Kylene Beers tells us "An inference is the ability to connect what is in the text with what is in the mind to create and educated guess" (61-62).We learned that inferences help students with comprehension. They have to be able to infer what's going on in order to be able to grasp the concept of what the text is telling them. So many students have problems with comprehension because they can't make those inferences.
The inference in the book about the man buying a movie ticket for another lady seemed rather easy to me. It's like a puzzle, fitting the pieces together to make a perfect match. Students have to use pieces of the beginning of the text in order to figure out what's happening at the end.
The Step Inside a Classroom section made me realize how hard making inferences is for some students. They just give up and quit trying. It seems like it's too complex for them to be able to wrap their mind around what's happening and put it together to see what all is being said. Beers used a study by Rosenblatt to "[explain] that readers interact with the text to create meaning" (69). The students use what is being to told to them to mix with what they already know to figure out what's being said. Some students don't have the prior knowledge others do so it might be harder for them. That doesn't mean it's impossible. In this section the students didn't think beyond what was actually stated. If movie was not given then they thought it was dumb. What they need to do is use the skills on page 65 of skilled readers. Those skills would help the students that struggle become better at making inferences so they can think beyond what's actually stated.
Yes, after reading both Step Inside the Classrooms, I was a little shocked. Notice the difference in length of time spent on the task, confidence levels, interest... ? The honors students had such an enjoyable experience doing the activity, they were able to bring so much to the table because they made such strong inferences from the text. The students in the group that struggles with comprehension only seemed to despise the activity. You may be right that these students lack the personal knowledge to connect with the text; but, I think an even bigger problem remains. These students expect the text to come right out and tell them everything. They are dependent on the text to give the meaning right to them, plain and simple. I think that if, as teachers, we can make the students realize that the answers lie within the text, that they just have to put the pieces together... like a puzzle (I like your analogy that you used), then maybe they can come to enjoy reading.
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