Southern Nevada Regional
Professional Development
Program
RPDP.net
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Ready, Set, Read
Activating Prior Knowledge
Created and Developed by
Jill M. Leone
Reading Specialist
© 2007
RPDP Secondary Literacy
We will discuss –
• Reasons for accessing your own prior
knowledge when you read
• Strategies to activate prior knowledge
• Importance of making connections
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Have you ever read a story
that reminded you of
something that happened
in your own life?
Or maybe you read about a
character who reminded
you of someone
you knew?
RPDP Secondary Literacy
• Finding similarities between what you’re
reading and your own experiences in life
is called activating prior knowledge.
• Prior means before,
so prior knowledge is
what you already knew
before you started reading
the story.
• Using this knowledge helps you
understand what you read.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Prior knowledge is a combination of your • preexisting attitudes and beliefs
• life experiences and activities
• knowledge and strategies
• motivation for reading
• present mood
• personality
• memories
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• You bring your own personality, mood,
memories, etc. to everything you read.
• What you, as a reader, bring to a page
affects your ability to understand the
writer’s words and ideas.
• This makes your experience
reading almost as
as a fingerprint.
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while
unique
Your teacher may use different words
when referring to prior knowledge:
•
•
•
•
Background knowledge
Previous knowledge
Personal knowledge
Frame of reference
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• Good readers activate relevant prior
knowledge before, during and after
reading.
• They use this knowledge
as a framework for learning
new information.
• They also decide if they
need more information
for understanding.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
By finding connections
between your life and
the lives of the people
you’re reading about,
you can better
understand
what those people
do and why.
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Add to or
change their
thinking as
they discover
new ideas
and
information.
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• Confirm their hypotheses
or theories.
• They say: “That’s what I
expected,” or
• “That’s really surprising.”
RPDP Secondary Literacy
RPDP Secondary Literacy
3 types of connections:
TEXT to SELF: How does this text connect
to my past experiences, or prior knowledge?
TEXT to TEXT: How does this text connect
to another piece of writing?
TEXT TO WORLD: How does this text
connect to what I know about the world?
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Good readers ask questions:
• before reading
• during reading
• after reading
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• What knowledge will help you understand
the information in this selection?
• Which details connect to your own life
experiences?
• What background knowledge would help
a reader understand this?
• Would you recommend this to
other readers? Why? Why not?
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• What connections did you make with
the information in this selection?
• What other selections did this article
remind you of?
• What did you learn about the
world from this article?
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• Where would you find more information
for the topic of this article?
• Based on the topic, what information did
you expect to read in this selection?
• What details did you add to your own
knowledge based on this article?
RPDP Secondary Literacy
• How are the events described in this
article related to your life?
• Are there similarities?
• Are there differences?
• How are the events similar or
different to the lives of people
you know?
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Memory often plays tricks
on us. Much of what we
already know lies hidden
in our brains.
Successful readers learn
how to reawaken this
information.
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• Many things you need to figure out
on your own.
• Good readers learn how to use what
they read and connect it to what
they already know.
• They come to conclusions
after studying the facts.
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Prior knowledge helps you make inferences.
When reading about a football game, imagine:
• the cheering fans
• the half time band
• the score board
• the smell of hot dogs
• the victory for the winning team
RPDP Secondary Literacy
• Always preview the text content and
structure.
• Read the title. Titles provide clues about
the main idea.
• Try to predict what the passage
will be about.
• Continue to make predictions.
Modify them as you get deeper
into the passage.
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Really read the title.
Don’t just glance at it
and move on.
Think about it.
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• Connect what you read to what you
already know. The more connections
you make, the easier job you’ll have
with comprehension.
• Remember to ask yourself questions.
• Then try to answer them.
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• Read the questions before you read the
passages. This helps activate your
memory and prior information.
• Have a purpose for reading. This will
focus your attention.
• Reread information that seems
important or difficult to understand.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
RPDP Secondary Literacy
It’s important to visualize
what you read.
“Visualization is one
of our strongest
memory techniques.”
It will help you to focus
and connect.
Saralyn Lasley, Clark County School District
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If I can’t picture it, I can’t
understand it.
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-Albert Einstein
What I Know
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What I Want to
Know
What I’ve
Learned
What the passage is
about
What it reminds me of
Dinosaurs are extinct.
I saw a dinosaur exhibit
with my 6th grade class.
After the dinosaurs died
out, 65 million years
passed before people
appeared on Earth.
I just saw the movie
Jurassic Park.
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Your teacher asks you to complete
an anticipation guide.
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Directions: Read each statement. If you believe that
a statement is true, check the Agree column. If you
believe the statement is false, check the Disagree
column. Be ready to explain your choices.
Agree Disagree
_____ _____ 1. The average worker in the USA
spends more than 2 hours a day
using computers in the workplace.
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• Try to identify important information in a text
• Read the parts that present “news” more
carefully
• Process that important information differently:
 reread it
 underline it
 paraphrase it
 connect it
RPDP Secondary Literacy
RPDP Secondary Literacy
www.popsubculture.com/pop/bio_project/pancho_villa.html
www.ojinaga.com/villa
The only thing
you can
remember
is the name
Pancho Villa.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
You know that Pancho Villa
was a rebel general in the
Mexican Army.
You also know that he was a
great hero to the poor.
Thinking about what you
already know prepares
your brain to learn more.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
You will probably have
an easier time
understanding
a passage about the
Mexican Revolution
than a reader
who does not bring
such background
knowledge to the
reading.
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Brainstorm with
classmates whenever
possible.
This will allow you to
share your knowledge
and experiences with
others and create
interest in the topic.
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The best advice
your teachers
can give you is
to always
read and think.
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Reading will help you build more
background knowledge.
And remember to always connect
what you’re reading to what you
already know.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Today we discussed:
• Importance of prior knowledge
• Accessing prior knowledge
• Connecting prior knowledge
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Copyright Notice
Permission is granted to copy (unmodified) all or
part of this PowerPoint for educational, personal,
non-commercial use off-line as long as the
copyright message (Copyright © 2007 by Jill Leone)
is maintained on the title page. This material may
not be sold, duplicated on other websites,
incorporated in commercial documents or
products, or used for promotional purposes.
Copyright © 2007 by Jill M. Leone
RPDP Secondary Literacy