Building Background Knowledge
World knowledge is an essential component of reading comprehension, because every text takes for granted the readers’ familiarity with a whole range of unspoken and unwritten facts about the cultural and natural worlds. ~ E.D. Hirsch
A person's background knowledge, often called prior knowledge, is a collection of "abstracted residue" that has been formed from all of life's experiences. We all bring diverse bits of background knowledge—consciously or subconsciously—to every subsequent experience, and we use them to connect or glue new information to old. Background knowledge is an essential component in learning because it helps us make sense of new ideas and experiences (Lent, 2012).
To learn more about the importance of background knowledge explore these resources:
Routines and Resources for Building Background Knowledge
Text Sets
"Text sets are collections of texts tightly focused on a specific topic. They may include varied genres (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and so forth) and media (such as blogs, maps, photographs, art, primary-source documents, and audio recordings)." - Shannon Garrison on Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Virtual Field Trips
"No permission slips required. These virtual events let educators take students to amazing places and give them remarkable experiences, without ever leaving the classroom."- Discovery Education
Multimedia
The use of multimedia (podcasts, audiobooks, Ted Talks, videos, documentaries, etc.) adds interest and enhances understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence. - PDE SAS
Picture Books
"Picture books connect to the lives of their readers and to the themes and issues that matter to them. Making connections is one way to activate prior knowledge." - Literacy Today
Webquests
A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web. The model was developed by Bernie Dodge at San Diego State University. -Bernie Dodge
Created by the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit Literacy Team.
For more information about the team, please visit our team page.