Donna Soriano

EDEE 490 | Student Teaching

Professor: Dr. Kamai | UH Supervisor: Dr. Heller
Mentor: Mrs. Romias (SPED) | Gen Ed Teacher: Mrs. Kreidler
Title: Whats Under the Microscope? A Lesson on Making Inferences
Grade Level: 5th Grade (SPED)
Time Frame & Setting: Approximately 50 minutes, 8:05AM, Room B-3, Round Table
Conceptual/Procedural Knowledge:
Making inferences when reading
Using contextual clues
Using prior knowledge/schema
Reading short passages
Using a microscope
Common Core State Standards:
HI.CC.RL.5. Reading Standards for Literature
Key Ideas and Details
RL.5.1.
Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and
when drawing inferences from the text.
RL.5.2.
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including
how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a
poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
RL.5.10.
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas,
and poetry, at the high end of the grades 4-5 text complexity band independently
and proficiently.
HI.CC.RI.5. Reading Standards for Informational Text
Key Ideas and Details
RI.5.1.
Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and
when drawing inferences from the text.
RI.5.2.
Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported
by key details; summarize the text.
Craft and Structure
RI.5.4.
Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and
phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
RI.5.7.
Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the
ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
RI.5.8.
Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a
text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which point(s).
RI.5.9.
Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or
speak about the subject knowledgeably.

Donna Soriano
EDEE 490 | Student Teaching
Professor: Dr. Kamai | UH Supervisor: Dr. Heller
Mentor: Mrs. Romias (SPED) | Gen Ed Teacher: Mrs. Kreidler
RI.5.10.

By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including
history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 45 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

HI.CC.RF.5. Reading Standards: Foundational Skills

Fluency
RF.5.4.

Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

RF.5.4(a)

Read on-level text with purpose and understanding.

RF.5.4(b)

Read on-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and
expression on successive readings.

RF.5.4(c)

Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding,

rereading as necessary.

HI.CC.W.5.

Writing Standards
Research to Build and Present Knowledge

W.5.7.

Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge
through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

W.5.8.

Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from

print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and
finished work, and provide a list of sources.

W.5.9.

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection,

and research.

W.5.9(a)

Apply grade 5 reading standards to literature (e.g., ''Compare and contrast two or
more characters, settings, or events in a story or a drama, drawing on specific
details in the text [e.g., how characters interact]'').

W.5.9(b)

Apply grade 5 reading standards to informational texts (e.g., ''Explain how an

author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying
which reasons and evidence support which point[s]'').
Speaking and Listening Standards

HI.CC.SL.5.

Comprehension and Collaboration

SL.5.1.

Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups,

and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on
others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Donna Soriano
EDEE 490 | Student Teaching
Professor: Dr. Kamai | UH Supervisor: Dr. Heller
Mentor: Mrs. Romias (SPED) | Gen Ed Teacher: Mrs. Kreidler
SL.5.1(a)

Come to discussions prepared having read or studied required material; explicitly

draw on that preparation and other information known about the topic to explore
ideas under discussion.

SL.5.1(b)

Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions and carry out assigned roles.

SL.5.1(c)

Pose and respond to specific questions by making comments that contribute to

the discussion and elaborate on the remarks of others.

HI.CC.L.5.

Language Standards
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and
phrases based on grade 5 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of
strategies.
Use context (e.g., cause/effect relationships and comparisons in text) as a clue to
the meaning of a word or phrase.
Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domainspecific words and phrases, including those that signal contrast, addition, and
other logical relationships (e.g., however, although, nevertheless, similarly,
moreover, in addition).

L.5.4.

L.5.4(a)
L.5.6.

Objectives:
Students will be able to:
Add to their schema about a topic by using text clues from a reading passage
Make an inference about the identity of a mystery object displayed under a microscope
with the help of their own schema and text clues
Materials:

Detective Recording Sheet (1 per student)

Making Inferences Case File (1 per mystery object)
A Birthday Mystery PowerPoint Presentation
3 Microscopes with Slides
3 Mystery Objects (ie. Sand, Leaf, Sugar, Cinnamon, Salt, things they are familiar with)
Pencils, Erasers
Dry Erase Board w/ Markers
Laptop
Projector

Procedures:
1. Show the first slide of the A Birthday Mystery PowerPoint presentation, and tell students that it
was recently your birthday. Say that you were not expecting any gifts, but you received this
delicious-looking cake delivered to your home. Then there was a knock at your door.
2. Advance to slide 2, and tell students that when you opened the door, you saw this package on
your front porch.

Donna Soriano
EDEE 490 | Student Teaching
Professor: Dr. Kamai | UH Supervisor: Dr. Heller
Mentor: Mrs. Romias (SPED) | Gen Ed Teacher: Mrs. Kreidler
3. Advance to slide 3, and read the text clues to the class. Ask students to list some possibilities of
what might be inside the box. Solicit explanations as well as answers.
4. Advance to slide 4, and have students assess their previous answers.
5. Advance to slide 5, and explain to students that the process they just unknowingly went through
is a skill called making inferences, or inferring.
6. Advance to slide 6, and explain that inferring is also called reading between the lines. Making
inferences means you take what you already know (schema), add it to clues given to you in a
story (text clues), and end up with a realistic possibility for the inference. Tell students that by
using this skill we are able to become better readers and to better comprehend story elements.
7. Advance to slide 7, and lead a discussion about the variations of the word inferring (infer,
inferred, inference) that the students might say, hear, or see on state tests. Discuss the
differences between these variations.
8. Ask students if they have ever used the skill of making inferences in their everyday lives. Discuss
this as a class. For those who doubt that they have or ever will make an inference in their lives
outside of the classroom, advance to slides 810 and read through the story.
9. Discuss as a class what inference can be made from this story. Be sure to use the schema + text
clues = inference model.
10. Continue to slides 1115. Read and allow students to discuss in a small group.
11. Go through slides 1620. Review each slide and ask students to discuss inferences that can be
made by looking at the pictures.
12. Assign an order for each student to rotate through the microscope stations. Instruct them to
review the Making Inferences Case File page that appears next to each microscope for textual
clues. Give students a copy of the Detective Recording Sheet to record their individual
inferences.
13. Allow time for each student to rotate through each of the stations. Have students read the
booklets, look under the microscopes, make an inference, and record their inferences on their
own Detective Recording Sheet.
14. Ask students to return to their seats for a debriefing and reflection time that you facilitate. Have
them hand in their Detective Recording Sheets at the end of the class for assessment.
Differentiation:
Throughout this lesson, I am providing differentiated instruction, process, and learning environment by:
Meeting with small groups to re-teach an idea or skill for struggling learners, or to extend the
thinking or skills of advanced learners.
Allowing students to work alone or in small groups on their products.
Making sure there are places in the room to work quietly and without distraction, as well as
places that invite student collaboration.
Varying the length of time a student may take to complete a task in order to provide additional
support for a struggling learner or to encourage an advanced learner to pursue a topic in greater
depth.

Donna Soriano
EDEE 490 | Student Teaching
Professor: Dr. Kamai | UH Supervisor: Dr. Heller
Mentor: Mrs. Romias (SPED) | Gen Ed Teacher: Mrs. Kreidler

Assessment:
Assess students mystery object inferences for correctness and mastery by using the Detective
Recording Sheet.
ME (Meets Excellence) Student correctly completes all 6 cases in the Detective Recording
Sheet with accurate schema, text clues, and inference.
MP (Meets Proficiency) Student correctly completes 4 cases in the Detective Recording Sheet
with accurate schema, text clues, and inference.
DP (Developing Proficiency) Student correctly completes 3 cases in the Detective Recording
Sheet with accurate schema, text clues, and inference.
WB (Well Below) Student completes correctly completes 2 or less cases in the Detective
Recording Sheet with accurate schema, text clues, and inference.
Elaboration & Extension:
1. Students can use pictures of their own mystery objects and write short accompanying
descriptions for text clues. Once students complete their mystery poster, have the class view
each others posters and make inferences about the mystery objects shown.
2. Have students read the poem Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out by
Shel Silverstein and have them complete the Making Inferences Graphic Organizer.
Resources:
http://www.readwritethink.org, International Reading Association, Whats Under the Slide?
By: Lindsay Hunter
o Detective Recording Sheet
o Making Inferences Case File
o Making Inferences Graphic Organizer (elaboration/extension)
o Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out by Shel Silverstein
Differentiating Instruction
o http://www.readingrockets.org/article/what-differentiated-instruction