
n
n
n
Teach kids to read the entire sentence to

figure out the meaning of the word in
context. Have them use the context to infer
a general meaning of the word. Remind
them to look back to previous sentences or
read ahead for clues in the text that help
infer the meaning of the word.
Have students match parts of speech
nouns to nouns, verbs to verbs.
Teach words like synonym, antonym,
opposite, similar, so kids will be prepared
when they meet them on the test.
Remind kids to eliminate definitions that
they know do not fit the meaning of the
unfamiliar word and choose the closest
match.
Literal Questions: questions whose answers may be found in the text
Samples
Teaching Suggestions
Trade and Picture Books

Magazines and Newspapers for Kids
Good Reading on the Web
Professional Books to Extend Your Understanding
Books that Celebrate the Joy of Reading
What
When
Which
Where
How
Questions about sequence Example:
Which of these events happened first,
second etc?
Items that ask objective information from
the passage Example: Glaciers form
when
78
Teaching Suggestions
Teach kids to skim and scan the text,
matching the words of the question to
specific words in the text.
Have them find the section of text that
refers specifically to the words in the
question and scan that part.
Teach them to scan several paragraphs to
notice events or steps in a sequence.
Remind students to eliminate answers they
know to be untrue.
57
Page 58
Oxford University Press, A History of US, Book 7, Reconstructing America by Joy Hakim.
(pages 133-134)
For each student, a four-column form: Word /Text Clues/Inferred Meaning/Actual Meaning
Transparencies: a blank four-column form; Are You a Citizen If You Cant Vote?, pages 133
and 134
Toolkit Links
Lesson
Guidelines
PM
Page 60
Resources
and Materials
In textbooks, readers frequently come across unfamiliar words and concepts that
may interfere with their ability to comprehend. We teach students strategies to
infer the meaning of unfamiliar words by merging background knowledge with
clues in the text to figure out the word. TK_EI_02_pg33-72.qxp 5/24/05 12:45
12:45 PM
Unpacking New Words and Concepts

Purpose
of the Lesson
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Lesson 7
Word
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Name ______________________________________________________
60
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teaching with digital resources

Technology is a natural vehicle for Toolkits active
literacy practices. When we begin our technology
journey by grounding it in time-tested comprehension
instruction we ensure that our use of technology is
meaningful and authentic.
Organized around Steph and Annes

active literacy learning framework,
Connecting Comprehension and
Technology will help you to teach
your students how to:
Monitor Comprehension
TKTech_Ch0406_Harvey_TKTech 5/28/13 10:45 AM Page 145
Reflect Thinking with a Drawing Tool

Think About Online Information
Notice Internet Distractions
Evaluate Internet Sources
INTERMEDIATE
Lesson
15
Adapting The Comprehension Toolkit, Lesson 11

INFER WITH TEXT CLUES
Infer with Visual Cues

This lesson assumes that students are already familiar with Toolkit Lesson 10
and the inference equation, BK + TC = Ibackground knowledge plus text
clues equals inference. Here, students apply their inferring skills to still images
to interpret two events leading to the American Revolution: the Boston Tea
Party and the Boston Massacre. Students will also be putting their inferring
and critical literacy skills to use as they try to come to terms with different
perspectives on the same event, the Boston Massacre. Focusing instruction
on still images (this lesson) and video formats (the next lesson) creates active
viewers of media content.
Activate & Connect

Offering the know-how born from years
of classroom experience and clear steps
for getting started, Connecting Comprehension and Technology provides
practical lessons that teach students
how to navigate, evaluate, collaborate,
and communicate through digital
resources.
In this lesson, the small-group function of Edmodo allows students to be put

into smaller groups to facilitate conversation and discussion. Each group consists of three turn-and-talk pairs for a total of six students in a group. While
all of the groups show up on the teachers screen, students only see the small
group to which they have been assigned.
Snapshot
Resources
&Materials
Classroom Supplies
Edmodo
projector
Student Supplies
iPad
Edmodo
Students sit around the room in pairs, each with a device logged in to
Edmodo, a closed social network for the class. Their heads are close
together as they carefully examine the posted image, discussing it with
a simple framework in mind: What do they see? What inferences are
they making?
Infer & Visualize
Lesson Text
images of events leading to
the American Revolution:
one image of the Boston
Tea Party, two images
of the Boston Massacre
that reflect different
perspectives
Amy: Theres lots of smoke. Its making me think there is a battle or

this is part of a war.
Gabi: [Smiles] I was just inferring the same thing! Lets write that to
our Edmodo group and see what they think.
The pairs decide what to post and then excitedly read and respond to
the other students in their group. I monitor the student groups from my
mobile device, posting questions and comments to groups that need more
scaffolding. Once students begin to exhaust their comments about this
TKTech_Ch0406_Harvey_TKTech 5/28/13
rst image, I post a second one that paints a completely different picture.
They excitedly renew their energy for the task. Now, they are not only
making inferences but questioning the motivation and bias of the authors
of these images.
10:45 AM Page 153
INTERMEDIATE
Lesson
Infer with Media Cues

145
Resources
&Materials
Infer & Visualize
In this lesson, students are explicitly taught to be active watchers of video clips.
The previous lesson focused on visual cues in still images; this one focuses
on the audio and moving visuals of video formats. Students practice making
inferences based on short video clips. Teaching students to stop, think, talk,
and react to video content has the same benefit as stopping and thinking about
text: deeper comprehension. This is an important skill because students are
increasingly relying on video media as additional resources for inquiry work.
Visualize with Digital Drawings

Create and Illustrate Digital Poems
Classroom Supplies
Google Drive app
spreadsheet set up to capture
comments over time
Snapshot
I pause the video, and students excitedly turn and talk about the rst part
of the video theyve just watched.
Jacob: Whoa! I can really feel the anxiety from that girl.
Graham: Yeah, Im betting this is her rst time skiing or something.
She seems really scared.
Jacob: I wonder if shes really going to jump?
Students talk for a few minutes and then quickly jot an entry in
the class Google spreadsheet. Today they are following the same model
that they used for visual images, identifying things they see or hear and
making logical inferences. They enter these inferences in a spreadsheet as
a collaborative way to share thinking with the entire class.
Infer & Visualize
Lesson Text
a currently popular
YouTube video,
Girls First Ski Jump
three videos relating to
topics under study:
underwater volcanoes
and so on
Student Supplies
iPad
Share Questions Online

Read an eBook to Answer Questions
Ask Questions in Online Discussions
Research Lingering Questions Online
For the sharing portion of the lesson, students use a Google Drive spreadsheet tool set up so that anyone with the link can edit it. Using an editable
spreadsheet requires a level of training, trust, and care because any student
can change any field on the spreadsheet, thus potentially deleting someone
elses work, but it has great advantages: All students can type into, add to,
and edit the spreadsheet in real time without needing any type of Google
account.
Not limited to specific hardware or

software, lessons are designed around
technical functions; tools readily accessible to students in their world and easily
adopted in your school, whether you are
taking your first steps into technology
or looking to leverage existing resources.
Ask Questions
Extending The Comprehension Toolkit, Lesson 11
16
Intermediate Lesson 15, Infer with Visual Clues
Annotate Thinking Digitally

Narrate Thinking with Podcasts
Explore Web Features
Compare Text and Web Features
Organize Thinking on a Spreadsheet

Research Digitally Archived Questions
Collaborate on a Spreadsheet
Evaluate Infographics
Summarize & Synthesize

Students observations on a video on the Google spreadsheet
Intermediate Lesson 16, Infer with Media Clues
153
Produce a Media Project

Create an Inquiry Movie
Record a Video Book Review
Create a Book Trailer
Watch fifth-grade teacher Katie Muhtaris discuss how to choose technology

tools and how to maintain balance in a multimodal classroom.
58
Teaching with Digital Resources: Overview
These lessons
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AM Page 145
whole-group instruction with a variety
of electronic platforms.
INTERMEDIATE
Lesson
15
Adapting The Comprehension Toolkit, Lesson 11

This lesson assumes that students are already familiar with Toolkit Lesson 10
and the inference equation, BK + TC = Ibackground knowledge plus text
clues equals inference. Here, students apply their inferring skills to still images
to interpret two events leading to the American Revolution: the Boston Tea
Party and the Boston Massacre. Students will also be putting their inferring
and critical literacy skills to use as they try to come to terms with different
perspectives on the same event, the Boston Massacre. Focusing instruction
on still images (this lesson) and video formats (the next lesson) creates active
viewers of media content.
In this lesson, the small-group function of Edmodo allows students to be put
into smaller groups to facilitate conversation and discussion. Each group consists of three turn-and-talk pairs for a total of six students in a group. While
all of the groups show up on the teachers screen, students only see the small
group to which they have been assigned.
Resources
&Materials
Classroom Supplies
Edmodo
projector
Student Supplies
iPad
Edmodo
Students sit around the room in pairs, each with a device logged in to
Edmodo, a closed social network for the class. Their heads are close
together as they carefully examine the posted image, discussing it with
a simple framework in mind: What do they see? What inferences are
they making?
Amy: Theres lots of smoke. Its making me think there is a battle or
this is part of a war.
Gabi: [Smiles] I was just inferring the same thing! Lets write that to
our Edmodo group and see what they think.
Infer & Visualize
Lesson Text
images of events leading to
the American Revolution:
one image of the Boston
Tea Party, two images
of the Boston Massacre
that reflect different
perspectives
Snapshot
The pairs decide what to post and then excitedly read and respond to
the other students in their group. I monitor the student groups from my
mobile device, posting questions and comments to groups that need more
scaffolding. Once students begin to exhaust their comments about this
rst image, I post a second one that paints a completely different picture.
They excitedly renew their energy for the task. Now, they are not only
making inferences but questioning the motivation and bias of the authors
of these images.
145
59
Connect and Engage

Weve just started studying the American Revolution. Turn and talk to your
neighbor about something youve learned so far.
[Students turn and talk, activating the background knowledge that theyve built
around this topic so far.]
Today were going to examine some images from specic events from the
Revolution. When we view images, we look carefully for visual cues that we
can use to make inferences. This is what good readers and viewers do. Let me
show you what I mean. Here is a picture of the Boston Tea Party. [I project
the image from the Boston Tea Party
website.]
Give me a thumb-up if you read
the article about the Boston Tea Party
yesterday afternoon.
[About a third of the class raises
their thumbs.]
Great! You guys can be our
specialists today and help me ll in
my background knowledge as I model
how I make inferences using visual
cues. Lets look at this image together
for a few minutes.
Lithograph of the Boston Tea Party
smarturl.it/CCT-wiki1
Model
NOTE
I frequently offer students a

choice in the material they
read. In this case they were
given the option to choose
between four different
articles of varying difculty
and topics related to the
American Revolution.
Because of this some
students will have more
background knowledge on
this image than others, so
I ask them to take on the
responsibility of sharing
that learning with the class.
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60
As I look at this image, my eyes are drawn to boats. I see people who look like
Native Americans throwing boxes into the water. Im going to infer that it is
the tea, because I know from my background knowledge that during the
Boston Tea Party, American colonists threw the British tea overboard because
they didnt want to pay taxes to the British. Turn and talk about what you saw
me doing as I viewed the image. [I listen in on groups as they turn and talk to one
another. Then I ask them to share out some of their thinking.]
Gabi: Well, you rst said what you saw and then what you thought was
going on.
Talia: Yeah, and then you used what you already knew to help understand.
Those are great observations. I describe the visual cue in the picture,
tell what I infer from it, and use background knowledge to ll in gaps or conrm what I am seeing.
Connecting Comprehension and Technology: Adapt and Extend Toolkit Practices
Teaching with Digital Resources Sample Lesson: Infer with Visual Cues
So, readers, whenever you view an image, its important to link your
inferences directly to the visual clues in the picture. This is what we do when
we read text, too. We combine our background knowledge and text clues to
make inferences. Remember how we merged our background knowledge (BK)
with text clues (TC) to make inferences (I)? Remember our inferring equation
BK + TC = I? That is what we need to do here. Only now we are inferring
from images instead of text.
Guide
Lets think through the rest of this image together. Whats something else that
you notice?
Nolan: It looks like theres a bunch of people on the docks. They seem to
be waving their hats.
So what can we infer from that?

Nolan: Well, they dont seem angry, so I think we can infer that they are
happy, maybe cheering the Indians on.
Great. Class, turn and talk about that. [Students do a quick turn-and-talk
about Nolans observation about the crowds feelings.] What else can we infer in
this image? What about how the men on the boats are dressed? Are those
Native Americans?
Infer & Visualize
Yanelli: They have the feathers and thethe outts, so I would say yes.
I love how you based your inference on what you could see, Yanelli. Lets
tap into your background knowledge too. Have we learned about the Native
American role in the Revolutionary War yet? [The students shake their heads no.]
What we do know is that the American Revolution was a war between Great
Britain and the colonies. What do you think about that?
Yanelli: Well, maybe, maybe its not really Indians?
Gabi: Yesterday I read the article about the Boston Tea Party, and
I learned that they werent actually Indians but that the colonists
dressed up like Indians.
Oh, great, thanks for sharing that, Gabi. We needed that bit of background knowledge to better understand the visual image and conrm Yanellis
new inference that they werent really Native Americans.
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61
Collaborate or Practice Independently

Boldface words are in the
Terms and Tools appendix,
pages 245248
Today youre going to work in pairs to discuss two images of another event
that led to the American Revolution, the Boston Massacre. Ive posted them
on Edmodo. Then you and your partner will post your inferences to share
with a small Edmodo group. Get with your partner and log in to Edmodo.
On the left-hand side you will see your small group.
Ive already posted the rst image so you can get
started right away! Remember, when you post
your comment, make sure to say what you see and
what inferences you are making because of those
visual cues.
[The rst image I have posted is Paul Reveres
famous propaganda engraving. It shows a strongly biased
view of the events of the Boston Massacre. After I nd
the image that I want to use on the Internet, I save it to
my computer. From there I create a new post to the class
in Edmodo and simply attach the photo using the Attach
File option.]
[I walk around assisting groups in getting to the
right spot on Edmodo and ensuring that everyone has
been able to access the image. As students begin to work,
I listen in to their conversations and check in with their
online contributions to the board.]
Amy: I see a lot of Redcoats, and they are
shooting their guns. This makes me think that
the British started thisthis war?
Paul Reveres engraving of the Boston Massacre
Talia: I agree. Lets post that to the group and

see what other people think.
NOTE
As students view, talk,

type, and respond in their
small Edmodo groups, they
work to build knowledge
collaboratively. Not only do
they add their comments,
but also they read the comments of the other students
in their small group. Various
pairs pinpoint different
aspects of the pictures to
focus on, and they discuss
the meaning and make
logical inferences based
on what they see.
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62
[Amy types in their response.]

Talia: Oh, look! Samantha said [reading from screen] the way they are
lined up makes them look more aggressive. I didnt think of that but
shes right, and now Im looking at how the colonists are scattered and
running away. They seem like
Amy: Like victims.
Talia: Yes, thats a great word. Victims. Lets write that down.
[Once students explore the rst image, I post a second one that presents a different perspective.]
Class, it seems like most of you agree that the British soldiers seem to be
the aggressors in this rst image. Give me a thumb-up if your group discussed
that. [Most students give a thumb-up.] What are some of your takeaways from
this rst image?
Nolan: That the British started

the Boston Massacre and that it
wasnt the Colonists fault.
Talia: Yeah, that the Colonists
were victims.
Gabi: Whoa! This is way different.

The colonists seem much more
violent here!
So now Ive just posted a second

image of the exact same event. Id like
you to continue with your partner
and small Edmodo group. What do
you infer from this image? [I post a
second image Ive saved to my computer
that shows a more balanced view of the
massacre. As groups examine the second
image, the room explodes in a buzz of
excitement.]
Alonzo Chappels engraving of the Boston Massacre
Charlie: Yeah, they are ghting

equally. Im inferring from this
picture that its balanced.
What do you mean by that? Balanced?
Infer & Visualize
Charlie: Well, in the other one it was reallyWell, here you can see that
Nolan wrote [points to Edmodo conversation], This image is different
from the rst one because in the rst one it seemed like the British were
the bullies but here both groups are ghting the same amount.
Gabi: I agree with that, and now Im thinking that one of these might not
be true.
Great, so why dont you share that with your group and show how you
are building on Nolans thinking. [The students continue to discuss and compare the
two images.]
Share the Learning

So, class, I loved how thoughtful your conversations were. You really noticed
little details in the images and used those to make some great inferences.
I wanted to share a section of one of the Edmodo groups conversations today.
Look up at the screen. [I pull up a small group on my computer and project the
conversation on the big screen. Ive chosen to share a conversation where the students
picked up on and used the term bias.]
Did you see how Zach used the word bias? Thats a great word. Can you
say more about that, Zach?
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63
Zach: Yeah, well its like when someone has a really strong opinion
and they let it show. So the rst picture was really showing a negative
opinion about the British, but the other one didnt seem to have
an opinion.
How interesting! Turn and talk about what Zach just said. [Students turn
and talk about the idea that one image might be biased.]
I heard several groups talk about how the artist showed the Colonists
versus the British. How many of you picked that up in Paul Reveres image, he
made it look like the Colonists were just innocent people who were being red
on, and in the other picture both the Colonists and the British looked like they
were ghting equally? Why do you think Revere showed such a one-sided
battle? Turn and talk. [I listen in as students speculate and seize on one groups answer.]
You got it! Paul Revere did this to get support. He had a strong opinion
about how things should go, so he used his talent to try to convince people
that the British were at fault so they would support the war. Thats bias, when
peoples thinking inuences how they portray something.
So what did we learn today about examining visual images and making
inferences?
Gabi: Well, you really need to look carefully at the picture to inform your
inferences.
Talia: And it helps to talk to other people, because you can get more ideas.
Charlie: I liked being on Edmodo because I could see more peoples ideas
but still just have a good conversation with my partner.
Remember: When we read, we have to think about bias, whether an

image or a text presents one perspective, that is to say, a single point of view.
History is all about the many perspectives of different people, and these
images show different perspectives on this one event.
Reflect and Assess

Using the Edmodo groups lets me go back and review students written
conversations after the fact. When I add this review to my observations and
discussions with students, I have a full picture of what students are able to do
with a partner and in small groups. I give students multiple opportunities to
practice online conversations before assessing them on an individual basis.
When we assess student work in this lesson we are looking to see if:
They use background knowledge combined with visual cues to make
inferences.
They make logical inferences based on what they see.
They listen to and consider varying opinions from classmates.
They build on one anothers thinking and ideas during the discussion.
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64
Here is a transcript of one groups written conversation on Edmodo. This

group explored some of the ideas that we talked about in class and used background knowledge from a video to judge the truthfulness of the pictures.
Anthony: Revere made the British ghting and the

colonists not. Most of them are already on the ground.
Ibrahim: This seems so unfair.
Samantha: Why do you think its unfair Ibrahim?

Claire: I dont really see anything except the guns and
the violence which isnt necessary.I call it unnecessary
roughness. The red coats were told not to re but
someone saidFIREand they they killed ve colonist.
Destiny: No Paul revere did not convince me that they
were violent because if you remember from one of the
videos it said that they were throwing snowballs at them.
It makes me think that the patriots did not know the
British could be so violent. Did one of the British shout
re because maybe one of the snowballs hit him? I know
that comment was off topic a little bit
Ibrahim: I think the differentce is that the place they are at
like the rst one they are by a biulding and the second one
is in the city.
Infer & Visualize
Anthony: I think both pictures are violent, they are

showing the war.
Samantha: I agree with you Claire they did not have to be
vilent. How do you know they killed ve people?
Claire: Destiny I dont think u are off topic, you are right
the video said something diffrent which one is true?
We can see that different students participate at different levels.

Destinys comment pushed the group to start questioning the validity
of Paul Reveres engraving as it compares to what they learned in
a video. Although she thinks her comment is off-topic, it is actually a
good example of the types of connections that we are looking for
students to make.
Samantha is clearly reading her classmates comments and asking
them for clarication. However, her comments dont reveal her
thinking, so I will need to follow up with her after the lesson.
Although Ibrahim begins to explore the differences in the images in
his last comment, he has yet to draw any solid inferences. I would
meet with him to coach him through using his ability to notice
differences to make inferences about the images.
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65
INTERMEDIATE
15Guide
Lesson

TEACHING MOVES
Guide students to
study an engraving
to infer details about
a historical event.
Model linking
inferences to specific
visual clues.
TEACHING LANGUAGE
Guide students to
compare two images
depicting the same
historical event.
Summarize the
concept of bias.
When we view images, we look carefully for visual

cues that we can use to make inferences.
Those are great observations. I describe the visual

cue in the picture, tell what I infer from it, then use
background knowledge to ll in gaps or conrm
what I am seeing.
Remember our inferring equation BK + TC = I?
That is what we need to do here. Only now we are
inferring from images instead of text.
Class, it seems like most of you agree that ______
in this rst image. Give me a thumb-up if your
group discussed that.
So now Ive just posted a second image of the exact
same event. What do you infer from this image?
Thats bias, when peoples thinking inuences how
they portray something.
Remember: When we read, we have to think about
bias, whether an image or a text presents one perspective, that is to say a single point of view. History
is all about the many perspectives of different people,
and these images show the different perspectives
about this one event.
Follow Up
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66
Follow up with a read-aloud or short inquiry in which students can

explore historical facts about the events of the Boston Massacre or the
topic youve chosen.
Propaganda and persuasion are parts of our everyday life. Once
students begin to look for it, they can spot it everywhere. Explore the
idea of propaganda through analyzing more visual imageseither
historical or modern-day.
Build on the idea that visual representations can be manipulated
through Photoshop. Much as Paul Revere gave his own interpretation
of the events of the Boston Massacre to serve his purposes, graphic
artists do the same with photography today.
Follow up with the next lesson, Infer with Media Clues.
This second digital learning lesson

explores how to infer meaning with
another electronic platform.
INTERMEDIATE
Lesson
16
Extending The Comprehension Toolkit, Lesson 11

In this lesson, students are explicitly taught to be active watchers of video clips.
The previous lesson focused on visual cues in still images; this one focuses
on the audio and moving visuals of video formats. Students practice making
inferences based on short video clips. Teaching students to stop, think, talk,
and react to video content has the same benefit as stopping and thinking about
text: deeper comprehension. This is an important skill because students are
increasingly relying on video media as additional resources for inquiry work.
For the sharing portion of the lesson, students use a Google Drive spreadsheet tool set up so that anyone with the link can edit it. Using an editable
spreadsheet requires a level of training, trust, and care because any student
can change any field on the spreadsheet, thus potentially deleting someone
elses work, but it has great advantages: All students can type into, add to,
and edit the spreadsheet in real time without needing any type of Google
account.
Resources
&Materials
Classroom Supplies
Google Drive app
spreadsheet set up to capture
comments over time
Student Supplies
iPad
I pause the video, and students excitedly turn and talk about the rst part
of the video theyve just watched.
Jacob: Whoa! I can really feel the anxiety from that girl.
Graham: Yeah, Im betting this is her rst time skiing or something.
She seems really scared.
Jacob: I wonder if shes really going to jump?
Students talk for a few minutes and then quickly jot an entry in
the class Google spreadsheet. Today they are following the same model
that they used for visual images, identifying things they see or hear and
making logical inferences. They enter these inferences in a spreadsheet as
a collaborative way to share thinking with the entire class.
Infer & Visualize
Lesson Text
a currently popular
YouTube video,
Girls First Ski Jump
three videos relating to
topics under study:
underwater volcanoes
and so on
Snapshot
Students observations on a video on the Google spreadsheet
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67
Connect and Engage
NOTE
Many districts block YouTube.

An alternative is to use a
website called KEEPVID. You
simply install a little button
on your bookmarks toolbar
that enables you to download any YouTube video to
your computer. You can then
project this for students or
load it onto their devices
without giving them access
to the whole YouTube site.
Readers, do you remember when we examined images of the Boston Massacre

and used visual clues to make inferences? Well, today we are going to do that
same thing with videos. When we look at videos, we dont just have a still
image to examine. We have to follow along and listen at the same time, paying
close attention so we dont miss anything as the video ies by. When we can,
its important to stop frequently so we have time to think and react to what we
are seeing.
Im going to show some video clips up here on the screen, and Ive set
up a spreadsheet that will be just like a graphic organizer. The spreadsheet
is where youll record your thinking when we pause and talk. The link to the
spreadsheet is on Edmodo, so go ahead and click on it and go to the spreadsheet. [I quickly show students how to get to the link on Edmodo and remind them to
tap the Add button on the spreadsheet when they have a new thought to add.]
Model
Boldface words are in the

Terms and Tools appendix,
pages 245248
I have a great rst video for you! I want you to watch and listen carefully. See
if you can nd visual and auditory cues to help you make some inferences
about what is going on in this video.
[I start the rst video. It is a popular YouTube video called Girls First Ski
Jump about a young girl who is going down a large ski jump for the rst time. I play
it for about 20 seconds and then pause.]
Wow! Just from that rst section Im already thinking so much. For example, I can see that this is some kind
of ski jump. When I hear the little girl talk, she sounds
nervous, so Im inferring that this is her rst time! Turn
and talk to your neighbor. What are you inferring?
[Students turn and talk.]
Olivia: I agree that this is her rst time. Im
inferring that she might not jump because she
sounds really scared.
Aidan: I thought that, too, that she wouldnt jump,
but then I was thinking it might not be a very good
video if she just stands there, so maybe something
funny happens.
YouTube video: Girls First Ski Jump

www.youtube.com
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68
Those are interesting predictions. Lets hold those

in our minds and see if we can nd any evidence to conrm them. I see many of you have more ideas. Go ahead
and type them on our class spreadsheet so that we can
share with one another.
Teaching with Digital Resources Sample Lesson: Infer with Media Cues
Students inferences on the Google spreadsheet
Guide
Infer & Visualize
[After giving the students a few minutes to type, I hit Play again. The video continues
with the girl nervously talking herself into starting down the steep slope of a ski jump.
She asks questions that an unseen adult responds to.]
Class, Im going to pause right here so that you can add your thinking to
the Google spreadsheet. [I stop frequently to allow students to think and have
time to type their learning, just as I would stop to allow them to jot on Post-its.] Ill
use the projector to put your responses up on the screen.
Look at what thoughtful inferences youve made! Merlin, can you tell
us more about why you are inferring that the girl will like going down the
slope?
Merlin: Well, I just know that when you do something that is scary you
usually end up really liking it after. Like a roller coaster.
Thats great, and that builds on Charlies comment, too! Soa, what makes
you think this is a ski class?
Soa: Well, I wasnt sure if it was her dad or a teacher. But the guy is
really nice. Hes being patient with her, so Im inferring that its someone
she knows, not justnot just some random person.
How thoughtful! Well, lets watch to see what happens. Before I hit Play,
turn and talk to your neighbor and make a prediction about what is going
to happen.
[I play the rest of the video for the class. The girl nally launches herself down
the slope, and the students lean forward in anticipation. The video ends with our little
skier shouting in triumph.]
Wow! Turn and talk about your reactions really quick and then ll in any
new inferences you made on the spreadsheet.
NOTE
During this lesson, Im

engaging students in
making a wide variety of
inferences. Predicting is a
powerful inferring skill that
helps students stay engaged
and make sense of content.
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69
Collaborate or Practice Independently
NOTE
Keeping a close eye on

the Google spreadsheet
provides a powerful ongoing
assessment as well as an
opportunity to engage
students in discussion that
expands their thinking
and corrects their
misconceptions.
It looks like you guys are ready to really go off and practice this strategy on
your own! Ive loaded three more videos on the class iPads. All of them tie into
topics we are studying. Today during reading workshop, Id like you to watch
these videos and enter your responses onto our class chart. You may nd it
helpful to work with a partner so that you can watch videos on one device and
write on the other one. The other option is to jot your thinking on Post-its as
you watch and then go back and decide which things youd like to include on
the class chart.
[The students go off to practice collaboratively. I circulate around the room to
ensure that all of the groups have been able to access the video and notice that one of
Isaks inferences is not supported by evidence from the video. I want to address the
misconception right away.]
Isak, I see that youre watching the video of hot magma pouring into the
ocean and being cooled by the water. I noticed your comment on the Google
spreadsheet, and I was wondering if you could tell me more.
Isak: Well, I havent heard about any volcanic eruptions lately, so this
must have happened a while ago. That was my inference.
Thats an interesting thought. I have some background knowledge on

this, and I know that volcanoes often erupt underwater. So even though we
dont hear about these eruptions, they are happening all the time. In fact, thats
how some islands are formed, by volcanoes. If you can believe it, volcanoes
are erupting and forming islands right now. Its just that we dont see them
because they are under water. The more the lava pours into the water, the
bigger the island grows underneath the surface until it rises above the surface
to form an island that you can actually see.
Isak: I never knew that. So there must be a lot of these underwater
volcanoes all over the ocean.
So what can we infer from what we see? Can we make a reasonable inference about when this happened based on what we are seeing?
Isak: No, not really.
Great! I love the way you really dug into your thinking there. Why dont
you go back to that video, watch it again, and then see what inferences you
can make based on what you see and hear? Remember: Just as we connect
our inferences to text evidence when we read, we also need to nd evidence
in our videos.
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70
Share the Learning

You did such an amazing job today! Lets look at the work you have done.
[I scroll through the class document projected on the wall.] What did you learn about
inferring from videos today?
Claire: That you have to stop and think. You cant just watch the whole
thing through.
Ibrahim: That you should sometimes rewatch a part if you are confused
or think you missed something.
Soa: That you can make inferences based on music, not just what
you see.
What do you mean?

Soa: Well, music sets a mood for things, so if its happy music you can
infer something good will happen, or maybe something funny.
Isak: I learned that you have to make sure to connect your inference
to the video. You cant just, like, assume things or you might confuse
yourself.
Infer & Visualize
What thoughtful responses! Isak, youre right. We really need to remember to ground our inferences in evidence, no matter what the medium is. We
dont want to create any misconceptions for ourselves. Class, I want you to
remember this: Whenever you are watching video clips, whether its in school
or at home, remember to stop, think, and react just as you would when you
are reading. We learn so much more information when we take time to
process what we see on the screen.
Reflect and Assess

In this lesson, we are looking to see if students can apply what they know
about making logical inferences to watching video clips. We want students to
be able to:
Ground their inferences in what they see and hear
Connect to background knowledge to make logical inferences
Identify lingering questions and confusing information. Doing this
discourages students from making illogical inferences.
Acknowledge that they need more information to make logical
inferences
To assess this I look at the comments students have left on the Google
spreadsheet, as well as talk to and listen to them. I might also provide a new
video for them to watch and ask them to complete the task independently to
assess who may need more practice with this skill.
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71
When I sit down to assess the students comments on the Google spreadsheet, I use the sort function to group each students comments together. You can
sort spreadsheets by column, so if the students are prompted to enter their names
each time they contribute, you will be able to sort comments alphabetically by
student name. Here is a snapshot of Nolans thinking during the lesson.
Nolans inferences
Although Nolan only enters a few comments for each video clip, its clear
that he is engaged in important thinking processes. He demonstrates the ability
to make logical inferences based on what he sees as well as to tap into his
background knowledge to support and enrich those inferences. Nolan also
asks questions to further his thinking about the ideas presented in the videos.
I would give Nolan the opportunity to explore the answers to some of these
questions and report back to the class.
Jaeleens inferences
Jaeleen has a good start in learning to make logical inferences. She is able
to point to specic things in the videos that prompted her thinking. I would
encourage Jaeleen to elaborate on her comments. For example, when she says,
She enjoys ski jumping now, I would ask Jaeleen what events in the video she
can use to support that inference. I would also address possible miscon ceptions or unclear comments. When Jaeleen states that the lava is trying to
get up but the water is not letting it, I would ask her what she means by this
and help to provide additional background knowledge so that she could
understand the scientic processes at work in the video.
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72
Yorks inferences
Infer & Visualize
York makes several logical and well-supported inferences. However, he

also makes some inferences that go beyond the what I saw/heard evidence.
For example, he infers that the pies in the contest are Boston cream pies, yet
there is nothing in the video to indicate this. He also infers that the robot was
made by college students, so I would ask him why he thought that and prompt
him to explore other possibilities as well help him understand the importance
of ensuring that he based his inferences on evidence. In some cases his desire to
go beyond what is there leads him to deep thinking, such as inferring that the
girl will become a much better skier after practicing a lot and making the inference that she will practice more based on her excited reaction to accomplishing
going down the ski jump for the rst time. If York can learn to balance this skill
with the evidence in all cases he will be a savvy and accomplished viewer!
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73
INTERMEDIATE
16Guide
Lesson

TEACHING MOVES
Introduce the lesson
and the response
spreadsheet.
Play a video,
pausing at strategic
points to let students
infer, predict, and
share their ideas.
TEACHING LANGUAGE
Support students as
they view and take
notes on curriculumrelated videos.
Debrief the lesson.
Im going to be showing some video clips up here

on the screen, and Ive set up a spreadsheet that
will be just like a graphic organizer. The spreadsheet is where youll record your thinking when
we pause and talk.
I have a great rst video for you! I want you to
watch and listen carefully. See if you can nd visual
and auditory cues to help you make some inferences
about what is going on in this video.
Those are interesting predictions. Lets hold those
in our minds and see if we can nd any evidence to
conrm them. I see many of you have more ideas.
Go ahead and type them on our class spreadsheet
so that we can share with one another.
Id like you to watch these videos and enter your
responses onto our class chart. The other option is
to jot your thinking on Post-its as you watch and
then go back and decide which things youd like to
include on the class chart.
Whenever you are watching video clips, whether
its in school or at home, remember to stop, think,
and react just as you would when you are reading.
We learn so much more information when we take
time to process what we see on the screen.
Follow Up
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74
Create a viewing guide for students to use when watching video clips
and hang it in the classroom. Students will need to be reminded of this
lesson before any video-viewing experience in the classroom. If they
have social studies or science with a different teacher, it may be helpful
to provide a copy of this chart to that teacher or a small version for
students to place in their notebooks.
Short video clips can be powerful instructional tools to use in a variety
of subjects. Science and social studies lend themselves to this type of
learning, as does building background knowledge for studying
historical fiction. Students might even create their own viral videos
designed to teach and prompt thinking in their classmates.
I Wonder
What(questions)
I Saw/ Heard
I Learned
My Inferences
(answers)
2013 Stephanie Harvey, Anne Goudvis, Katie Muhtaris, and Kristen Ziemke from Connecting Comprehension & Technology (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann).
This page may be reproduced for classroom use only.
75
ELL support
Scaffolding The Comprehension Toolkit
for English Language Learners
Previews and Extensions to Support Content Comprehension
Scaffolding the Comprehension Toolkit for English Language Learners is designed to

A consistent mix of minilessons and strategies will help your English language learners
actively participate in Toolkit lessons and express what they fully comprehend.
TK_ELL_Lessons01-13_Toolkit_ELL 11/2/11 6:42 PM Page 54
Preview the Toolkit Lesson
This Preview introduces additional vocabulary that kids will need in order to
understand the information about the Titanic and its fate as well as provides
practice using the context to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words.
Preview lessons build background

knowledge and introduce the concepts,
vocabulary, and language structures
used in the Toolkit lesson.
From Kids Discover Titanic, Copyright

2005, All rights reserved.
View the photographs, diagrams, and maps on pages 2, 3, and 4 of

the Titanic article, Iceberg! Right Ahead! (Source Book of Short Text,
pages 2022). Kids turn and talk about what they notice.
Give kids Post-its with the vocabulary words Titanic, ocean liner, lifeboat,
iceberg, and North Atlantic, and ask them to work together to place these
on the appropriate photographs. They use any background knowledge
they have plus clues from photographs to do this.
Introduce the inferring equation: BK+TC= I (background knowledge [BK]
plus text clues [TC] equals inference [I]). Write this on a chart, and discuss
how we use our background and the words or pictures in the text to figure
out the meanings of words we dont
know.
TK_ELL_Lessons01-13_Toolkit_ELL
11/2/11 6:42 PM Page 55
Use the inferring equation to understand the subhead Building a Colossus

(page 22). View the photograph of the propellers. The language frames support kids to infer from the clues in the text, such as I used ____________
(this photograph of the huge propellers) to infer the meaning of the word
colossus. Share words that describe colossushuge, giant, extremely big. Relate
this word to both the propeller and the Titanic as the biggest ship in the
world at that time.
Figuring Out the Meaning of a Word
The word I dont know is ____________.
LESSON
10
I infer that it means ____________.

I used ____________ (this feature) to help me visualize and
. . . in support of . . .
Infer Meaning Unfamiliar Words

THE
My sentence is ____________.
OF
Word
colossus
Inferred Meaning
giant
Clues
photograph
Name _______________________________
Guide kids to sketch and

jot the word colossus on
the lessons thinksheet to
familiarize them with it.
Sentence
The Titanic
was a colossus.
It was a giant
ship!
_____________________

only.
Date ____________________________
Use
context clues
to unpack
vocabulary
Using Post-its to label vocabulary and strategies.
54 | Scaffolding The Comprehension Toolkit for English Language Learners

Thinksheet for inferring word meaning.
Teach the Toolkit Lesson
PREVIEW GOALS
CONTENT
We want students to
COMPREHENSION
LANGUAGE
KEY VOCABULARY
COMPREHENSION WORDS
text clues
infer
visualize
CONTENT WORDS
Titanic
ocean liner
iceberg
North Atlantic
colossus
passengers
crew
captain
lifeboat
build background knowledge around the Titanic so they can explore the
big question of why the disaster happened.
merge background knowledge with text clues to make an inference
(BK+TC=I), and review thinking that underlies inferring and visualizing.
use language frames to talk about and infer word meanings from the
context.
L ANGUAGE STRUCTURES
The language frames in the Preview prepare students to talk about how they
use various clues (illustrations, features, other words in the text) to figure out
the meaning of words in context:
Remind students to bring the

thinksheet they began during
the Preview so they have a model
of what to do during the wholegroup lesson.
TOOLKIT GOALS
We want students to
merge their background knowledge with text clues to make an
inference (BK+TC=I).
use the context to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words.
meaning.
use new vocabulary in a sentence
to demonstrate understanding.
Lesson 10: Infer the Meaning of Unfamiliar Words | 55

I used ____________ (this feature) to help me visualize and infer the meaning of
the word.
Teach strategies and extend activities include explicit

practice with grammar, syntax and oracy, as well as
content and comprehension extensions.
76
ELL Support: Overview
These activities will help you prepare
your ELL students 11/2/11

for the whole-group
lesson
TK_ELL_Lessons01-13_Toolkit_ELL
6:41 PM Page
53
and then extend that learning.
LESSON
10
. . . in support of . . .
Infer Meaning Unfamiliar Words

THE
OF
Use
context clues
to unpack
vocabulary
PREVIEW GOALS
COMPREHENSION
LANGUAGE
KEY VOCABULARY
COMPREHENSION WORDS
text clues
infer
visualize
CONTENT WORDS
Titanic
ocean liner
iceberg
North Atlantic
colossus
passengers
crew
captain
lifeboat
build background knowledge around the Titanic so they can explore the
big question of why the disaster happened.
ELL support
CONTENT
We want students to
merge background knowledge with text clues to make an inference

(BK+TC=I), and review thinking that underlies inferring and visualizing.
use language frames to talk about and infer word meanings from the
context.
L ANGUAGE STRUCTURES
The language frames in the Preview prepare students to talk about how they
use various clues (illustrations, features, other words in the text) to figure out
the meaning of words in context:
I used ____________ (this feature) to help me visualize and infer the meaning of
the word.
77
Preview the Toolkit Lesson
This Preview introduces additional vocabulary that kids will need in order to
understand the information about the Titanic and its fate as well as provides
practice using the context to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words.
From Kids Discover Titanic, Copyright

2005, All rights reserved.
View the photographs, diagrams, and maps on pages 2, 3, and 4 of

the Titanic article, Iceberg! Right Ahead! (Source Book of Short Text,
pages 2022). Kids turn and talk about what they notice.
Give kids Post-its with the vocabulary words Titanic, ocean liner, lifeboat,
iceberg, and North Atlantic, and ask them to work together to place these
on the appropriate photographs. They use any background knowledge
they have plus clues from photographs to do this.
Introduce the inferring equation: BK+TC= I (background knowledge [BK]
plus text clues [TC] equals inference [I]). Write this on a chart, and discuss
how we use our background and the words or pictures in the text to figure
out the meanings of words we dont know.
Using Post-its to label vocabulary and strategies.
78
ELL Support: Infer the Meaning of Unfamiliar Words
Use the inferring equation to understand the subhead Building a Colossus

(page 22). View the photograph of the propellers. The language frames support kids to infer from the clues in the text, such as I used ____________
(this photograph of the huge propellers) to infer the meaning of the word
colossus. Share words that describe colossushuge, giant, extremely big. Relate
this word to both the propeller and the Titanic as the biggest ship in the
world at that time.
Figuring Out the Meaning of a Word

I used ____________ (this feature) to help me visualize and

Word
Inferred Meaning
giant
Clues
photograph
Sentence
The Titanic
was a colossus.
It was a giant
ship!
__________
ELL support
colossus
Name ____________________________
______________
Guide kids to sketch and

jot the word colossus on
the lessons thinksheet to
familiarize them with it.

only.
Date ____________________________
Thinksheet for inferring word meaning.
Teach the Toolkit Lesson

Remind students to bring the
thinksheet they began during
the Preview so they have a model
of what to do during the wholegroup lesson.
TOOLKIT GOALS
We want students to
merge their background knowledge with text clues to make an
inference (BK+TC=I).
use the context to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words.
meaning.
use new vocabulary in a sentence
to demonstrate understanding.
79
LANGUAGE PRACTICE
Inferred Meaning
CONTENT AND
COMPREHENSION
EXTENSION
Extend the Toolkit Lesson
Children practice inferential thinking using the language of inferring.

Give kids cards with different emotions (excitement, frustration, disappointment, sadness, thoughtfulness) written on each. Ask each student to act out
the emotion on the card. The group discusses the clues that each actor gives
them so they can infer the emotion and understand the meaning of the word.
Create a chart to summarize the inferences.
Action
smile
Inferred Meaning
I am happy.
Clue
People often
smile when
they are happy.
frown,
crossed arms
I am upset.
I am angry.
People frown
when they are
upset or angry.
Picture
Kids are always excited about investigating the Titanic tragedy. To reinforce
the sophisticated vocabulary in this text, work with a small group to
reinforce information about the Titanic tragedy.
A reenactment of the sinking of the Titanic will provide kids with an overview
of the situationsee
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/videos/player.html?title=02279_03
It will also suggest some of the problems that led to the disasterradio
messages being ignored, the difficulty of seeing the icebergs from the crows
nest on a moonless night, and the impact of the iceberg scraping and
damaging the ships hull.
A perfect website to reinforce vocabulary in an engaging way is
http://www.history.com/interactives/titanic-interactive
Here, kids can click on a cutaway of the ship and use the interactive features
to learn ship partsthe different decks, the crows nest, the lifeboats, the
bridge, and so on. As students click on a part of the ship, a photograph
provides an image of the concept. Go to the website, click on Birth of
the Titanic, click on The Ship, and click on Ship Cutaway.
After they have researched the event, kids report back to the whole class
about the new information they learned.
80
ELL Support: Infer the Meaning of Unfamiliar Words
TK_ELL_RearMtr_Toolkit_ELL 11/2/11 6:49 PM Page 151
Lesson 10: Infer the Meaning of Unfamiliar Words (page 53)

TEACHING MOVES
Explain that we will be reading about the

topic of ______. Using the visuals, photographs, and text, ask kids to turn and talk
about their background knowledge as well
as what they see.
Today we will be reading about ______. Take a look

at these visuals, photographs, and the illustrations.
Turn and talk about your background knowledge.
Provide Post-its with vocabulary words that

kids can use to label the visuals. As you
review the words, read through them and
point to the visual as you say the word.
When I listened to you sharing your background

knowledge, I noticed some of you used words that are
really important to this topic. Lets put some of those
words on Post-its and put them up near the photo or
visual of that word. I am going to write a few more
words and we will put these up near the visual of that
word so we know what it is! Lets review the words
that will help us read the text.
Introduce the inferring equation

BK + TC = I. Jot this and explain that we
combine our background knowledge with the
clues in the text to make inferences about
new words.
Here is our inferring equation: BK + TC =

Inference. Ill write it up here. We think about our
background knowledge and combine it with clues
from the text to make an inference. Were going to
use this today as we read when we come to a word
we dont know.
Model how you use the text clues and visuals

to infer the meaning of an unfamiliar word.
Kids discuss and help to figure this out.
Lets try it. I found this word: ______. Im not sure

what it means so Ill say, The word I dont know is
______. To figure out what it means, Im going to
look at the photo/visual and read the text, and then
infer what it means. Notice that I am using my
background knowledge about ______ and the clues
in the textthe picture and the wordsto figure
out that the word ______ means ______. I used the
______ (features, features and words) to infer that it
means ______.
Summarize the process you used to figure

out the word meaning and jot this on the
Lesson 10 thinksheet.
Notice that we can write the word, its meaning, and

the text clues that helped us figure out the meaning
of the word on this chart. In the first column, Ill
write the word. In the second column, Ill write
what we inferred the word meant. In the third
column, Ill write down the clues that helped me
infer the meaning of the word. Now you know just
how we can use it!
ELL support
TEACHING LANGUAGE
Preview Guides | 151
81
small-group instruction
Comprehension Intervention
Small-Group Lessons for The Comprehension Toolkit
Enhance your Toolkit instruction with small-group lessons. Created to follow each
Toolkit lesson, the Comprehension Intervention small-group lessons narrow the
instructional focus, concentrating on critical aspects of the Toolkits lesson strategy
to reinforce kids understanding, step by step. Infinitely flexible and targeted, lessons
lend themselves to a variety of instructional settings such as guided reading groups,
Tier 2 and 3 RTI groups, and special education.
TK_RTI_Lsn01-15_Toolkit_SGL 4/5/10 11:12 AM Page 98
SMALL-GROUP
When students hear [and

read] unfamiliar words to
describe concepts they are
familiar with and care about,
they become curious about the
world of words. (Graves and
Watts-Taffe, 2002)
In The Comprehension Toolkit Lesson 10, students infer the meaning

of unfamiliar words in a read-aloud article. Then they demonstrate
understanding by using the new vocabulary.
The two companion sessions for Lesson 10
offer kids more practice with this process.
In this first session, they review the inferring
equation (TC + BK = I) and use context clues
to infer the meanings of unfamiliar words in
a new text.
Lesson 1 0
OF UNFAMILIAR
THE
SESSION
Use Context to Infer

Word Meanings
Companion to . . .
10a
Use context clues

Goals&
assessment

(BK+TC=I).

unfamiliar words.
meaning.

why&what
vocabulary.
when&how
CONNECT
&
ENGAGE
Explain inferring.
context.
21
assessment

(BK+TC=I).
unfamiliar words.
meaning.
STUDENT SUPPLIES

Pencil

Lesson 10: Infer the Meaning
of Unfamiliar Words
when&how
&
ENGAGE
Explain inferring.
We have kids use the same text and investigate

more closely the new words they identified in
the previous session.

only.
resources&materials
LESSON TEXT

pages 2022.]
CLASSROOM SUPPLIES
INFERRED MEANING

21
STUDENT SUPPLIES
2 The Comprehension Toolkit: Infer Meaning

of Unfamiliar Words
Session Goal
We want students to:

use new vocabulary in a
sentence to demonstrate
understanding.
GUIDE
Considerations for Planning
We continue to show kids that inferring the

meaning of unknown words from context
is an important strategy to know and use
throughout their lives. In this session, we
show them how they can make a new word their own by investigating
how they infer the meaning and then using the word in a sentence.

Pencil
MODEL
SHARE THE LEARNING
overview 3
GUIDE
SHARE THE LEARNING

overview 3
Text Matters
For this session we want to choose a short

text that offers kids the opportunity to explore
a topic that includes content vocabulary.
Selections like Wings in the Water in Toolkit Texts: Grades 23,

Living at the Bottom of the World in Toolkit Texts: Grades 45, and
The Money Game or Riding the Rails in the Source Book of Short
Text may suit your readers. These have content vocabulary and text
clues kids can use to infer the meanings of unfamiliar words.
In this session, we show kids that unfamiliar words are often accessible
when we investigate the clues in the words context.
Session Goals

merge their background
knowledge with text clues
to make an inference
(TC + BK = I).
use context to infer meaning of unfamiliar words.
context.
Text Matters
MODEL
why&what
vocabulary.
CLASSROOM SUPPLIES

Goals&
resources&materials
LESSON TEXT

pages 2022.]
We want to help kids see that when they

encounter a new word, they can capture it
and make that unfamiliar word one they own.
Use context clues

CONNECT
Sentence
Text Matters

Clues
Text Matters
This session builds on the previous one. Students use new vocabulary to
demonstrate their understanding of the text.
OF UNFAMILIAR
Inferred Meaning
Sentence

Use New Vocabulary
Lesson 1 0
Word
Clues
Companion to . . .
THE
SESSION
Inferred Meaning
INFERRED MEANING
Teachers model their own

thinking as they encounter
words in text that might be
confusing and show students
how they figure out those
terms. (Frey and Fisher,
2009)
10b

only.
SMALL-GROUP
Word
98
We teach kids the inferring equation, which offers them a shorthand

way to remember that when we find a gap in the texts meaning, we
combine text clues with our own background knowledge and experience
to fill the gap. Here is the inferring equation. We tell kids that it is
similar to a math equation, like 2 + 2 = 4.
TC + BK = I
(Text Clues + Background Knowledge = Inference)
Students will need Post-its for this session.
Comprehension Intervention: Small-Group Lessons for The Comprehension Toolkit
We use the vocabulary chart from page 71 of The Comprehension Toolkit

Strategy Book 4: Infer Meaning, to show kids how to infer and then
transfer meaning so the words become their own. You can copy the
form provided in The Comprehension Toolkit or make the chart as shown
in Teach/Model.
Students will need their new words from the previous session.
Students will need individual copies of the vocabulary chart used in this
session.
Small-Group Session 10b: Use New Vocabulary
82
103
Using Toolkit language in a small-group setting,

Comprehension Intervention approaches each Toolkit
strategy lesson in a new way and with new texts.
These two lessons support the learning in the sample
lesson on page 1629 of this overview.
Small-Group Instruction: Overview
Infer Meaning
Inferring is the bedrock of understanding. Inferring involves drawing
a conclusion or making an interpretation that is not explicitly stated in
the text. Typically, skillful writers do not spill information onto the page
all at once for everyone to see. They leak information slowly, one idea at a
time, inviting the reader to make reasonable inferences. Inferential thinking
allows readers to make predictions, surface themes, and draw conclusions.
Readers also visualize to infer meaning. When readers visualize, they
create pictures in their minds of what the text tells them. In nonfiction
reading, as one of our students characterized it, those pictures look more
like a slide show or a newscast than a movie.
Active nonfiction readers get a freeze-frame in their minds of a spewing

volcano and then suddenly burst with dozens of questions and reactions.
Often, answers to these questions must be inferred. When reading nonfiction, readers may have to crack open language word by word to infer
the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary and concepts.
Session 10a Use Context to Infer Word Meanings................................. 98

Session 10b Use New Vocabulary.......................................................... 103
Session 11a Gather Text Evidence......................................................... 107
Session 11b Draw and Support Conclusions......................................... 112
Session 12
Infer the Meaning of Poems .............................................. 117
Session 13
Infer the Meaning of Subheads.......................................... 122
Session 14
Infer Answers to Authentic Questions............................... 127
Session 15a Infer Themes from Text Evidence..................................... 132

Session 15b Support Themes with Text Evidence ................................ 137
Infer Meaning Reading Conference ................................... 142
83
These two small-group lessons help

you re-teach the whole-group lesson with
a narrower focus and new text.
SMALL-GROUP
When students hear [and

read] unfamiliar words to
describe concepts they are
familiar with and care about,
they become curious about the
world of words. (Graves and
Watts-Taffe, 2002)
SESSION
Use Context to Infer

Word Meanings
In The Comprehension Toolkit Lesson 10, students infer the meaning
of unfamiliar words in a read-aloud article. Then they demonstrate
understanding by using the new vocabulary.
The two companion sessions for Lesson 10
offer kids more practice with this process.
In this first session, they review the inferring
equation (TC + BK = I) and use context clues
to infer the meanings of unfamiliar words in
a new text.
Companion to . . .
Lesson 1 0
OF UNFAMILIAR
THE
10a
Use context clues

Goals&
assessment

(BK+TC=I).

unfamiliar words.
meaning.

why&what
vocabulary.
when&how
CONNECT
&
ENGAGE
Explain inferring.
context.

only.
Word
Inferred Meaning
Clues
Sentence
Text Matters
resources&materials
LESSON TEXT

pages 2022.]
CLASSROOM SUPPLIES
INFERRED MEANING

21
STUDENT SUPPLIES

Pencil

of Unfamiliar Words
MODEL
GUIDE
SHARE THE LEARNING

overview 3
Text Matters
For this session we want to choose a short

text that offers kids the opportunity to explore
a topic that includes content vocabulary.
Selections like Wings in the Water in Toolkit Texts: Grades 23,

Living at the Bottom of the World in Toolkit Texts: Grades 45, and
The Money Game or Riding the Rails in the Source Book of Short
Text may suit your readers. These have content vocabulary and text
clues kids can use to infer the meanings of unfamiliar words.
In this session, we show kids that unfamiliar words are often accessible
when we investigate the clues in the words context.
Session Goals

merge their background
knowledge with text clues
to make an inference
(TC + BK = I).
use context to infer meaning of unfamiliar words.
98
84
We teach kids the inferring equation, which offers them a shorthand

way to remember that when we find a gap in the texts meaning, we
combine text clues with our own background knowledge and experience
to fill the gap. Here is the inferring equation. We tell kids that it is
similar to a math equation, like 2 + 2 = 4.
TC + BK = I
(Text Clues + Background Knowledge = Inference)
Students will need Post-its for this session.
Small-Group Instruction: Using Context to Infer Word Meaning
Build Background, Word and Concept Knowledge

TEACHING MOVES
Introduce the term inferring.

Introduce the inferring equation:
TC + BK = I. Also write it out: Text Clues plus
Background Knowledge equals Inference.
Help kids use the inferring equation to figure
out what it means to be a word sleuth.
We want to help kids see that inferring is at the
heart of reading. We encourage them to be on
the lookout for ways to make meaning.
Teaching Tip
An exciting aspect of word
consciousness is that it often
leads kids to a dictionary or
glossary to confirm meaning
and make new words their own.
When this happens, encourage
kids to investigate and use and
share what they learn.
TEACHING LANGUAGE
. . . Today we are going to learn about something

very important for readers: inferring.
. . . Youve heard about context clues, right?
We use them to figure out an unfamiliar word
as we read. We use clues from words and ideas
surrounding the word we dont know to figure it
out. Thats inferring. When we read, we have to
become word sleuths and use text clues and our
background knowledge to solve the mystery of
what words mean.
. . . I just used the word sleuth. Lets see how we can
figure out what the word sleuth means. Heres my
sentence. (Write it where kids can see it.)
When we read, we have to become word
sleuths and use text clues and our background knowledge to solve the mystery
of what words mean.
. . . We can use an equation to help us infer. Its
just like a math equation, like 2 + 2 = 4. (Write and
explain the inferring equation.)
TC + BK = I
Text Clues plus Background Knowledge
equals Inference
. . . Lets use the equation to infer the meaning of
sleuth. (Scaffold students in getting to the idea that
a sleuth investigates like a detective.)
TC: clues, solve, mysteries
BK: I know detectives use clues to solve
mysteries.
I: I can infer that the word sleuth means
a kind of detective!
. . . So a sleuth must be someone who solves mysteries. And a word sleuth is someone who solves
word mysteries, like a word detective. Thats what
were doing today!
Small-Group Session 10a: Use Context to Infer Word Meanings
99
85
Teach/Model
TEACHING MOVES
TEACHING LANGUAGE
Introduce the text. Explain that you are

going to think about unfamiliar words and make
inferences about their meanings as you read.
. . . We are going to explore how we infer and use

our background knowledge to help us figure out
the meaning of unfamiliar words as we read.
Spend sufficient time modeling to ensure

students success during guided practice.
. . . I selected a text I think you will like and one

that will give us lots of opportunities to use our
background knowledge and experiences to crack
open the meaning of, or figure out, some interesting new words.
Model practices to use when they read

independently.
. . . Let me show you how this works. Listen while

I read and think about the meaning of words that I
am unfamiliar with.
. . . When I make an inference about a word while
I am reading, I am going to write what I infer
the word means on a Post-it and place it right
in the text beside the word. Watch me write and
then code with an I for infer. (Demonstrate how
you record your inference about the words
meaning.)
. . . Turn and talk about what you saw me doing.
. . . Would someone share? Great! You are so
right. You saw me pause when I was reading and
note that I didnt know the word. Then I used my
background knowledge and experience, which
was . . . and the text clues, which were . . . . And
I recorded my inference with an I on a Post-it!
. . . Lets read on a little more. (When you have
offered several examples, turn the reading over to
the students.)
100
86
Guide/Support Practice
TEACHING MOVES
Have students read on and record their

inferences on Post-its.
TEACHING LANGUAGE
. . . Now its your turn. I will come around to hear

you read and to see what you are inferring about
unfamiliar words.
Move among the students, listening in on

their reading and supporting them as necessary.
Wrap Up
TEACHING MOVES
Debriefing what students did is critical. It offers

a time to share any observations you made
about their smart thinking and the way they
used inferring to figure out the meaning of
unfamiliar words.
. . . So, what did you notice as you read? Right!

You found some places where you were unsure
of the meaning of a word and you used your own
background knowledge and experience to help you
figure it outyou inferred!
Have kids share some of their Post-its and the

inferences they made.
. . . You combined your BK with clues from the text

(TC) to make an inference!
Have students save their Post-its or make a

list of new words for the next session.
. . . Lets share a few examples. Look back in your

text for places you put a Post-it. Turn and talk with
your neighbor, sharing your inferences.
TEACHING LANGUAGE
. . . Save your Post-its for our next session.
Small-Group Session 10a: Use Context to Infer Word Meanings
101
87
Assess and Plan

Did students identify text clues with ease and use them to infer the
meanings of unknown words?
Students may need additional models to understand how to read around
an unfamiliar word and identify context clues. Consider creating a visual
model of the inferring equation. Select a paragraph that has an unknown
word and give each student a copy. Have kids highlight and cut out (or
write on a Post-it) words in the text that give clues about the unknown
word. Have them record their background knowledge on Post-its. Then
have them group the text clues and Post-its to illustrate the equation:
TC + BK = I. Have them write their inference (the meaning of the
unknown word) to complete the visual model.
102
88
SMALL-GROUP
Teachers model their own

thinking as they encounter
words in text that might be
confusing and show students
how they figure out those
terms. (Frey and Fisher,
2009)
SESSION
Use New Vocabulary

This session builds on the previous one. Students use new vocabulary to
demonstrate their understanding of the text.
Text Matters
Companion to . . .
We want to help kids see that when they

encounter a new word, they can capture it
and make that unfamiliar word one they own.
Lesson 1 0
OF UNFAMILIAR
THE
10b
Use context clues

Goals&
assessment

(BK+TC=I).
unfamiliar words.
meaning.
why&what
vocabulary.
when&how
CONNECT
&
ENGAGE
Explain inferring.
We have kids use the same text and investigate

more closely the new words they identified in
the previous session.
context.

only.
Word
Inferred Meaning
Clues
Sentence
Text Matters
resources&materials
LESSON TEXT

pages 2022.]
CLASSROOM SUPPLIES
INFERRED MEANING

21
STUDENT SUPPLIES

Pencil

of Unfamiliar Words

use new vocabulary in a
sentence to demonstrate
understanding.
SHARE THE LEARNING
overview 3
We use the vocabulary chart from page 71 of The Comprehension Toolkit

Strategy Book 4: Infer Meaning, to show kids how to infer and then
transfer meaning so the words become their own. You can copy the
form provided in The Comprehension Toolkit or make the chart as shown
in Teach/Model.
Session Goal
GUIDE
We continue to show kids that inferring the

meaning of unknown words from context
is an important strategy to know and use
throughout their lives. In this session, we
show them how they can make a new word their own by investigating
how they infer the meaning and then using the word in a sentence.

MODEL
Students will need their new words from the previous session.
Students will need individual copies of the vocabulary chart used in this
session.
103
89
Build Background, Word and Concept Knowledge

TEACHING MOVES
We want to help kids understand that by using

the new word in a sentence of their own, they
increase their chance of learning the word.
Review the inferring equation to remind
students how they infer the meaning of a new
word.
TEACHING LANGUAGE
. . . Today we are going to look back at the words

we identified as unfamiliar the last time we read.
. . . Remember, we talked about how we could use
the inferring equation to figure out the meaning of
new words.
TC + BK = I
. . . I want to show you a way to investigate the text
clues and also how to make the new words you find
your own.
Teach/Model
TEACHING MOVES
TEACHING LANGUAGE
Have kids recall new words and how they

inferred meaning.
. . . Lets look at the words you identified last time

we met together.
If kids seem confused about using the inferring

equation, offer a quick model. Making sure they
understand the equation and how it works is
essential for success in this session.
. . . Turn and talk about the unfamiliar words you

found and how you inferred their meaning. Tell
how you used the inferring equation.
Model how to use the vocabulary chart to

record a new word, its inferred meaning, clues
in the text, and a sentence that uses the word in
a way that demonstrates understanding.
Give students individual charts to use for their
own words from the previous session.
. . . Lets make a chart to help us investigate not

only how we inferred through text clues, but also
how we create a sentence with the word that
demonstrates its meaning.
Word
thermal
Inferred
Meaning
warm
Clues
weather
very cold
special
clothing
Sentence
It was so cold,
they had to
wear thermal
underwear to
stay warm.
. . . I am going to give you charts that look just like

this one. Go back through the text and complete
the chart with your own words.
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90
Small-Group Instruction: Use New Vocabulary
Guide/Support Practice
TEACHING MOVES
TEACHING LANGUAGE
Observe the kids working in pairs to be sure

they understand their task.
. . . Lets try one out together. Work in pairs with

one of your words. Ill help you if you need me.
Scaffold as necessary by showing kids how to

read around the word to infer meaning from the
text clues.
. . . Now its your turn. I will come around to see

how youre doing. One suggestion . . . you may
need to reread the text! Good readers know that
rereading often helps them notice something they
hadnt noticed before.
Wrap Up
TEACHING MOVES
Have kids share their charts. Add examples

to the group chart.
. . . How did it go?

. . . Lets take a look at your charts. Turn and talk
and then well add a few to our group chart.
. . . Great work! Youll find that by being strategic
and sleuthing through the text, youll infer the
meaning of words and add them to your own
vocabulary.
Be sure to notice that kids sentences actually

demonstrate they understand the meaning.
Some sentences will use the word, but students
understanding of the meaning will not be
obvious from the sentence.
TEACHING LANGUAGE
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91
Assess and Plan

Did students use the chart with ease or demonstrate confusion?
Giving kids an additional copy of the vocabulary chart to use on their
own in independent reading is a great way to offer more practice.
Consider conferring with kids about their chart during independent
reading time.
As kids create their charts, check to make sure they:

understand how to use the context (by rereading and reading on) to
infer the meanings of unfamiliar words.
create sentences that clearly demonstrate their understanding of the
newly learned word.
106
92
Small-Group Instruction: Use New Vocabulary
Reading Conference Recording Form: Infer Meaning

Name ___________________________________________________
Date ___________________________
Book title __________________________________________________________________________________
GOAL
EVIDENCE
The student . . .
This student . . .
1. Understands the text

Tells what the book is
about and talks about
what he or she was
thinking while reading
2. Is aware of his or
her own visualizing and
inferring strategies
Describes and explains
inferences and mental
images
Combines text clues with
background knowledge to
understand a difficult part
(If reading nonfiction

with features) Infers information from features
3. Infers to answer
questions
Asks a question and makes
inferences to answer it
4. Infers and visualizes
to surface big ideas
and themes
Uses inferring and
visualizing to surface
big ideas and themes
Supports big ideas and
themes with text evidence
2010 by Stephanie Harvey, Anne Goudvis, and Judy Wallis. From Comprehension Intervention: Small-Group Lessons
for The Comprehension Toolkit. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. This page may be copied for classroom use only.
93
short texts for independent practice

Toolkit Texts
Short Nonfiction for Guided and Independent Practice
Recognizing that effective comprehension instruction begins with engaging texts, Steph
and Anne developed the four-volume series Toolkit Texts: Short Nonfiction for Guided and
Independent Practice. Designed around articles from popular childrens magazines, these
volumes provide engaging supplementary texts that are matched to the strategies taught in
The Comprehension Toolkit.
Animal Ears:
Idealized view of a classic supercell, looking west
The same
twister boasts the
highest recorded wind
speed near a tornado,
at 318 mph.
4 In addition to providing all of articles in a

14
TT_G67_14-16_Tornado_2nd.indd 14
each book describe effective ways the

articles can be used to practice the
strategies in The Comprehension Toolkit.
Pen
(One evening at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson sits in the parlor

as some of his grandchildren dance around him. Red curtains
drape over the tops of tall windows. The floor is parquet
pieces of wood that fit together to make a pattern.)
Narrator: After two terms as president

of the United States, Thomas Jefferson
has retired to Monticello. Here in the
parlor, Thomas loves to play games
and music with his daughter Marthas
children.
(Jeffersons young granddaughter Mary
climbs onto his lap.)
Mary: Grandpapa, please tell us the
story of how you wrote the Declaration
of Independence!
Jefferson: Why, you children have

heard me tell that story many times!
Ellen: I never get tired of hearing it,
Grandpapa.
Jefferson: Well, all right. (Ellen,
Virginia, and James sit on the floor in
front of Jefferson.) On June 11, 1776,
the Continental Congress put me on
a committee of five people to write the
Declaration. The committee met, and
we talked over ideas for the document.
Narrator: Remember, during

the American Revolution, the
Continental Congress met
in Philadelphia and
decided that the
13 American
Colonies should
separate from
England. The
Declaration of
Independence is the
famous document stating
why America should be a free
and independent country.
60
grades 45
grades 23
6/4/07 1:53:07 PM
english
spanish
Orejas de Animales:
Animal Ears:
Adaptaciones Para Audiencia
Adaptations for Hearing

Big Ears
The fennec fox is the smallest member
of the fox family, but it has the biggest
ears. It lives in the hot desert and usually
hunts at night, when it is cooler. In the
dark, the fox relies on its super sharp
hearing to find beetles and crickets
crawling across the sand.
African elephants have the biggest ears on Earth

and some of the best. They can hear low, rumbly
sounds from
miles away. But
an elephants ears
arent just good
for hearing. The
elephant waves
its large, thin ears
to cool the blood
inside them. The
cooled blood
travels to the rest
of the elephants
body to help cool
it down too.
A rabbits large ears

catch even the most
quiet sounds. The
little rabbit doesnt
need to turn its
head. It turns its
long ears to find out
where the sound is
coming from. Then
it quickly hops in the
opposite direction.
18
TT_G23_18-19_Ears_2nd.indd 18
94
A rabbits large ears

catch even the most
quiet sounds. The
little rabbit doesnt
need to turn its
head. It turns its
long ears to find out
where the sound is
coming from. Then
it quickly hops in the
opposite direction.
2007 by Heinemann and Carus Publishing from Toolkit Texts by Stephanie Harvey and Ann Goudvis (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann). This page may be reproduced for classroom use only.
4 The teacher notes at the beginning of
6/18/07 2:37:31 PM
TT_G23_18-19_Ears_2nd.indd 18
4 The articles include an array of features
to read and process the kinds of passages

typically found on state tests.
moving from
westerly
direction at speeds
African elephants havegenerally
the biggest
earsa on
Earth
often exceeding 250 miles per hour at altitudes of
and some of the best. 10
They
can hear low, rumbly
to 15 miles
sounds from
miles away. But
an elephants ears
arent just good
for hearing. The
elephant waves
its large, thin ears
to cool the blood
inside them. The
cooled blood
travels to the rest
of the elephants
body to help cool
it down too.
A Magical
18
that engage students and help build strong

readers while also building background
knowledge in numerous content areas.
4 The articles give students an opportunity
A tornado is a violently whirling column of wind

that extends from the Earths surface to the base of
The
is the smallest member
a thundercloud. How do you
get fennec
a rotatingfox
column
of air? This happens when of
a wall
warm,
moist but
air it has the biggest
theoffox
family,
meets a wall of cool, dry air. When these air masses
ears. It lives in the hot desert and usually
collide, the warmer air goes up and the cool air goes
hunts at night, when it is cooler. In the
under. Updrafts of warm air can reach wind speeds of
fox
on its super sharp
over 100 mph, sending thedark,
warm, the
moist
air relies
miles up
into the sky before collidinghearing
with the to
cooler
jet beetles
stream. and crickets
find
This movement of air masses
can create
huge
crawling
across
the sand.
rotating storm clouds called supercells, resulting in
severe weatherhigh winds, lightning, thunder, heavy
Jet streamA meandering high-speed wind current,
Informational Text
typical of informational text such as graphs,

charts, maps, and timelines.
Narrator
Big Ears
Anatomy of a Tornado
EN:
Ellen, AGE 14
AGE 9
Virginia,
7
Mary, AGE
4
James, AGE
The most
costly tornado was
the Oklahoma City area
tornado of May 3, 1999,
with over $1 billion
in damage.
a library of short nonfiction texts in a

reproducible format.
4 The articles focus on high-interest topics
Thomas
Jefferson
ILDR
HIS GRANDCH
Adaptations for Hearing
4 Each volume of Toolkit Texts provides
The Toolkit Texts volumes have been developed in

collaboration with Carus Publishing, the creator
of numerous magazines for children including
Cobblestone, Click, Ask, and Faces. All three
volumes share the same instructional features.
Cas t:
Orejas Grande
El zorro fennec es el ms pequeo miembro
de este familia de animales, pero tiene las
orejas ms grandes. Vive en el desierto
caliente y generalmente caza de noche,
cuando es ms fro. En la oscuridad el zorro
confa en su muy agudo audicin para
encontrar escarabajos y grillos arrastrndose
por la arena.
Los elefantes africanos tienen las orejas ms grandes

y mejores en la tierra. Ellos pueden or sonidos muy
bajos y muy
altos a millas de
distancia.
Los odos de los
elefantes no solo
son buenos para
or. Los elefantes
ondean sus
grandes y finas
orejas para enfriar
la sangre que
est dentro de
ellas. La sangre
ya enfriada
circula por el
resto del cuerpo
del elefante,
para mantenerlo
fresco.
18
6/4/07 1:50:49 PM
TT_G23_18-19_Ears_Sp_2nd.indd 18
Las largas orejas de

los conejos pueden
captar los sonidos
ms tenues. El
pequeo conejo no
necesita voltear su
cabeza. El conejo
voltea sus grandes
orejas para encontrar
de donde viene el
sonido. Entonces,
rpidamente salta en
la direccin opuesta.
Toolkit Texts Components
full color format, the Toolkit Texts CD-ROM

also provides all of the informational texts
in English and Spanish.
n a state that averages

26 tornados annually, this tornado
was but one of 88 that swept through
Missouri during a seven-day period in the
spring of 2003. How could such a week happen?
Michael Hudson, meteorologist at the National
Weather Service (NWS) office in Pleasant Hill, MO,
says that the storm system on May 4 was a textbook
weather system. If you . . . were to draw up a weather
map and put in all the elements that you need for
severe weatheran extremely strong jet stream,
lots of available heat and humidity from the Gulf of
Mexico, cold air moving down from the northern plains
and meeting up with this warm, juicy air over the
areaall of these came together on May 4.
In fact, the NWS at Pleasant Hill was talking about
the possibility of severe weather for several days prior to
the tornado outbreak, and the Storm Prediction Center
in Norman, OK, forecasted severe weather for much of
the country. According to Hudson, on May 3 they even
listed specific cities. It was that clear-cut . . . that it was
going to be a huge severe weather day.
Weird Weather Week
grades 67
The city having
the most tornados?
You guessed it!
Oklahoma City, with
over 100!
7/10/07 1:45:29 PM
Toolkit Texts: Short Nonfiction for Guided and Independent Practice
Dozens
These sample pages from 1 of 4 volumes

of nonfiction texts let students practice strategies
with texts that are of interest to them.
DINOS
Millions of years ago, dinosaurs ruled Earth. It was
so long ago that there were no humans, no cats, and no dogs.
Dinosaurs came in all shapes and sizes. They lived almost
everywherein fact, their fossils have been found on every
continent, Africa, Asia, Europe, Antarctica, Australia, North
America, and South America.
Depending on whom you ask, between 400 and 600 different
dinosaurs have been discovered and named. Thats between
33 and 50 dozen dinos!
Argentinosaurus
might have been the
biggest animal that ever
lived on land. Its possible it
grew to be 120 feet long, or as
long as three school buses. It
could have weighed 100 tons,
or as much as 20 elephants.
Argentinosauruss bones
have been found
OF
in South America.
Measuring Up
4-foot-tall kid
1
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95
Stegosaurus is a famous dinosaur. Its

back was covered with thin plates of
bone. Scientists think that the plates
and cool the animal, like a

radiator. The spikes on its tail were
excellent weapons for self-defense.
Stegosaurus was a plant eater.
Compsognathus
is one of the smallest dinosaurs
known. It was about as big as a turkey
or a large chicken, but dont be fooled by
its small size. Scientists think it was a fierce
predator, hunting other animals for food.
Maiasaura means good mother lizard. Scientists

have found fossilized Maiasaura eggs, babies, and nests.
This makes them think that Maiasaura mothers fed
and cared for their babies until they were strong
enough to take care of themselves.
4-foot-tall kid
may have been used to warm
2
96
6/8/07
3:21:57 PM
Parasaurolophus
were two hollow tubes inside the crest. No

one knows exactly what Parasaurolophus did
with its crest. It might have made sounds
with it, possibly to signal other animals.
Troodon might have been the smartest dinosaur

of all. It had a large brain for a
dinosaur. It had large eyes, and
both eyes faced forwardas peoples eyes do. (Most
dinosaurs had eyes that faced out toward the sides.)
Forward-facing eyes help animals hunt. Troodon was
probably a good hunter.
Tyrannosaurus rex
is perhaps the most famous
had a huge crest on top of its head. There
of dinosaurs. It had a huge

head (412 feet long) and huge
teeth (6 inches long and 1 inch
wide). Its teeth and claws tell us
T. rex was a meat eater.
Adapted from an article by Mike Weinstein
Illustrated by Kirsten Guerin
3
6/8/07
3:21:58 PM
97
Whats as big as a loaf of bread, weighs as much
Give up? Its petrified dinosaur poop, also known

as a coprolite. The scoop on dino poop is finally
flushed out!
Coprolites dont smell like poop after millions of
years, because theyve turned to stone. Their shape varies from small pellets
to long logs, from curly spirals to flat
pancakes. They also vary in color.
By studying coprolites,
scientists have discovered what
dinosaurs ate. Carnivorous
(meat-eating) dinosaurs coprolites
contain bone fragments, teeth, fish scales,
The
Scoop
on
yech!
or snail shells. And herbivorous (plant-eating) dinosaurs

coprolites contain shredded wood, stems, leaves, flowers, or seeds.
Dino Poop
!
w
ee
!
k
c
as a frozen turkey, and tells us what dinosaurs ate?
4
TT_G45_04-05_Scoop_2nd.indd
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6/8/07
3:11:46 PM
A world-record coprolite was recently found in Saskatchewan,

Canada. Its 17 inches long and 6 inches around. The coprolite
contained the crushed bones of an unfortunate herbivore. The poop
came from the largest carnivore in the area, a Tyrannosaurus rex.
This coprolite tells us not only what T. rex ate but how
it ate. Previously, scientists believed that T. rex swallowed
large chunks of meat and bones without chewing. But after
examining the coprolite, they now realize that T. rex crushed
mouthfuls of bones as it chewed. Bone
fragments passed through the
dinosaurs intestines in its poop.
ea l l y
r
y
l
l
r ea
g r o s s! Another sick
Dr. Karen Chin is one of the

scientists studying this giant T. rex
coprolite. In fact, Dr. Chin is the worlds
leading paleoscatologista scientist who
studies fossilized poop. To find out whats
inside a coprolite, it is cut open, x-rayed,
smashed, or sliced into superthin slices.
The slices are studied under a powerful
microscope. Dr. Chin is never sure what
jewel she might find inside each coprolite.
Who would have guessed that lumpy rocks
could reveal such important information?
discovery was
recently made
fossilized vomit.
Paleontologists Peter
Doyle and Jason Wood
uncovered the worlds oldest
vomit in Peterborough, England.
The 160-million-year-old vomit
contained dozens of belemnites,
a squidlike animal. The vomit
came from an ancient sea
creature called ichthyosaur.
Ichthyosaur, who lived at the time
of dinosaurs, probably threw up to
prevent a stomachache. Amazing!
Creatures have had stomachaches
for a long time!
!
s
s
o
gr
Paleoscatologists, thats who.

Adapted from an article by Mary Meinking
5
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3:11:48 PM
99
3
2
Antarctica is big: 14 million square

kilometers, or one and a half times
the size of the United States. But only
2.4 percent of this area is exposed
land. Ice as thick as 4.8 kilometers
(28 Washington monuments stacked
up!) covers the rest.
KEY
Land mass and
ice shelves
Sea ice
Penguins
Leopard seals
Antarctic fur seals
Killer whales
Humpback whales
Blue whales
Fin whales
Minke whales
Why do people go to the coldest,

windiest place on Earth? Scientists
study Antarctica to learn new
information about Earth. Tourists
seek adventure and beauty.
Antarcticas land, seas, and sky
hold amazing treasures for
everyone.
6
TT_G45_06-07_Antarcica_2nd.indd 6
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6/8/07 2:26:41 PM
1 Ross Ice Shelf: In March 2000, a giant chunk of ice broke
2 Halley Research Station: British scientists working

at this station in 1985 first reported a hole in the ozone
layer in the atmosphere high above Antarctica. Many
countries are now working to reduce ozone-destroying
chemicals in the air.
3 Tourism: Last year, 15,000 tourists visited Antarctica on
cruise ships and airplanes to see penguins, to ski,

and to enjoy the frozen beauty.
4 Vostok Station: The lowest
temperature ever recorded on Earth

was 128.6 F, measured at Vostok
Station. Russian, French, and American
scientists drilled deep into the ice. By
studying this ancient ice, researchers
learn about changes in Earths air and
weather over the last 420,000 years.
5 South Pole: The ice in the
interior on the polar plateau moves
more than 30 feet in a year. So each
year scientists put in a new metal
stake to mark the exact location of
the South Pole. About 50 people
spend each winter at the South Pole,
working on scientific projects.
6 The magnetic South Pole: When

a compass needle lines up with North
or South, it points to what are called
the magnetic poles. The magnetic South
Pole is more than 1,500 miles from the
spot we call the geographic South Pole at
exactly 90 south latitude.
7
6
7 McMurdo Station and 8 Palmer

Station are the two U.S. coastal scientific
research stations in Antarctica. In all, 29
countries operate research stations and ships in
Antarctica.
away from the Ross Ice Shelf. This iceberg is almost as big
as the state of Connecticut and contains as much water
as the whole United States uses in five years.
Adapted from an article by Sarah J. Ball

illustrated by Mike DiGiorgio
7
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6/8/07 2:26:46 PM
101
Whats it like to live

in Antarctica? If
you lived at Palmer
Station, the United
States research
station where I spent
three months, it
would be like this:
Palmer Station was named for explorer Nathaniel Palmer,
one of the first to sight Antarctica.
Where Was I?
Palmer Station is on Anvers Island, 20

miles west of the Antarctic Peninsula. To get there, I sailed
from the southern tip of Chile on the RVIB (Research Vessel
Ice Breaker) Nathaniel B. Palmer for four days on rough seas
and through thick sea ice.
Why Did I Go There?
I was in Antarctica to study

invertebrates (animals without backbones), such as sea
stars and sea urchins. I worked with the divers to collect
invertebrates and to set up experimentsand I helped
them with their equipment. Sometimes the divers found
interesting animals to show everyonelike giant sea
cockroaches!
This sea cockroach is really

an Antarctic isopod.
8
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6/8/07
3:17:58 PM
Evening Activities
Scientists at Palmer Station use inflatable boats

to explore nearby areas.
Because the weather outside was very

cold and windy, I wore special clothing
issued by the U.S. Antarctic Program
thermal underwear, socks, boots, a hat,
a waterproof coat, and gloves. Anytime I
was near the water, I wore a bright-orange
float-coat that worked as a life preserver.
The divers wore even more warm layers
plus a watertight dry suit to protect them
from the icy water. They also carried more
than 50 pounds of equipment.
Inside the station, I worked in the
indoor aquarium and the laboratories,
examining specimens through a
microscope. I wore clothes just like yours
Palmer Station was kept well heated and
protected from the weather outside.
Exploring On weekends, we hiked or

skied on the glacier behind the station or
took short boat trips. To be able to explore
or work off-station, everyone first went
to Survival Schoola safety and survival
training class.
When we were on the glacier, we
stayed on marked paths to avoid falling
into deep cracks in the ice hidden
After a long
day of work or play, we relaxed. Everyone
ate dinner together in the cafeteria.
Then, Id head to the game room. We
watched movies on a big-screen TV,
played computer games, and even had
parties. No TV or radio stations come into
Antarctica, so we communicated with the
outside world using e-mail. We got regular
mail, but it took about a month for it to
get to the station in good weather.
Because I woke every day at 7:00 A.M.
(in spring, this was four or five hours
after sunrise), I was exhausted by
11:00 P.M. You need a good nights sleep
to be ready for another exciting day on
Palmer Station!
Adapted from an article by David Krakowski
as told to Jessica Perez
by snow. On boat trips, we avoided

dangerous icebergs. We were careful not
to disturb any animals, because there
are strict rules to protect them. A few
times, penguins and seals visited us at
the station, though.
Penguins explore Palmer Station, too!
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103
staff development
Staff Development with The Comprehension Toolkits
Implementing and Sustaining Comprehension Instruction
Across the Curriculum
Designed for literacy coaches, reading specialists, and administrators, Staff Development
with The Comprehension Toolkits offers a step-by-step, insiders view of how to support
teachers as they implement effective comprehension instruction and sustain active
literacy practices. While providing a collaborative forum to explore the whats and
whys of The Comprehension Toolkits, the professional development practices in this
resource serve as analytical tools and frameworks for enhancing teaching craft.
TK_StaffDevel_Chapters_TKCoaching 11/4/11 2:11 PM Page 1
I (Angela) was meeting with a team of kindergarten teachers who were new
to the Toolkit. Their principal believed in the Toolkit and expected it to be used
with the students. The teachers were just starting to implement Toolkit comprehension instruction. I wanted to discover their honest feelings about
teaching with the Toolkit, so I began my demonstration lesson prebrief by saying, Tell me a little bit about how the Toolkit is working for you.
After they had looked at each other for a few moments, the teacher in
whose classroom I would soon be modeling turned to me and said, Ill admit
it. I havent really used it much at all.
Encouraged by her honesty, I continued my questioning: Have you not
had the time, or is it something else?
She hesitated a moment and said, Well, my kids dont seem to think
much. I mean, theyre only kindergartners.
Taken aback, I asked, They dont think during reading or ever?
She shook her head and replied, Mostly during reading. They think on
the playground. She smiled.
We all laughed, and I briefly explained that the first strategy book in
both the primary and the intermediate Toolkits focuses specifically on teaching children to monitor their comprehensionin other words, to be aware
of the thinking they do when they read, listen, or view. After reviewing the
teaching moves and lesson goals, I reminded the teachers that while I wanted
them to notice my teaching language and moves, I wanted them to spend
most of their time noticing student thinking and learning.
Starting and Sustaining Toolkit Staff Development
Staff Development with The Comprehension

Toolkit builds on a unique collaboration
with Angela Butler Schroden, the district
reading specialist who helped implement
The Comprehension Toolkit series across
Hillsborough County, Florida, one of the
largest school districts in the United States.
This staff development resource helps coaches and administrators maximize

teacher effectiveness through collaborative and collegial staff development.
Stephanie Harvey, Anne Goudvis, and Angela Butler Schroden
104
TK_StaffDevel_Chapters_TKCoaching 11/4/11 2:11 PM Page 33
Introduction
staff development
33
CHAPTER 2 | ACTIVE LITERACY
Active Literacy: What, Why, and When
As the Toolkit Teachers Guides say, The Comprehension Toolkit is not an addon. It replaces rote fill-in-the-blank activities and worksheets with researchbased practices that engage kids and foster active thinking and literacy . . . .
The Comprehension Toolkit provides an alternative to the traditional assign,
memorize, and correct curriculum and encourages, instead, what we call
Active Literacy. In other words, active literacy could also be called engaged
literacy. Students move beyond simply reading and answering questions to
reading, thinking, reacting, collaborating, and writing in response to their
reading. Active literacy asks students to not only retell what theyve read;
active literacy asks students what they think and wonder about a text. Active
literacy is guided by the idea that, above all, reading is thinking.
Seven core chapters describe how to plan

staff development around the ideas and
practices that shape Toolkit instruction.
What Is Active Literacy?

Active literacy is brought to life through several instructional practices and
conditions that are built into each of the Toolkit lessons:
Each chapter is framed around five coaching

structuresworkshops, study groups, demonstration
teaching, co-teaching, and one-to-one coaching.
Room arrangement. A comfortable meeting space is available for

instruction, desks are in clusters, and tables are arranged so that
students can talk to each other.
Accessible resources. Resources, including books, magazines,
images, computers, pencils, markers, and Post-its, can be easily
located.
Think-alouds. A reader can verbalize his or her thoughts
while
TK_StaffDevel_Chapters_TKCoaching
readingan inner conversation spoken aloud.
11/4/11 2:11 PM Page 36
Text coding. Students can draw and write symbols in the text
while reading as shorthand reminders about their thinking.
36
Annotating. Jotting quick thoughts in the margins helps students
to hold and remember their thinking.
STAFF DEVELOPMENT WITH THE COMPREHENSION TOOLKITS
Text lifting. Students can spotlight a section of text for reading,

thinking, and discussing.
Workshop
Anchor charts. Poster-sized records of kids thinking (and key

teaching points) are posted for all to see.
Session 1: Observing Active Literacy
For this part of the active literacy workshop, you will be showing the
active literacy portion of the video on The Primary Comprehension Toolkit
DVD-ROM to reinforce what active literacy looks and sounds like.
Interactive read-alouds. Oral text reading is interspersed with

strategic think-aloud models and discussions.
Purpose
To observe and reflect on the active literacy classroom
Materials
For each participant:
Copy of the Active Literacy Viewing Guide (See the Staff Development Resources CD-ROM.)
For the coach:

Anchor chart from the previous session, What did we do today that
made us actively engaged in our reading?
Active Literacy Slideshow on the DVD-ROM from The Primary

Comprehension Toolkit (There is also an Active Literacy Slideshow
on The Comprehension Toolkit CD-ROM if you are working only with
intermediate teachers.)
Anchor chart titled Active Literacy Specialists divided into six sections corresponding to the parts of the Active Literacy Slideshow:
Literate Environment, Culture of Thinking, Explicit Instruction,
Social Interaction, Making Thinking Visible, Assessment
Computer with LCD projector and speakers or DVD player
Workshop Steps
Turn and talk about stu- Begin todays session by asking participants to turn and talk about the student
dent engagement engagement they noticed since the last session. Have a few participants share
out what they noticed.

Share workshop goals
Tell participants that today they will be once again looking at active literacy,
this time with images and words from real classrooms. Hand out the Active
Literacy Viewing Guide, and ask participants to take a quick look at it. Explain that the slideshow is divided into these sections and that they can use
this viewing guide to record any thoughts, questions, reactions, or observations they have as they view each section. If you have participants teaching
An accompanying CD-ROM provides all the tools youll

need to implement effective coaching sessions, including
three customizable PowerPoint presentations.
105
resources for PLCs

Comprehension & Collaboration
Inquiry Circles in Action
Comprehension & Collaboration serves as a guide for teachers who want to realize
the benefits of well-structured, cross-curricular projects. In this book, Steph and
Smokey present:
10 classroom conditions needed for active, small-group learning
19 profiles of small-group inquiry circles in action that bring strategies and

principles to life
27 practical lessons in comprehension, collaboration, and inquiry
how-to instructions for 4 types of inquiry circles-mini-inquiries; curricular

inquiries; literature circle inquiries; and open inquiries
out 1
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HarveyCov
3/20/09
1:46 PM
Page 1
Throughout, chapters offer a mix of materials for you to grab and go as well as
some big ideas to think through as you customize inquiry circles for your students.
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11/10/09
2:32 PM
Page 75
ach
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ection
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d facts
ics and isolate
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rk
wo
Solitary
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te learning
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pliance
Student com
eiver
information rec
Student as
Preparing Your Activ

e Learning
Classroom
listening
Quiet and
senter
expert and pre
Teacher as
at a time
t
jec
sub
e
On
a textbook
Reliance on
rces only
Verbal sou
ut a discipline
Hearing abo
tivators
Extrinsic mo
to next unit
and moving
Forgetting
nks
bles and bla
Filling in bub
RGIN
GUTTER MA
ce and choice
Student voi
and concepts
Questions
tive work
Collabora
thinking
Strategic
s
investigation
Authentic
ponsibility
Student res
ator
knowledge cre
Student as
talk
and
n
ctio
era
Int
ch
model and coa
Teacher as
ry studies
lina
cip
dis
Crossources
Multiple res
l learning
Multimoda
in a discipline
Engaging
ce
e and audien
Real purpos
taking action
Caring and
ssments
e and self-asse
Performanc
kills
oration S
up Collab
findings
Small-Gro
r views and
you
Support
sible
q Be respon
solo.qxp
to the group
rance
v Show tole
The Active Use of Knowledge
and respect
David Perkins of Harv

ards Project Zero is one
of our favorite educa
researchers. Listen to
tional
this:
rect
and cor
w Reflect
ively
r Listen act
s Speak up
others
and encourage
Share the air
t
Comprehension
and Collaborat
ion 2009 by
ey and Harvey
Stephanie Harv
mouth, NH).
emann, Ports
Daniels (Hein
When we walk into a

school that promotes
active learning and
collaborative inquiry,
we can feel it right away.
A group of
fourth graders scans
a fold-out, cross-secti
on illustration of
the Titanic. Four first
graders huddle over a
Big Book on natural disasters, jotting
and drawing their quest
ions about volcanoes, earthquakes,
and tsunamis on a large
poster. Several
fifth graders crowd aroun
d the computer to hunt
cost-effective way to
for the most
purchase malaria nets
gle of middle school
for
child
ren in Africa. A gagkids interviews the cafete
ria
manager to determine
much food is being throw
how
n away each day at lunch
time. A roomful of senio
tens attentively as a group
rs lisof classmates, teachers,
and outside experts hold
symposium on globa
l warming.
a
Throughout the build
ing, teachers also brim
with curiosity, modeling
inquiry process, pursu
their
ing their own authentic
own
questions, and doing resear
front of the kids. Stude
ch right in
nts and teachers read,
write, and talk with each
meet in study groups,
other. Teachers
book clubs, or inquiry
circles of their own. Every
engaged in active learn
one
is
ingposing questions,
finding answers, and takin
these schools, learning
g action. In
often reaches beyond
the classroom, as kids
tion from the worldand
gather informabring information to it.
In schools like these, think
not a spectator sport.
ing is
Learning is a consequenc
e of thinking. This senten
ce turns topsy-turvy
conventional pattern
the
of schooling. The conve
ntional pattern says that
dents acquire knowledge.
first stuOnly then do they think
with and about the know
edge they have absor
bed. But it is really just
lthe opposite: Far from
coming after knowledge,
think
ing
knowledge comes on
the coattails of think
ing. As we
75
This book is about small-group projects that work. Its about combining what we know
about the research process, about thinking, and about people working together to create a
structure that consistently supports kids to build knowledge that matters in their lives.
Stephanie Harvey & Harvey Smokey Daniels
106
Resources for PLCs
Inquiry Circles in Elementary Classrooms DVD

New Strategies for Comprehension and Collaboration
resources for PLCs
This DVD companion to Comprehension & Collaboration uses compelling video

footage to share new strategies for comprehension and collaboration and show
inquiry circles in action. With a special emphasis on how to organize and manage
well-structured cross-curricular projects, these instructional DVDs show you how to:
engage students as you unleash their curiosity across the curriculum
explicitly model and teach strategic thinking and collaboration
teach your curriculum and meet standards the inquiry way.
Eavesdrop as students engage in

lively, productive inquiry teams.
Watch teachers teach specific comprehension

and collaboration strategies.
Tour classrooms that burst with energy,

excitement, and achievement.
In small groups, we are smarter. In well-structured groups, we leverage each others

thinking. We learn more not just because we all bring different pieces of the puzzle, but
because, through talk, we can actually make new and better meaning together.
Stephanie Harvey & Harvey Smokey Daniels
107
We teach the reader, not just the reading. We want children to be lifelong learners who
read actively and independently across the curriculum, who engage their minds and
understand what they read. Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis
The Primary Comprehension Toolkit Series

The Primary Comprehension Toolkit series by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis fosters
active literacy learning and launches students into the exciting world of nonfiction reading,
writing, and thinking and it supports your teaching in every instructional setting.
The Primary Comprehension Toolkit (Grades K2) offers developmentally appropriate lessons that support
our youngest learners as they read, view, talk, listen and write their way into the world of nonfiction.

Connecting Comprehension and Technology provides practical lessons that teach students
how to navigate, evaluate, collaborate, and communicate through digital resources.
ELLSupport
The Scaffolding for English Language Learners previews and extensions are designed to
The Comprehension Intervention small-group lessons narrow the instructional focus, concentrating
on critical aspects of the Toolkits lesson strategy to reinforce kids understanding.
The Toolkit Texts series provides a library of engaging, ageappropriate nonfiction articles in a reproducible format.
Staff Development
Staff Development with The Comprehension Toolkits offers a step-by-step, insiders view of how to support
teachers as they implement effective comprehension instruction and sustain active literacy practices.
Resources for PLCs

Comprehension & Collaboration serves as a guide for
teachers who want to realize the benefits of wellstructured, cross-curricular projects.
The Inquiry Circles DVD, a companion to Comprehension
& Collaboration, uses compelling video footage to show inquiry circles in action.
Save with The Primary Comprehension Toolkit Teacher Pack

108
The Comprehension Toolkit Teacher Packs

The Comprehension Toolkit Teacher Packs offer an array of nonfiction reading resources to help you address the
diverse learning needs and abilities of your students. Provided in a sturdy, easy-to-carry organizer, each pack
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The Primary Comprehension Toolkit Teacher Pack includes
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Comprehension & Collaboration: Inquiry Circles in Action
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Comprehension

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by Stephanie Harvey, Anne Goudvis, and Colleagues

Nonfiction reading strategies for

active literacy learning for every student

The Comprehension Toolkit Series

Teaching with Digital Resources

Resources for PLCs

Save with The Comprehension Toolkit Teacher Pack

Overview of the Comprehension Toolkit strategy books pgs 23

Overview of Comprehension Intervention pg 8283

Strategy Book Instructional Design pgs 415

Sample Lesson: Use Context to Infer Word Meanings pgs 8488

Sample Lesson: Infer Meanings of Unfamiliar Words pgs 1631

Sample Lesson: Use New Vocabulary pgs 8993

Overview of Informational Texts pgs 3233

Short Texts for Independent Practice

Short Text Titles pg 50

Overview of the Toolkit Texts series pg 94

Sample Short Texts pgs 5153

Sample Texts pgs 95103

Professional Support pgs 5457

Overview of Staff Development with the Comprehension Toolkit

Sample Lesson: Infer with Visual Cues pgs 5966

Resources for PLCs

Overview of Inquiry Circles DVD pg 107

Overview of Scaffolding the Comprehension Toolkit for English

Sample Lesson: Infer the Meaning of Unfamiliar Words pgs 7781

The Primary Comprehension Toolkit, Grades K2 pg 108

For sample lessons and additional information, visit www.ComprehensionToolkit.com

Activate and Connect

Whole-Group Instruction: Strategy Books

Inferring is the bedrock of understanding. Inferring involves drawing a conclusion or making an

Summarize and Synthesize

Read, Think, and React: Paraphrase and respond to information

For sample lessons and additional information, visit www.ComprehensionToolkit.com

Reading comprehension occurs when readers engage in an inner

The title highlights the lessons

The opening photograph shows

Samples of the graphic organizers or

This facsimile provides an example of the

Whole-Group Instruction: Strategy Books

These pages introduce key

The Goals and Assessment feature lists

Gradual Release of Responsibility

The first two pages of each lesson offer a

For sample lessons and additional information, visit www.ComprehensionToolkit.com

Gradual Release of Responsibility

The main column showcases the teaching

Steph and Anne believe in the power of

To foster an Active Literacy Classroom,

Whole-Group Instruction: Strategy Books

Toolkit lessons promote flexible thinking. They encourage

Bracketed information explains the

Gradual Release of Responsibility

Interactive read alouds are a fundamental

For sample lessons and additional information, visit www.ComprehensionToolkit.com

Thinksheets like this help students sort out

Gradual Release of Responsibility

Thoroughly field-tested in real classrooms,

Whole-Group Instruction: Strategy Books

Nonfiction reading is messy and noisy. Nonfiction is the information

Throughout the Toolkit, artifacts including

Additional teaching tips are shared

For sample lessons and additional information, visit www.ComprehensionToolkit.com

Gradual Release of Responsibility

Reading comprehension occurs when readers engage in an inner

Toolkit lessons promote flexible thinking. They encourage

Thinksheets like this help students sort out

Nonfiction reading is messy and noisy. Nonfiction is the information

Sharing sessions are not worth the time if no one is

Assessment is a continuous operation that is at the heart of

The Lesson Guide shows you specific teaching language and