Evidence, Evidently…

On our recent assessment for A Raisin in the Sun students struggled with making inferences, and finding the strongest supporting evidence.

For example, question #1 – many students answered A “Walter thinks Ruth is being unnecessarily cruel.” when the answer was B “Walter wants to be seen as the head of the household.” 

Knowledge of the play would help students to eliminate Answer A due to the fact that Walter is a selfish character – if anything, he is upset that Ruth might betray to their son that they are suffering financially.  Ruth, throughout the entire play, has been consistent in her character, and even the worst person could never claim she is ever cruel, much less unnecessarily so. 

As we model our assessment questions similar to the ones students will be exposed to on the PSAT, if the student gets the inference question wrong, then they will likely also get the evidence question incorrect. In this case, students chose B for question #2, “Walter: What you tell the boy things like that for?”, when the answer was in fact D “[Walter] reaches into his pants with a rather important gesture.”Walter, desperate to be seen as the head of the household, even though he is clearly not, “reaches into his pants with a rather important gesture.”  It is the phrasing of “rather important” which signals that this is the correct answer, because it fits with what we know about Walter’s character – his desperate need to be greater than he is. 

With that having been said, students had the opportunity to use this Note-Catcher to help them pick evidence which matched traits with the characters. 

Regardless, Standard 10.1 – whether it be a reading standard or a writing standard, is often a standard students struggle with – and the LA 3 team is diligently working to support students as they make progress demonstrating mastery. 

I wish I could say that there was a simple solution to helping students master this standard, but learning is so multi-faceted, that it truly depends on the work the student does on a daily basis, both inside and outside of class. 

lf I had the time to sit one-on-one, every day, with each student, we could nip the lack of proficiency with standard 10.1 in the bud – but, alas, that is not possible.

One strategy that we use to practice this standard in class is by using a triple-entry journal. Students are asked to identify a quote, make a connection or pick up on clues, and subsequently make an inference.  It is an effective strategy (see sample below) when students take their practice time seriously. 

Speaker, Quote & Pg #	Connection/Clue	Inference/Explanation
Walter: So you butchered up a dream of mine—you—who always talking ’bout your children’s dreams … (pg.96)	The word butchered; the fact that Walter is selfish – and ready to blame everyone but himself about his dreams slipping away.	I can infer the depth of Walter’s feelings about the death of his dream through his use of the word butchered.

Students are asked to pay attention to who is talking, their motivation, as well as zooming out to understand the context of the quote.

I do my best to model my thinking when we do these types of activities, so that students can employ the practice on their own.  

Should students want to practice independently, they should use the triple entry journal strategy with their independent reading novel to further develop this skill.