Inferencing Interventions

Inferencing Interventions

by Sarah Mize

Fill in the Blanks

​Read this text and infer what is happening:

​"The canoe slowed down, as if caught by invisible hands. "

​

Poll

What background knowledge would someone need in order to infer what is happening so far in the story?

• They would need to know that a canoe goes in water.

• They would need to know that a canoe can hold 8-10 people.

• They would need to know that natural bodies of water can sometimes have obstacles for canoes.

Open Ended

"The canoe slowed down, as if caught by invisible hands. Sarah looked down and saw the boat was scraping along the muddy bottom. "

What evidence in the text tells you what a canoe is?

Multiple Choice

"Clouds of brown mud rose to the surface with every paddle stroke, and inside each cloud little bubbles of gas burst when they hit the surface."

What evidence supports the idea that Sarah is in shallow water?

• "Clouds of brown mud rose to the surface with every paddle stroke..."

• "...inside each cloud little bubbles"

• "gas burst when they hit the surface."

Open Ended

"It smelled like a combination of old paint and rotting food. Sarah nearly threw up.  Soon she was stuck."

What is Sarah smelling?

Poll

"She tried paddling backward to free the canoe from the mud, but each stroke released an overwhelming gas smell. She started to cry."

What evidence from the text tells you that Sarah is in an unusual situation?

• "She tried paddling backward..."

• "...to free the canoe from the mud,"

• "...but each stroke released an overwhelming gas smell."

• "She started to cry."

Open Ended

"A hand pulled the reeds apart, and out poked the head of Sarah’s father."

How do you predict Sarah feels at this point of the text? Why do you think this?