Standard 3: Critical Reading and Writing

Students will apply critical thinking skills to reading and writing.

 For more specific genre information, please refer to Genre Guidance (page 4 of the Support Documents.).

Student Actions 

Teacher Actions 

With guidance and support:

• Students will use prior knowledge and new learning from a text to come to a reasonable conclusion (inference).

• Students will answer inferential questions providing textual evidence to support reasoning

Students at this level require guidance and support during instructional opportunities for this objective.

• Teachers model and discuss with students how to use prior knowledge and new learning from a text to come to a reasonable conclusion or inference.
• Teachers provide opportunities for students to use prior knowledge and new learning from a text to come to a reasonable conclusion or inference.
• Teachers monitor and provide opportunities for students to receive feedback as students are using  prior knowledge and new learning from a text to come to a reasonable conclusion or inference.
• Teachers model how to answer inferential questions providing proof from the text to support reasoning.
• Teachers provide opportunities for students to answer inferential questions providing proof from the text to support reasoning.
• Teachers monitor and provide opportunities for students to receive feedback as students are answering inferential questions providing proof from the text to support reasoning.

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Supporting Resources

Teacher Insights

Techniques to Improve Student's Inferential Skills (PDF)

• An inference is a logical conclusion made from observations or details assumed to be true and the conclusions drawn from this process.

• We make inferences about people, surroundings, and events.

• Inferences can be drawn from thinking about the facts or details in the text.

• When students use their background knowledge and add the it to the clues given in a text or passage, they are inferring. Background Knowledge + Book Clues= Inferring

• Predictions are a type of inference stating what the reader thinks will happen.

• Students will require explicit instruction on how to make inferences.  When the text leaves out information about people, surroundings and events, asking them guiding questions can help them think about the missing information.

Due to recursive nature of the standards, it is essential that teachers are aware of how all objectives within and between strands work together for optimal instruction.