Choose Your Own Check-In: Read Between the Lines (Inferencing)

In this episode, you can use ANY book you're currently reading! Grab your book, press play, and think along as we practice "Reading Between The Lines"...also known as inferencing. 

You'll be guided through the steps to combine the clues from the story with knowledge that you already know to uncover details that the author never says. You'll infer details about character events, the setting, the plot of the story, and so much more. 

This episode is perfect for

• independent reading
• classroom use
• listening in the car
• homework time

Just pause the episode when you need more thinking time, and get ready to share your ideas!

If this episode seemed like a good fit, check out our novel studies where we explore popular chapter books together!

Looking for a fun way to continue to practice the "Stop and Jot" strategy, check out "Read Between the Lines Bingo"  which works with any text. 

Thanks for checking-in! Keep reading and keep thinking...because books are better together!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to Kids Chapter Check-Ins, a space where we pause, think, talk, and write about great books together. Books are better together. So grab your book and let's check in. Welcome back, readers. Today is a choose your own check-in episode. That means you can use this episode to think through any book that you might be reading right now. You don't need a specific novel, you just need any book and your brain. If you'd like to write down a few ideas while you listen, feel free to grab a piece of paper or a few sticky notes. So go ahead, pause me if you need to, and grab whatever book you're reading right now. Got it? Awesome. Let's check in. Today we're going to become reading detectives. We're going to read between the lines. Think about this. Have you ever figured out something about a character even though the author never came right out and said it? Maybe you knew that a character was excited. Or maybe you knew that two characters were upset with each other. Maybe you had a feeling that something important was about to happen. That's called inferencing. Inferencing happens when you take clues from the story and combine them with knowledge that you already know. When you put those two things together, you make an inference, which is really a really good guess. Let's try one together. Imagine that you're reading a story and the author writes, Emma stared at the floor. Her hands were shaking. She took a deep breath before walking into the classroom. When you hear those sentences, what emotion can you infer that Emma was feeling? I bet you made an inference that Emma was nervous. That's pretty impressive because if you go back and listen to that sentence again, you'll notice that the author never says Emma is nervous. Listen again, but this time I want you to listen for the clues that helped you to figure out that Emma was feeling nervous. Ready? Emma stared at the floor. Her hands were shaking. She took a deep breath before walking into the classroom. So what clues did you notice there? How did you know that Emma was feeling nervous? You could jot down your clues on paper or share them out with someone nearby. I bet you noticed clues like her hands were shaking, she was staring at the floor, she was taking deep breaths. Now, think about what you already know about those three things. You already know that when people's hands are shaking, or when people are staring at the floor, or when they're taking deep breaths, that's usually a sign that those people are feeling nervous. So you made an inference by combining the clues that the author gave you with what you already know about that emotion of being nervous. You made an inference. Now it's your turn. Open your book to wherever you've left off. As you're reading today, I want you to look for places where the author doesn't tell you everything directly. You'll want to pay special attention to characters' actions, the words that they're saying, and even the way that characters are interacting with each other. When you find a clue, stop and ask yourself, what are the clues that I'm noticing? And what do I already know about the situation? When you take those two things and combine them, you're able to make an inference. As you read, jot down some clues and the inferences that you can make from them. See if you can make at least one strong inference while you're reading today. If you find more than one, even better. Pause your episode here if you'd like to try this out now. If you're reading or thinking with someone today, share one inference that you made and explain how the clues helped you to make it. You might even discover that different readers notice different things, and that's what makes reading powerful. Thank you so much for checking in with me today. The next time you're reading, remember some of the most important parts of a story are the parts that the author never says. I'll see you back here soon for another chapter check-in. Thanks for checking in with me today. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow along so you don't miss our next check in. And remember, keep reading, keep thinking, and keep talking because books are better together.