What differentiation strategy would best support English learners in making text-based inferences?

Providing English learners with sentence starters is an effective differentiation strategy for supporting them in making text-based inferences. Sentence starters can serve as scaffolding that helps students formulate their thoughts and connect ideas while engaging with a text. This strategy facilitates the inference-making process by giving students a framework for expressing their understanding, which can be particularly valuable for those who may struggle with language proficiency.

When learners have structured phrases or beginnings of sentences to work with, they are more likely to participate in discussions and express their interpretations of the text. This can enhance their confidence and ability to make inferences based on the text, as they can focus on the content rather than getting stuck on how to articulate their thoughts.

Other strategies might not directly address the need for linguistic support in making inferences. For instance, reading passages in advance may help with comprehension but does not provide the immediate linguistic assistance during inference-making. Similarly, offering literal comprehension-building activities or collecting reference materials might benefit overall understanding but would not specifically aid in the linguistic expression required for making inferences from text.