Online Resources on Inference

Inference – Online Resources

Simply put, an inference is also known as reading between the lines.  The reader must put together the information the author provides and the information that the reader already knows to come up with the answer.

Lesson Plans (K-12):

http://www.liketoread.com/read_strats_infer.php

http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/71905.aspx

http://ethemes.missouri.edu/themes/1666

http://eduscapes.com/sessions/pilot/pilotinference.htm

http://www.lessonplanet.com/search?_kk=making+inferences+lesson+plans&_kt=864f8932-f3fa-4ec6-9cb6-e018e6b72567&gclid=CInAv4iPraUCFVVi2godAireYw&keywords=Making+Inferences&media=lesson&rating=4

Ideas (K-12):

http://www.edutopia.org/comic-books-teaching-literacy

Science (6-12):

http://www.teacherlink.org/content/science/class_examples/Bflypages/nos.htm

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/articles/bahcall/

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/neutrino/

Logic Problems (K-12):

http://www.nationalmathtrail.org/il4a.html

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/brainboosters/

Elementary Activities:

http://ethemes.missouri.edu/themes/1675

http://www.gamequarium.com/readquarium/skillsi-p.html

http://www.brainpopjr.com/readingandwriting/comprehension/makeinferences/preview.weml

Middle School Activities:

http://ethemes.missouri.edu/themes/848

http://www.gamequarium.com/readquarium/skillsi-p.html

http://www.tv411.org/lessons/cfm/reading.cfm?str=reading&num=11&act=2&que=1

http://www.quia.com/pop/43335.html

High School Activities:

http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/40409.aspx

Resources (K-12):

http://www.brocktonpublicschools.com/page.cfm?p=2097

http://www.englishcompanion.com/pdfDocs/inferencenotes.pdf

Speech-Language:

http://www.angelfire.com/nj/speechlanguage/Onlineactivities.html

Its A Book Trailer

Watch as a book-loving ape and a tech-savvy donkey exchange words…from bestselling author Lane Smith comes this adorable nod to traditional books.

Its A Book Trailer, posted with vodpod

Phonebook

Gotta Keep Reading – Ocoee Middle School

I know there are some who don’t like videos like these, but I’d have to say this is pretty fly!  I like it! 

Waldenbooks CLOSED…

Our local Waldenbooks is closing, is closed, it’s going away, gone.  We are in a changing world where media has become available at the click of a mouse.  I can’t say I don’t understand why the store has closed.  Trends seem to make this inevitable especially in small town America.  So, what to do?

We still have a library if you want a good book, and the library card is cheap!  My kids love to go to the public library.  They also loved to go to Waldenbooks, but those days are over.  Our family has a Barnes & Noble account online, and we order books from Amazon, etc., but there is something about the tactile process of perusing a new book.  It gives you time to get the idea of what it is about, it stimulates your imagination as you look at the cover art, and now we will have to drive several miles to get that opportunity.  Sure there is a used bookstore in town; yes, there are new books at Walmart, but well, you know.

I grew up in a place where there was no bookstore.  The library was “the bookstore” and it was a 15 mile drive one way, but my Mom took us there, often.  I spent time in schools that had huge libraries compared to the middle school and elementary libraries my children attend today.  My home has more books, on shelves, available to my two youngest kids than they have at their elementary school.  So, what’s my point?

Waldenbooks has closed, and I think maybe the library might too!  Oh it won’t happen all at once, but the Kindle and other handheld devices are bringing a slow death to the printed word.  Is this bad?  If the power goes out, yes!  That will never happen:  Haiti.  Not every child has access to a Kindle nor can go to a Waldenbooks or Barnes & Noble, but for now they can go to the library.  As we know there are more than books, there are computers hooked to the internet, and there are people.  The greatest resource are the people.  Hopefully, if a kid lives 15 miles away they have a mom, dad, grandparent, someone who will take them there, to the library.  Hopefully.

Resources and such…

The following is a list of sites that have been shared with me over the past several days.  Generally, you will see all kinds of findings in my Delicious links on the top right hand side of this blog.  Enjoy!

What to read?

Library Thing Suggest

What Should I Read Next?

BookLamp

WhichBook?

Math

That Quiz Math Test Activities (Science & Geography too!)

Social Studies/Current Events

Know Thy Congressman

NewsMap

National Geographic Little Kids

Science/Health

NSF Scrub Club

iSpecies

Digital Citizenship

Creative Thinking Home

World Languages

Foreign Internet Radio

Virtual Field Trips (All Subjects)

SimpleK12

Science Daily Articles…

The following are two interesting articles from Science Daily:

Music Education Can Help Children Improve Reading Skills

Social Skills, Extracurricular Activities In High School Pay Off Later In Life

As educators we already know this, but it is always good to have research to help back it up!

Reading: Roy the Zebra

Check out this wonderful reading site for young children: Roy the Zebra.

Information from the site:

“The site is home to a package of interactive games, stories and resources that have been developed to help emerging readers learn to read. The site can be used at school or at home. It’s one of the most comprehensive interactive literacy resources on the net that is freely accessible… no area of the site is password protected.

RTZ also aims to make life easier for educators who teach reading skills. We hope you enjoy the site’s simplicity, fun characters and logical structure. You’ll never be more than 3 clicks (…if that!) away from what you need.

Recently over 360 educators assessed the effectiveness of the resources on http://www.roythezebra.com – 100% of the respondents agreed that RTZ had helped their pupils become better readers, 100% agreed that the site made reading fun and 100% said that they would use RTZ in the future.”

“Reading, Math Software Found to Have Little Effect on Scores”

Education Week article:  Reading, Math Software Found to Have Little Effect on Scores

Read this: “Writing in the 21st Century”

“One” by Nigel Pickard

It has been a bit but my cousin Nigel Pickard published his first novel titled One. This is not a shameless plug, and I have not been asked to publicize his book at all!

“One is the story of Sol and Kate Roberts, and their struggle to come to terms with their son’s autism. A love story, a coming-of-age novel and an exploration of the austic condition, this is a moving, thought-provoking and sometimes very funny debut novel.” I invite you to get a copy as it is excellent reading.

When the power goes out what technology do you use?

Our power was off for several hours this evening and it was a pleasant experience. We had children sitting at the dining room table doing homework by candle light, I told stories about the olden days when I was a cowboy, and we were together because it was dark. There were no computers on nor television; yes, iPods were charged and available but no one thought to use them. The technology we used was mostly paper, pencils, and books. These forms of technology have served their purpose well for many years, and I have a feeling they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon because, you know, the power could go out at any moment.

Childsplay: Opensource (FREE) software for kids age 1-9!!!

I came across Childsplay today: open source (FREE) software that works on Mac, Windows, or Linux operating systems. There are several games in the software that test basic math and language arts skills along with other exercises that practice matching, listen, and memory skills. The activities help children learn fine motor skills as they navigate the computer keyboard and identify specific number and letter keys, mouse, and mouse pad movements. My 4 year old daughter and 6 year old son think these games are awesome!!! I do to, and best of all they are free. Download, install, and try them at home or school, but remember to get permission from your parents or the technology department or both! Enjoy!

Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and…

Today I finished Will Richardson’s book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. I have always appreciated Will’s viewpoints on his blog, and I like the straightforward, easy to understand approach he presents in his book. Having used many of these tools in my classroom for over a year now, I was familiar with much of what Will shares, but I had many “I should have tried that moments!!!” Now, I am in a new position (district level educational technology specialist) with a new audience (educators) and the book proved valuable in giving me ideas and ways that I can share these tools with teachers.

Teachers themselves will benefit from reading this book (Get it ASAP!), and I believe it would serve as an excellent textbook for in-service training and for use in teacher preparation programs. Even a seasoned Web 2.0 teacher (Can there be such a thing in such a short period of time!?! will pick up new ideas or ways of using these tools that they hadn’t thought of before! As with any text that concerns the web the reader will encounter shared links that have since moved on in such a short time since the book was published; nevertheless, I could easily search the name of a particular person or topic mentioned and find the new location of the information on the web. (Maybe Will could add a page to his blog with updates or create a wiki page where readers could help update links.)

The book, to me, is written for the now, and it is intended to jump start educators and students into using the many Web 2.0 tools that exist today. I know Will has much more to say concerning these tools and the future of integrating technology to facilitate collaboration, critical thinking, and self-directed learning, and I feel his blog serves as a continuation and expansion of the text. One of Will’s main points in his book is to recognize the “teachers” that are and information that is out there, on the web, ready to fill your RSS feed reader! His text is really a staging area for the journey that he invites the reader to take in using these powerful web tools in the classroom, and I think it is a good place to start and to take ownership of your own learning.

“Read Write Think”

Read Write Think is a repository of language arts/humanities resources sponsored in part by the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English.

“ReadWriteThink, established in April of 2002, is a partnership between the International Reading Association (IRA), the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), and the Verizon Foundation.

NCTE and IRA are working together to provide educators and students with access to the highest quality practices and resources in reading and language arts instruction through free, Internet-based content.”

Some particular resources that I found engaging include:

100 Best Books for Kids

Clickable Poems

Guys Read

National Writing Project

The National Archives on Google Video