Guessing What Will Happen Next

Making Predictions

Making a prediction means guessing what will happen next in a reading.

However, predictions are much more than just random guesses. To make

a prediction, you will need to recall facts, make inferences, and draw

conclusions. Practicing these skills—as you make predictions—will help

you more fully understand what you read.

Predicting:

Another term for making predictions is guessing or thinking ahead. Thinking ahead and guessing are different ways of saying “make a prediction.” Making predictions will give you ideas to think about as you read. The reading will confirm some of your predictions (tell you that you’re right) and will correct some of your mistaken predictions.

Making Predictions = Thinking Ahead

Thinking Ahead:

Making predictions requires evidence. You might find evidence in a title,

an illustration, a specific part of the reading, or in your own personal

experience or background knowledge.

Evidence can be found in:Titles, subtitles Illustrations (pictures) specific details personal experience background knowledge (what you already

know)

Evidence

Let’s look at an example. Have you ever read this book before? Without even

opening the book, we can gather a lot of evidence from the title, front cover,

back cover, and illustrations.

Based on this evidence, what do you think the book will be about? What

evidence did you use to make this prediction?

Steps 1, 2, and 3: Preview, Make a Prediction, and Find Evidence

Here’s an example of a prediction you might make before opening the book.

This prediction is based on the title and the bear’s scary shadow in the

illustration.

Prediction: A little mouse has to give a red strawberry to a big, hungry bear.

Evidence: The title and the bear’s scary shadow.

Step 3: Make a Prediction

After making predictions, it’s time to read the material. As you read, you will

gather information about your original ideas. When you finish reading, you will

use that information to confirm or correct your predictions. If the information

you found in the reading is the same as your prediction, your prediction is

confirmed. If you need to make changes to your prediction, it needs to be

corrected.

ReadGather InformationConfirm or Correct Predictions

Step 4: Read the material

If you read this book, you would learn that the story is actually about the way

the little mouse keeps the strawberry safe from the bear. So, by reading the

book, you could adjust your prediction to make it more accurate.

Prediction:

A little mouse has to give a red strawberry to a big, hungry bear.

Evidence:

The title and the bear’s scary shadow.

Correction:

A little mouse saves a strawberry from the big, hungry bear.

Step 5: Confirm or CorrectExample

Making predictions is important at the beginning and in the middle of a

reading. In the middle of this book, we learn that there is only one way to keep

a red, ripe strawberry safe from the big, hungry bear. Use your background

knowledge (what you already know) to make a prediction:

Prediction: The only way to keep the strawberry safe is ____________.

(What made you say that? )

Evidence: What evidence do you have?

Step 5: Confirm or Correct

Remember these simple steps for making a prediction. First, preview the

material. Then, make a logical guess about what will happen next. Look for

evidence, then read the material. After reading, confirm or correct your

predictions.

1. Preview2. Find Evidence3. Make a Prediction4. Read the Material (complete the assignments)5. Confirm or Correct

Review

Use this lesson to practice making predictions. Look at Lesson 3 in GS 120L in

I-Learn to preview the lesson title, subtitles, bold words, and illustrations (if

any) of the assignments posted. Guess what the unit will be about. Find

evidence that helped you make your prediction.

Step 1: Preview

Step 2: Make a Prediction

Step 3: Find Evidence

Prediction: (What do you think this lesson is going to be about?)

Practice Activity

Now that you have made your guess on what the unit will be about, continue

completing the assignments for the remainder of this lesson. While you are

working on the assignments, look for information that will help you to confirm

or correct your prediction.

Step 4: Read the Material - Complete all Lesson 3 Assignments

Practice Activity

Was your prediction accurate? Can you confirm it, or do you need to make

corrections? You’ll only find out after you have completed all the assignments.

Step 5. Confirm or Correct (only after you have completed all of Lesson 3)

Practice Activity

Remember, making predictions is important before and during reading. Making

predictions will help you understand and remember more than if you read

without making predictions.

Lets Review the steps to making predictions:

1. Preview

2. Make a prediction

3. Find Evidence

4. Read the material

5. Confirm or Correct

Review: Making Predictions