What strategies help students make inferences while reading?

Encouraging students to ask questions is a vital strategy for helping them make inferences while reading. When students engage in asking questions, they actively interact with the text, prompting them to think critically about the content and draw relationships between what they read and what they already know. This questioning technique allows readers to explore deeper meanings, clarify their understanding, and uncover implied concepts that are not explicitly stated in the text.

By formulating questions that delve into character motivations, themes, or the implications of events, students can develop a more nuanced interpretation of the material. This process fosters independence in reading, as students learn to rely on their reasoning skills to interpret information, rather than simply absorbing it passively. Consequently, such independent inquiry builds their confidence and ability to make logical inferences based on textual evidence and personal experiences.

However, while providing summaries can help with comprehension, it does not directly facilitate inference-making in the same way that active questioning does. Similarly, limiting discussions to the main idea and emphasizing strict reading schedules may restrict students' ability to explore and engage fully with the text, which is crucial for making inferences.