Lesson 1: Explicit Information versus Drawing Conclusions
- Learning Goal
- Identify the difference between explicit information and drawing conclusions.
- Approximately 50 minutes
- Necessary Materials
Provided: Direct Teaching Example Passage- “A Scared Tiger”
Not Provided: Skill/Strategy Reading Passages (see website), markers, chart paper
will explain the difference between explicit information and drawing conclusions. (Explicit information is information that is right there in the text. Drawing conclusions requires the reader to use background knowledge, textual clues and pictures to identify meaning.) I will read the short passage “A Scared Tiger” aloud. I will then read an example of explicit information and an example of a conclusion statement. (Passage and statements are provided.) I will model how to identify each statement. (Explicit information requires readers to look for the information in the text. Drawing conclusions requires readers to look for the answer in the text and think about what they already know about the subject to answer the question.) For example, "The first statement is explicit information. I know this because it says right in the text that Hannah’s cat, Tiger, was missing. The second statement is a conclusion statement. We know this because it requires us to read the text and think about what we know. The text says that Dave knew what to do because his cat had been stuck in a tree before. Even though the text doesn’t say so, I think it means that he got the cat out by giving it food and that that worked for Dave’s cat. I had to think about the information in the text and draw a conclusion." Note: You will need to write the passage on chart paper or on the blackboard before the lesson.
Ask: How did I distinguish between explicit information and drawing conclusions? Students should respond that you read the text. You then read a sentence about the text and looked for the information from the sentence in the text. If the information was right there in the text then it was explicit information. If you had to think about the information, then you were drawing conclusions.
will read one of the Skill/Strategy Reading Passage (provided on website; teachers need to select an appropriate passage for their class). and identify one explicit information statement and one conclusion statement.
will read another Skill/Strategy Reading Passage (provided on website; teachers need to select an appropriate passage for their class). You will identify one explicit information statement and one conclusion statement.
After reading the passage, explain to students that it is very common for pet cats to climb up trees and get scared to climb down. If they are so scared to climb down, why do they climb up? Cats like to know what is around in their environment or where they live. They like to climb trees to get a better view of what is around them or to look out for anything dangerous.
Texts & Materials
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