Monday, February 1, 2016

Reading Between the Lines - Idioms and Inferences

Reading between the lines
 is a very important skill to master in life but 
some kids just don't acquire it naturally. 
They need to learn it! 
They need to practice it! 
My son is one of them. Many kids take everything literally. They don't always understand conversations and 
they don't connect the dots easily. 

Instead of "getting it" right away, 
they ask questions that most people don't ask,
they don't always understand what they're reading and sometimes they look at you like there's a moose on your head. 

If these signs are repeated by the same child, there's a good chance that READING BETWEEN THE LINES  is a challenge. 


 I see these reactions all the time.
The look in their eyes...I see it! 

 Because some kids miss a lot of subtleties, it's important to help them find strategies that will help them.

The good news is that the more they practice, the better they get. 
Believe me...I know!  

There are many ways to practice
 READING BETWEEN THE LINE. 
Practicing on regular basis can help students understand conversations and help them understand what they're reading.

Practicing idioms and inferences 
can certainly help those students
 to read between the lines.

While inferring can be difficult for some students, it's necessary to understand the full meaning of a text or conversation.

Here are a few ways to practice idioms:
- Draw a funny picture of an idiom and then talk about the real meaning.
- Idiom of the day
-  Idiom puzzles (2 pieces: idiom - meaning)
- Scrambled idioms
- Act them out
- Make posters

I've also made this WINTER INFERENCES AND IDIOMS FREEBIE to get you started.
Click on the picture to download the resource.
Winter


How do you help your students with this skill?

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing your ideas, Michelle! The sweet and funny ways that kids confuse idioms has given me some of my best (hidden) giggles as a first grade teacher!
    Linda at Primary Inspiration

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  2. Thanks for sharing your awesome ideas and for participating in our collaborative linky. :)
    Nicole and Eliceo

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  3. Thank you for putting everything together!

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  4. It seems that great minds think alike! We were both on the same wave length in our topi for the hop but coming from different perspectives. I will definitely be checking out your freebie. Thanks for sharing.

    Christina
    Hanging Around In Primary

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  5. I love teaching idioms! Thanks for the freebie!!

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