Resources for identifying main idea, deduce/infer

[joannqn]

I need resources to teach identifying the main idea and making inferences....middle school or high school level.

My son has difficult with noticing and understanding facial expressions and body language.  Similarly, he has difficulty identifying the main idea of a written piece and inferring meaning when it isn't directly spelled out.  

Hoping for some suggestions covering just these topics.  I don't need a whole English curriculum.

Thank you in advance.  You guys always have some of the best suggestions.

[Lara in Colo]

I got this set (used) and I think it does a good job-- there are different grade levels-- http://www.rainbowresource.com/pictures/006244/29472cdf728aa0f9d9576c75

[kbutton]

I thought I would give you some context so you can better tell if my suggestions will work for your son. My son is in 4th grade but reads at about an 8th grade level. However, he doesn't catch all the abstract information (part of his diagnosis). He is fine with picking up new vocabulary in context, but he does have trouble with inferences, etc. Explicit teaching seems to be helping, and we use a couple of different programs at different grade levels. It affects his writing abilities too.

 

We are using Inference Jones for grades 5 and 6. The biggest difference between it and the lower level is the length and difficulty of the reading passage. I wouldn't necessarily say that difficulty of the inferences is much different. Critical Thinking Company publishes IJ, and they have samples online of the hardcopy program and the online program. CTC may have other resources that you like better too. It's deceptively simple, but we can definitely see and discuss where my son is getting hung up on inferences.

 

We are also using Reader's Handbook published by Great Source. We use the 6-8th grade level, I think. It has a lot of techniques for extracting information from text of all kinds. It seems to be good for outlining, main/supporting ideas, etc. The techniques are often explained more than once and tailored to each type of writing (history, science, novels, short stories, etc.). They use graphic organizers as well, which my son seems to like. We are enjoying the portion of the book that deals with novels--my son likes making inferences about characters based on dialogue, etc. I was a little worried this sort of thing would interfere with how he enjoys the books, but it seems like a game to him. Some things were like pulling teeth at first (identifying main and supporting ideas), but now it's not a big deal. I see the book as being very flexible and easy to use with and apply to outside resources. I think the book will be doing double-duty as well--,my son has noticed (on his own) that learning how to organize information feeds into writing skills. Reader's Handbook doesn't have explicit exercises (though there may be companion exercises available from the same publisher for all I know). We tend to take the idea in the book and then apply it to something we're currently studying such as a history lesson, a novel, etc.

[ElizabethB]

The first part is a handout, you might want to read the explanation at the end first. Don Potter said that having the kids physically hold up the fingers for each point was really helpful, for some reason. While it was developed for ESL students, it should be helpful for children like your son as well who need explicit ways to think through such things.

 

http://www.donpotter.net/pdf/gonzalez_materials.pdf

[zoobie]

I thought I would give you some context so you can better tell if my suggestions will work for your son. My son is in 4th grade but reads at about an 8th grade level. However, he doesn't catch all the abstract information (part of his diagnosis). He is fine with picking up new vocabulary in context, but he does have trouble with inferences, etc. Explicit teaching seems to be helping, and we use a couple of different programs at different grade levels. It affects his writing abilities too.

 

We are using Inference Jones for grades 5 and 6. The biggest difference between it and the lower level is the length and difficulty of the reading passage. I wouldn't necessarily say that difficulty of the inferences is much different. Critical Thinking Company publishes IJ, and they have samples online of the hardcopy program and the online program. CTC may have other resources that you like better too. It's deceptively simple, but we can definitely see and discuss where my son is getting hung up on inferences.

 

We are also using Reader's Handbook published by Great Source. We use the 6-8th grade level, I think. It has a lot of techniques for extracting information from text of all kinds. It seems to be good for outlining, main/supporting ideas, etc. The techniques are often explained more than once and tailored to each type of writing (history, science, novels, short stories, etc.). They use graphic organizers as well, which my son seems to like. We are enjoying the portion of the book that deals with novels--my son likes making inferences about characters based on dialogue, etc. I was a little worried this sort of thing would interfere with how he enjoys the books, but it seems like a game to him. Some things were like pulling teeth at first (identifying main and supporting ideas), but now it's not a big deal. I see the book as being very flexible and easy to use with and apply to outside resources. I think the book will be doing double-duty as well--,my son has noticed (on his own) that learning how to organize information feeds into writing skills. Reader's Handbook doesn't have explicit exercises (though there may be companion exercises available from the same publisher for all I know). We tend to take the idea in the book and then apply it to something we're currently studying such as a history lesson, a novel, etc.

 

I went to look at Inference Jones and signed up for the Critical Thinking Co. newsletter. They have some free online demos for the software versions of these books, which my kids enjoyed playing around with. In case someone else is interested, here's a link (not an affiliate link! I don't work for them or anything creepy. :) ) http://www.criticalthinking.com/software-demo