A study of inferring activities in a selected grade five basal reading program

Murcell, Eileen (1991) A study of inferring activities in a selected grade five basal reading program. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

This study was an examination of the prescription, extent and nature of the teaching of inferring in a basal reading program widely used in Canada. Using a skills-trace approach, all activities in the Teacher's Resource Book (TRB) and pupil components of the grade five Nelson Language Development Reading (LDR) Networks program were studied in order to complete this examination. -- An overview of the results are as follows. Of the 281 activities prescribed for the Ripple Effects anthology and related components, 86 (30.6%) were identified as inferential. Moreover, 96 (33.2%) of the 289 activities prescribed for the Time Spinners anthology and related components were identified as inferential. Thus, of the 570 activities prescribed for this program, only 182 (31.9%) were identified as inferential. A variety of methodologies was used to teach inferring, the most common being composing, discussing, questioning, representing schematically, and skimming. However, neither of these was used in any unique way to teach inferring specifically. -- On the basis of these results, the following conclusions are made. It can be claimed that inferring is prescribed for teaching in the Nelson LDR Networks program, however, the extent of this prescription is only minimally higher than reported in earlier studies. It seems that the authors of the program have not paid sufficient attention to current theory on inferring, a most essential process to reading comprehension. -- Conclusions for basal program development and further research are provided.

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