Building
Background
What is “building
background?”
O Effective teaching
means taking students
from where they are
and leading them to a
higher level of
understanding.
O To do this well we must
link new concepts to
student’s background
knowledge.
…and why should we do it?
O Explicit links to personal experiences & past
learning helps ALL students succeed.
O English language learners (ELLs) are
frequently at a disadvantage because they
may not have learned the academic
language and key vocabulary necessary for
understanding the content information.
“Vocabulary development, critical for English learners, is strongly related to
academic achievement. In addition, for over 80 years, we have known of the
powerful relationship between vocabulary knowledge and comprehension.”
Easier said than done…
What does this look like?
O Activate students’
schemata by linking
their past
experiences & past
learning to new
concepts.
O This provides a basis
for learning new
information.
http://www.thinkport.org/microsites/readi
ng/video/activate.mpg
What if there’s nothing to link
new concepts to?
When readers lack prior knowledge consider
the following:
• teach vocabulary during pre-reading
• Provide meaningful experiences
(images/videos/models)
• introduce a conceptual framework
(graphic organizers/chapter previews)
O Concept Maps: A simple graphic organizer
used to discuss and clarify meaning while
introducing a new concept.
O Concept Maps:
How do I do this in MY classroom?
O Word Sorts: students categorize words or
phrases (previously introduced) and sort
them according to meaning, structure, or
word endings.
Social studies Word Sort
People
Weapons
Issues
George Washington
Muskets
Right to bear arms
Thomas Jefferson
Rifles
Taxation
Thomas Paine
Knives
Self-governance
King George
Bayonets
Freedom of Religion
Paul Revere
Cannons
Democracy
How do I do this in MY classroom?
O List-Group-Label:
→ Students brainstorm words around a topic
and determine possible categories or labels for
the words. Then students regroup the words
written under the various categories.
How do I do this in MY classroom?
O Anticipation Guides- Help students gain a
conceptual framework of the content they
will learn and set a purpose for reading.
How do I do this in MY classroom?
O Question/Answer stems– help elicit
O
O
O
O
responses (oral or written)
Vocabulary Self-Collection- personal
dictionaries, choose their own vocabulary
words, vocabulary flip books
Mnemonic Devices
Word banks
Cognate study
Your Challenge!
O Choose one way you
will help your students
build background this
month and attempt it!
O Next time we’ll share
our experiences
building background
in our classes!