ELED 320 – Chapter 3 – Lecture Notes

Activating and Developing Prior Knowledge

“The ultimate goal of the literacy program is to get students to use strategies independently and to call up their own prior knowledge to determine their purpose for reading.” p. 158

Why is background knowledge so important?
p. 93 – Tierney and Cunningham (1984) concluded that “intervention research has supported the existence of a casual relationship between background knowledge and comprehension”

prior knowledge, background knowledge, background information, world knowledge

Prior knowledge is “the sum of a person’s previous learning and development; experiences; experiences which precede a learning situation, story”  - 93

p. 141 - “It is our goal to help students take whatever prior knowledge they bring to school and expand and build on it.”

Schema Theory – cow cartoon

 p. 96 – misconceptions can interfere with the construction of meaning in narrative
            and expository texts as well

p. 94 – Schema theory contends that individuals understand what they read ONLY as it relates to what they already know.
 

Second language learners (or EEL) may not have the background knowledge to comprehend text.

2 types of prior knowledge: (97)
 1.  overall prior knowledge

 2.  text or topic-specific prior knowledge

  a.  knowledge about the TYPE of text – narrative / expository

p. 100 – Students generally have more difficulty reading expository texts than narrative texts because they have less experience with them and because these texts may not follow a clear-cut pattern (this is based on the organization and purpose of the text – textbook, dictionary, encyclopedia, fact book, etc.)

  b.  knowledge about the topic
 

Note “incorrect and correct’ methods of activating prior knowledge.  BE SPECIFIC.

p. 103 – How do you begin to develop a theme?

 1.  What do you want your students to accomplish in relation to the theme?

 2.  What are the big ideas or concepts that students need to understand?

 3.  What types of literature will you include?
  a.  narrative – how do they relate to the theme
  b.  expository – how do they relate to the theme

You must assess your students to know where to begin.

 1.  p. 103 – Good instruction incorporates assessment, and every instructional
activity can also be used for assessment.

 Assessment is continuous – and instruction is seamless.
(ppetty)

In class example for assessing prior knowledge during instruction:  Australia

Activity One:  Free recall (KWL)

What we KNOW What we want to KNOW What we LEARNED
 
 

Activity Two:  Word Association:  Outback, Aussie, down under, roo

Activity Three:  Recognition:  Australia by Dalys Newman.  Which words do you think relate to the book we are about to read?  snow, gold, marsupial, glacier, monolith, sheep,
penguins, polar bears, billabongs, alligators, opals

Activity Four:  Structured Question:  What is Australia?  Where is Australia?  What are some features that make Australia unique?

Know the Strategies for Helping Students Achieve Independence in Activating Prior Knowledge – p. 104-105
 
 1.  preview and predict
 
  a.  narrative – story map prediction
  b.  expository – preview and self-question
              - K-W-L

p. 116 – Know the following items in this chart.
 
 1.  discussion (114)

  a.  brainstorming (p. 118)

 2.  picture walk/text talk (122)

 3.  semantic mapping (123)

 4.  anticipation guides (128)  agree or disagree

 5.  reading aloud to students (135)  background material, motivational material,
                 read only a selection

 6.  role playing (136)

 7.  projects (137)

 8.  concrete materials and real experiences (139) – video tapes, guest speakers,
                 hands-on, experiments, Internet, etc.

 9.  Quick writing (121)

10.  Structured Preview (129) story map (narrative) or graphic organizer
      (expository)

How do you decide which strategies to use (and when)? p. 140

 “The amount of student motivation and interest for a topic or book will directly
               influence the amount of prior knowledge activation and development needed.”

 “Too many activities keep students from what they really want to do:  read or
              write.”

DON’T LET THE THEME ACTIVITIES OVERSHADOW THE LITERATURE.
 

p. 141 – to Overcome Inadequate Prior Knowledge

 1.  share and talk

 2.  read aloud

 3.  allow more time for independent reading and writing
 
 4.  provide access to the Internet

 5.  plan lessons and experiences to develop prior knowledge

 6.  correct misconceptions in prior knowledge
 

“The ultimate goal of the literacy program is to get students to use strategies independently and to call up their own prior knowledge to determine their purpose for reading.” p. 158
 

See External Links in CourseInfo for hyperlinks to recommended sites.