Inference Ace: Reading Comprehension Skills & Practice for Kids Who Need Help to Become Stronger —Common Core Aligned

Inference Ace builds users’ reading-comprehension skills with multiple-choice questions. When users launch Inference Ace, they are to choose the “Play” option and then select a level. (Please note: Only a limited number of levels are available for free. Users will need to make an in-app purchase to access all the levels.) Once selected, Inference Ace then presents users with 10 multiple-choice questions, and they must make a correct inference to answer each question. If users answer a question incorrectly, they are offered a hint and another chance to answer it correctly. After completing a level, users are awarded coins contingent on their performance, which can be used to play an in-app game or purchase accessories to dress their character.

Instructional Ideas

1. Teachers can allow students class time to complete different levels in this app. Students can take a screen shot of their performance after each level and email it to their teacher for grading.
2. Teachers can do a think-aloud or a lesson about making inferences by connecting their iPad to a projector and showing students a set of inference questions in this app. To do so, teachers will need to have students first read a text. Next, they can project questions that relate to the text. Sample questions include: (1) What is the setting for this text? (2) What time of day/year is it? (3) What do we normally do in a place like this? After each question, teachers can instruct students to find evidence in the passage that supports their responses.
3. After students become familiar with inferences and the questions in this app, teachers can instruct students to read a text and then write inference-type questions modeled after the ones in this app. Students can write their questions using the UX Write, Office Offline, or Documents Free apps. Questions can then be emailed to their teacher, who will post the text and questions as a practice quiz to the class website for other students to answer.

Screenshots