comprehending :: activating prior knowledge ::

inferring

"This is important information for teachers to know: text is processed faster when the reader can generate a greater number of inferences; and the number of inferences a reader can generate depends on the relationship between the reader's background knowledge and the author's intended message." (Dorn, L. J., & Soffos, C., 2005, p. 19) 

Working Definition

Inferring occurs when the reader expands upon or extends what is actually written in the text. The mental images and understandings that are derived from the text but not explicitly stated by the text are inferences.

Prompts

Prompts are found in each of the subsets.

See the subsets in:

• backward inference
• forward inference

These subsets are:

• elaborative inference
• predictive inference
• cohesive inference

© 2014, Robert Pottle