Socratic Seminar | Inferences, Conclusions, and Predictions

MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT

How are Inferences, Conclusions, and Predictions Related? Inference is the process of deducing logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true.

A Sherlock Holmes Socratic Seminar Reading Mystery! 

Purpose
Students think about and analyze small parts of a text before

they read the complete text. The mystery seminar encourages involvement and curiosity that activates attentive listening. Students are also active and moving around the class looking at different sentences and phrases. Students anticipate, predict, and infer what they think they will find in the complete text. Students are encouraged to share what they think is happening in the “mystery text” unread text. Because students will be making inferences, see underlying relationships that should be compared and contrasted through dialogue. Students look for chronological order, logical sequencing, and they must draw on prior knowledge to solve the mystery texts meaning.

Procedure

1. Select key phrases, important dialogue, relevant statements, detailed sentences or keywords directly from a short or lengthier text. Type or copy all the clues onto strips of paper onto index cards. I use public domain literature to make the process faster.  

2. You can shorten a sentence using an ellipsis, but don’t change the original text.

3. Students are organized into groups of 2-4 students. I will pair students with a buddy reader to help a partner when needed. Students can help a partner read or get teacher help, students read silently and individually at first than work in cooperative groups for discussions later.   

4. Place the mystery text cards around the room on charts or on tables or desks.

5. Students read the phrase/text independently and they make a prediction about what the story, fairy tale, parable, Pourquoi tales, legends, myth and any other text could be about. Students, write a quick statement on their Lotus notes prediction chart. During the mystery phase, students are quit unless they are paired with a reading buddy. “I/We think this is about…, because….”, “I/We infer this is about…, because….”“I/We predict this is about…, because….”

6. Students rotate around the room, reading the mystery cards and writing a quick statement on their Lotus notes prediction graphic.  You can set up the seminar with partners and have them read to each other and then start discussing possible predictions before the next rotation. “I predict the text is about a …. Fairytale, proverb, parable, Pourquoi tales, legends, a myth!”

7. After students have read all the mystery cards and completed the first part of their Lotus notes prediction charts, have students return to their cooperative groups. The student present their prediction based on all their notes. Students are encouraged to modify and change their predictions when they hear persuasive arguments and statements. Student’s record modified predictions and persuasive statements from other students in their notes. “My prediction changed from…., Because” “My prediction was supported by….”

8. Students read individually the text in its entirety or as a group whenever needed, they annotate the text highlighting information that challenges, confirms or makes modifications to their predictions. When the students complete their group discussions they listen to the teacher read the entire text. ”, My predictions ….differ from the text, because….?

9. The teacher rereads the entire text selection and stresses the inferential thinking process, discuses further questions, revised predictions, implicit and explicit clues.

Extensions: List lingering questions, make anchor charts, inferential strategies ideas, imagination bubbles, and be creative.

10. Students go back to their Lotus notes prediction charts and look for what they predicted “right or wrong” plus the statements from other students that persuaded them to change their predictions.  The students record the why …  on the second part of their notes,  about “aah hass” revised predictions and further questions.

11. Debrief: Think-out your thoughts, opinions, perceptions, what did the groups learn  while participating in this seminar,  How did their personal predictions differ their partners? How did their personal predictions differ from the text? Was it fun engage in reading in this way? What would make this seminar more fun or engaging? How are Inferences, Conclusions, and Predictions Related?