How can inferring help us?
Remember, making inferences is "reading between the lines". Listen to the story below, and see if you can answer the inferential questions!
Remember, making inferences is "reading between the lines". Listen to the story below, and see if you can answer the inferential questions!
Inferential Questions:
What is Saint Christopher's?
Why did the children change into older clothes from their new clothes after boarding the train?
Why did Nora and Marianne want people to believe that they are sisters?
Why did some of the couples feel the muscles through their coat?
Why did the couple bring a puppy for Nora?
Why did Marianne keep the white feather?
Why did Marianne give Mrs. Book the white feather?
What do you think happened to Marianne's mother?
Train to Somewhere is a historical fiction story about Marianne and thirteen other children who boarded the "orphan train" in New York City. The train traveled west, and made several stops along the way. At each stop, couples waited to adopt a child. The orphans were chosen one-by-one until Marianne is the only remaining orphan. Marianne felt alone and unwanted,
both by her real mother and other families. She felt as if she is not pretty
enough to be adopted. Finally, the train pulled into its final stop, a town
called “Somewhere”. Marianne realized her mother won’t be coming to get her, but an elderly couple takes her in as
their own even though they were looking for a boy. She saw how Mr. and Mrs. Book cared for her. Hopeful, Marianne began her new life with her new family.
An enrichment for this text would be to research the actual children that journeyed on the orphan train. Students can find the children's names and their stories by clicking on the link below.
http://orphantraindepot.org/orphan-train-rider-stories/
"I thoroughly enjoyed reading Train to Somewhere, and learning of the history of the orphan train. Although the characters in this book are fictionalized, the text is based on actual events during 1888-1930. Train to Somewhere resonances emotion for readers as they try to identify with the character's feelings. This emotion provides a wonderful opportunity for readers to make inferences about the story. I plan to definitely read this text to my future class."
Heather Coleman
" I truly
enjoyed this story of a young orphan girl name Marianne.
I will
use this book to teach making inferences by modeling for the
students how they
can use context clues. Students will be able to see how they can the
information from the text, and combine it with what they know already to make inferences. I will point out which facts came from the text, and
which came from their background knowledge. In addition, I will use a graphic
organizer or T-chart that will have three columns and labeled 'What the Author
Tells Me', 'What I Know', and 'My Inference'. As we
read I will stop at certain places in the book and have them say their
inferences as I recorded their answers on the chart."**Cassandra
Source: http://www.tips-for-teachers.com/Inferencing_mini_lessons.htm
I love this post - not many of us think about using historical fiction to teach a reading strategy. This is an excellent way to integrate your social studies with reading. The students could use their knowledge learned to help make inferences with the story and predict feelings of the children on the train. Good job!~Karen
ReplyDeleteI really liked your blog post. It was very engaging and was a great way of explaining what it means to make an inference. The activity suggested was a really great idea.
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