Your speech students grasp WH questions but they still struggle in the classroom. The need to be able to respond to inferential questions as well. As SLPs, we can break it down for them to be successful – by using real photos!
Why use pictures to work on inferencing?
Many of our students are poor readers or reluctant readers. We are also not reading teachers. We are working on the language of the question, content, and answer. I like to take the reading piece out to teach identifying literal vs. inferential questions and the steps to developing a response (use clues or facts, add background knowledge, and make a smart guess). With pictures, students can verbally express their clues or evidence without having to reread or decode. This really helps to build confidence and prevent avoidance behaviors! (Disclaimer: this post contains amazon affiliate links).
How can we break it down for them?
I like to use paper and pen to make a quick graphic organizer and model how I think about my thinking. We generate responses to “What do you see?” and “What do I know?” That helps us express facts that can be proven right in the picture and our background knowledge. CLICK HERE to check out my Inferencing Pictures!
Then, I use my inferencing visuals on a stick to help them practice identifying facts vs. inferences. Grab these visuals free by CLICKING HERE!
I also teach them the vocabulary of the questions and answers so they can become more familiar with it. I even just make quick visual aids using paper so they can reference them if needed.
Want even more ways to practice without the prep?
I have worksheets that are print and go that have graphic organizers right on them that you can use if you don't want to make them yourself! You can check these out by CLICKING HERE!
Want even more fun ways to work on inferencing using pictures?
You can use props to help point out the clues such as Band-Aids!
You can also use these eyes that I got from the party favor section of Target!
You can also use Norman Rockwell art to help work on expressing significant details and making inferences. CLICK HERE to read more about using this idea in speech therapy!
Check out the book shown above (which I absolutely LOVE for working on basic inferencing) below:
Want a free inferencing game that has real photos and more!?
