Making Inferences with Picture of the Day

Take a look at this picture.

What do you notice?  Did you know that by making observations, asking questions and making inferences about this picture, you are actually doing what a good reader does with text?

These three skills are important for readers to use.  Good readers think carefully about what they are reading, and use what they know to "read into" what they are reading.  We have been working on an activity we call, "Picture of the Day" to help us become better readers.  Want to join us?  Here's what we do:

1.  Make observations.
Observations are what you see with your eyes.  They are things you notice.  Here are some examples of observations we made abut this picture:
- there is a boat
- the man is wearing shorts and is barefoot
- the sky is clear
- his leg is bent and his hands are in the air
- he is smiling
Notice we couldn't say, "He is jumping into the water."  We don't know that by seeing it with our eyes.  But we can INFER that's what he is doing from what we see.

2.  Ask questions.
Here are some of our questions:
- why are his hands up?
- is it hot?
- is he at a lake?
- is that his boat?

Finally, we use what we noticed and asked to make inferences.
3.  Make inferences
- We infer that it is hot because he is wearing shorts, has no shirt on and is barefoot.
- We infer that he is jumping into the water because his leg is bent and he is stepping off the boat.
- We infer he is not at the ocean because the water is calm and there are trees in the background.

Good readers do the same things when they read.  They notice what the author is saying, ask questions to themselves and draw conclusions and make inferences based on that information.  Soon this activity will become part of our reading rotations each morning.

The next time you are reading with your child - or see a great photo somewhere! - try making inferences.  You may be surprised to find out what your child is thinking!