Funding for the VITAL/Ready to Teach collection was secured through the United States Department of Education under the Ready to Teach Program.
Loading StandardsAfter a short lesson on drawing conclusions, students watch a video about a town that thrives on polka music. After listing basic premises and stating what conclusions they drew from the video, students test each other's conclusions based on the explicit and implied information that is available to the reader.
Learners who can draw conclusions based on basic premises in a text demonstrate their comprehension of the text. These learners clearly understand the main idea and the author's intent if they are skilled at this type of deductive thinking.
40-60 minutes
1. Discuss what it means to draw a conclusion based on basic premises or information gained from a text.
2. Distribute copies of the Drawing Conclusions Graphic Organizer handout. Use it with a selected children's book, such as The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, to model how to determine premises and draw a conclusion about the tree based on those premises. Interact with students in completing the graphic organizer.
3. Model use of the Drawing Conclusions Check handout to test out your conclusion.
4. Distribute copies of the Drawing Conclusions Graphic Organizer: Pulska, Wisconsin handout. These copies will be used with the video.
5. Play the video "Pulska, Wisconsin: Polka Town, U.S.A." As they watch the segment, ask students to note five premises or truths about the town of Pulska. These premises may be explicitly stated or implied information. Students should write the premises in their Drawing Conclusions Graphic Organizer: Pulska, Wisconsin handout.
6. Show the segment again to allow students to confirm and add to their Drawing Conclusions Graphic Organizer: Pulska, Wisconsin handout.
7. In small groups, students should share and discuss their premises, then decide what conclusion about the town of Pulska they can logically draw from the premises.
8. Distribute copies of the Drawing Conclusions Check handout. Groups will combine and use the handout to test out each other's conclusions. To do this, they will verify if each premise is true and if the conclusion makes sense based on the premises. If a group's work doesn't pass the test, the group should revise as needed.
For students who need additional teacher guidance:Score each premise and each conclusion from both graphic organizers. Give one point for each true premise and one for the conclusion if it is based on true premises and makes sense. The highest possible score would be 6.
Standards