Teaching To Find Main Idea and Inference

Rizki Amalia Witri

Dwi Firli Ashari

Dwi Novita Sari

Putri Tiara Ismawaty

Outline

1. Reading for main Ideas

•Elements of paragraph

•Where are main Ideas found?

•Guidelines to determine Main Idea

2. Background Information for Inference

•Draw inferences

•Reading strategies

•Teaching strategies

Three Elements of Piece of Writing

What is Main Idea?

• The author's message about the topic. It is often expressed directly or it can be implied.

• The main information that a writer wants to convey to a reader. It is presented to the in the first or second sentence of a paragraph.

• A statement that is usually supported by several specific details.

What are Supporting Details?

• The specific informations that support the main idea.

• They closely follow the main idea.

What is Topic?

• The topic of a piece of writing is its subject.

• Ask yourself what the writer is writing is about. The answer will be its topic.

WHERE ARE MAIN IDEAS FOUND?

Those that are directly stated in the text:

• Main ideas are often found at the beginning of paragraphs.

• Main ideas are also found in the concluding sentences of a paragraph.

• The main idea can be expressed as a summation of the information in the paragraph as well as a link to the information in the next paragraph.

Those that are inferred or implied:

• Several sentences in a paragraph can imply the main idea by introducing facts about the topic before actually stating the topic.

• Implied ideas can be drawn from facts, reasons, or examples that give hints or suggestions concerning the main idea. These hints will be clues leading you to discover the main idea in the selected text.

Guidelines to Determine Main Idea

1. Summarize the Passage

2. Look for Repetition of Ideas

3. When the Main Idea is Stated

4. When the Main Idea is Implied

Draw Inferences• Process of conceptualizing meaning from a text

that is not directly stated but is implied.

• The prosess hyphotesizing-> Deductive (logical manner) & Inductive (asumption based observation &analysis)

• Principles: apply current knowledge, use text clues, and monitor understanding.

• Function: To make make reasonable inferences consciously and actively while the students read.

Differences between good and poor readers

• Characteristics of good readers:

1.assess their knowledge of the topic,

2.establish their purpose for reading,

3.reflect on specific reading strategies.

• Characteristics of poor readers:

1.begin reading with little or no preparation,

2.read without considering why they are reading

3.read without thinking about how to deal with the material

Active Engagement with Content

• Factors: prior knowledge, purpose for reading & knowledge of text structure (genre)

• Comprehension involves processing information and drawing inferences, but each of it is different.

Teacher Questions

• Help the students to focus on making inferences

• Confirm students understanding of explicit content

Reading Strategies that helps students understand the text and draw

inferences

• Predicting strategies

• During-reading strategies

• After-reading strategies

Predicting strategies

• Based on the prior knowledge ad personal experiences

• Made by drawing inferences

• There are three stages of predicting strategies

• Assessing current knowledge

• Identifying text structure

• Establishing purpose of reading

During-Reading Strategies

• Some predictions will be inaccurate• Good reader monitor to confirm or modify their

assumption in understanding the text• Understanding the text includes identifying the type of

the text to help them easier to get the information from the text. • Common types of text:• Comparison and contrast• Cause and effect• Problem and solution• Sequence• Enumeration• Examples

After-reading Strategies

• Including confirming main idea of the text

• Drawing conclusion

• Evaluating content

• Purpose: to reflect on what they have read and to draw general inferences

Teaching strategies that facilitate inferences

• When the students read the text, there are some qualifying term that helps the students for making the inferences from the reading passage• A qualifying term is a word or phrase that shows the

level of ambiguity in a statement• There are 4 basic categories of qualifying the terms• No Ambiguity• Limited ambiguity• Moderate ambiguity• Extreme ambiguity

Qualifying TermsNo ambiguity

• Some qualifying terms:

• Absolutely

• All

• Certain

• Each

• Every

• Undeniable

• Without any doubt

Ex:

It has been proved that Hitler had begun to plan for territorial expansion even before he acquired leadership over Germany

Limited ambiguity• Some qualifying terms:

• It is probable

• Rarely

• Slightly

• Mostly

• There is little doubt

Ex:

It is probable that Hitler had begun to plan for territorial expansion even before he acquired leadership over Germany

Moderate Ambiguity

• Some qualifying terms:

• One can assume

• One can say

• Perhaps

• This might mean

• It seems

• Suppose

Ex:

One can assume that Hitler had begun to plan for territorial expansion even before he acquired leadership over Germany

Extreme Ambiguity

• Some qualifying terms:

• It is guessed

• To all appearances

• It is rumored

• It should be obvious

• Supposedly

Ex:

To all appearances, Hitler had begun to plan for territorial expansion even before he acquired leadership over Germany

• Beside the word or phrase that shows ambiguity the students can make inferences by monitoring a selection of connotation

• The connotation shows whether the author of the text is positive, neutral or negative position towards the topic

Ex:

Sir Winston Churchill continues to be the most revered European leader of the 20th century

Approaches to Teaching Comprehension and Inference Strategies

1. Directed Reading Lesson (DRL) / Directed Reading Activity (DRA)

2. Modified Directed Reading Lesson (MDRL)

3. Language Experience Approach (LEA)

4. Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DRTA)

1. DRL/DRA

• The teacher first introduces the selection and surveys the students’ background knowledge about the topic.

Note: Attention is first devoted to important vocabulary, and the purpose for reading is established.

• Next, the students read the selection, during which the teacher asks questions to monitor understanding and to encourage students to make inferences.

• Finally, students discuss the selection, and the teacher asks questions to clarify, summarize, and confirm their understanding.

2. MDRL

• The teacher begins by introducing the story or selection to be read.

• Then the skill or strategy that will be used with the selection is explicitly taught.

• With the teacher’s help, students set purposes for both reading the content and using the skill or strategy.

• Students then read the selection, after which they discuss both the selection content and how the strategy or skill was used while reading.

2. MDRL (cont.)

MDRL requires careful teacher preparation, teacher should prepare:

• providing explicit explanations

• modeling the procedure involved

• assessing student’s responses during the guided practice

• providing appropriate additional help

• having students use the strategy immediately in a reading activity

3. LEA

• The procedure starts with either a personal experience or a story the students have read or even a movie they have seen.

• The class brainstorms about the topic while the teacher writes their ideas on the board.

• Each student contributes a sentence or idea, which is added to the content.

• The students copy the information from the board, and, either in small groups, individually or in pairs, organize it into a coherent narrative.

4. DRTA

• The teacher assesses students’ background knowledge, helps set purpose for reading, and identifies text structure.

• New vocabulary is identified and taught, and students are guided in making predictions by surveying illustrations, headings, and other clues.

• The teacher lists student predictions on the whiteboard, then students read the selection and confirm or disconfirm their predictions.

• Finally, the class discusses and summarizes the selection.

The Role of Cooperative Learning in Developing Inference Strategies

1. Paired Storytelling

2. Know – Wants – Learned (KWL)

3. Discussion Continuum

Conclusion: Developing Academic Texts to Enhance Inference Use

• Teacher has clear understanding about the learning objective(s)

• Teacher must be able to apply comprehension strategies and draw inferences

• Teacher should activate students’ prior knowledge + attend to essential language components

• The role and attitude of the teacher

Teaching Simulation Time