background knowledge

ACTIVATing what they already know

Prior to beginning a new unit, text or lesson with students, it is important to activate what students already know about a topic. It is essential to find out what students already know so you can build upon it and connect new learning to it. The teacher must also build a bridge from previous lessons and concepts to the new lesson. Many students do not automatically make such connections, and all students benefit from having the teacher explicitly point out how past learning is related to the information at hand. 

There are many strategies that invite students to connect and/or reflect on what they know already: 

• Activating Strategies for Use in the Classroom

• Opening Activities

• Admission Slips

BUILDING background knowledge 

In some cases, it is not enough to remind students about previous experiences they may have had or texts they may have encountered. We may need to create background knowledge for our students. For example, if we are going to read a story about camping, we may need to help ELLs understand what that experience is all about prior to reading. Students with insufficient background knowledge will be unable to fully understand a text, make inferences or apply critical thinking. 

According to Marzano (2004), background knowledge is acquired through the interaction of two factors: the ability of the student to process and store information and the regularity with which a student has academically oriented experiences. The amount of background knowledge our students have will vary. 

Teachers can effectively build children's background knowledge early on (Neuman & Wright, 2013). However, we must recognize that knowledge is not just accumulating facts; rather, students need to develop knowledge networks, comprised of clusters of concepts. 

To start with, here are some introductory approaches that are good for all students:

• Begin by teaching words in categories. For example, you can try something as simple as this: “I'm going to say the following words: frogs, newts, salamanders, and toads . They all are a type of… (amphibian).” Categories of objects begin to develop concepts, and the use of generic nouns (amphibian) has been shown to be highly related to language and vocabulary development.

• Use contrasts and comparisons. For example, you can give students puzzlers like, “Is a snake a type of amphibian? Why is it or is it not a kind of amphibian?” Puzzlers help students think outside the immediate context and consider the reasoning behind these contrasts and comparisons, which can further their understanding of categories and concepts.

• Use analogies. An analogy is another type of comparison, but this time the comparison is made between two things that are usually thought to be different from each other. Analogies help students build knowledge because they compare something new to something we already know. For example, try something like, “bird is to feather as dog is to… (fur).” Children can use similes (comparisons using the words like or as) or metaphors (comparisons without using like or as) to build new knowledge.

• Encourage topic-focused wide reading. Reading builds knowledge, but wide reading has typically been interpreted as reading about a lot of different topics, demonstrating breadth rather than depth in reading. Try this variation: Encourage students to identify an interest and read as many books as they can on one topic. What you find is that students will develop a deeper knowledge and expertise on a topic. These interests will drive students to read 

Furthermore, incorporating any number of these activities will help ELLs develop a richer understanding of a new context: 

• Field Trips*

• Hands-on Experiences*

• Virtual Reality Trips* https://www.commonsense.org/education/top-picks/virtual-field-trip-apps-and-websites.  

• Bring in a speaker

• Pictures - Gallery Walk

• Artifacts - Realia (bring in real objects even if they are miniature models)

• Use a Mentor Text, Picture Book, Text Excerpt or Video to Launch a Discussion

• Generate Questions and Participate in an Inquiry

• Emphasize Key Vocabulary - Vocabulary words are labels for "packets of information" we store in our permanent memory as background knowledge. Teach the academic language that will help students navigate this new content: technical, functional words, and transitional words, commonly used phrases and structures, etc. 

*The more authentic and relevant an experience is, the greater the likelihood of the information being stored in the permanent memory.