Activate Prior Knowledge

Why you should activate prior knowledge:

"Prior knowledge is the main determinant of comprehension."

according to Daniels and Zemelman (2004), Subjects Matter

Remember studying Piaget? Can you explain assimilation, accommodation, resolution of cognitive dissonance?

Schema?

Visual metaphor for activating old knowledge to stick new knowledge to it!

Ways to Activate Prior Knowledge

Thought provoking questions
Discussion starter
Brainstorming
Quickwrite
Anticipation guide
Discrepant events
Text mapping
Advance organizers
Noting Text Structure
Graphic organizers
KWL, KWLH, KWL Plus
PreVoke
Webs/concept maps
Interest Surveys, Questionnaires, Interviews
Preassessment

These vocabulary strategies also activate prior knowledge:

Word Splash
Possible Sentences
Concept Sorts
Exclusion Brainstorming
Semantic Feature Analysis, pp. 98, 108
Vocabulary Self-Awareness Chart
Word Scavenger Hunt
Vocabulary Tree
List Group Label

9+15=24 Ways

PLUS BUILDING BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

Guest speakers
Videos
Field trip
Demonstrations
Hands on experiences
Reading aloud
Demonstrations

Though provoking questions

Ideally, the essential questions should be written to be thought provoking.

Open-ended.
Not easily or quickly answered.

• “The best questions have no answers.” Katherine Paterson.

• Think of at least one thought provoking question related to clouds (4^th grade science).

Remember, if it has an easy answer, it is not thought provoking!

Discussion Starter

Directions:

When you get the handout, put your name at the top. Pass the paper to your right.
When you get someone else’s paper, sign your name on a section that is true for you. Pass the paper to your right. Continue until your paper comes back to you.
This activity should not be done in silence. Invite the students to talk.
When all have their own paper, invite students to share their stories.

To make your own discussion starter, open a Word document, insert a table, and type in questions that are likely to start the kids talking about their personal experiences with your topic.

Brainstorming

• You could try it with a potential 5^th grade social studies unit topic: Describe the lasting effects of the colonies built by the French in North America, including patterns that can be seen today such as language, food, traditions and architecture.

“What do you know about French language, food, traditions and architecture in our country?”

¤ Have scribe write down suggested thoughts.

Quickwrite

• Grade 7: Compute probabilities (likeliness something will happen) of compound events (e.g., multiple coin tosses or multiple rolls of number cubes).

• Write: Is it a good deal to buy lottery tickets? Why?

Anticipation Guide

Could use a continuum, place an "x" that indicates where you stand in regard to the statement that follows. Be prepared to defend and support your opinions with specific examples. After reading the text, compare your opinions on those statements with the author's implied and/or stated messages.

<---------------------------------x------------------------------>

Agree Disagree

1. War is never necessary.

Agree: Thumbs up.

Disagree: Thumbs down.

Agree: Stand up.

Disagree: Sit down.

Not sure:

Discrepant Events

Present information that clashes with preconceived notions of students.

• Instead of showing the video below that demonstrates inertia, reenact the activity. Then the essential question might be "Why didn't the egg move to the left?" (An object at rest tends to stay at rest.)

I'm not sure what scientific concept this video demonstrates, but it might help set up an essential question!

Physical Education: "For my discussion on the muscular system, I include an activity on muscle fatigue. This allows me to review cellular respiration from the beginning of the year. I sometimes get students engaged by setting up a challenge. I have plastic cups full of water, and I have students hold the cups with their arms straight out in front of them to see who can hold the cups the longest without spilling any water. Some students get really into the competition and it leads right into a discussion about muscle fatigue and some students can hold the cup long that others." taken from http://www.learnersedgeinc.com/Forum-And-Resources/Forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=14388
What discrepant events have you experienced in your own education?

Expository Advance Organizers

An advance organizer is a short synopsis of the text that focuses on major concepts. The list at the top of this page is an advance organizer. Announcing your objective/essential question is a SHORT advance organizer.

You could write your own if your text doesn’t have one.

Sometimes we make a rough version of these by reading the summary first.

This could be done with a web or outline of the main ideas.

Skimming the chapter and predicting what one might learn is also a similar activity.

Text Mapping

• http://www.textmapping.org/scrolls.html

• Click on “Making a Scroll”

Previewing: Noting Text Structure

• What is text structure? See anchor chart below this box, please.

Graphic Organizers

• To use these as a prereading device, you would have to clearly explain how they relate to the reading. This could set your students up to look for comparisons or for main ideas and details – depends on the text structure.

• Gives students a frame of reference.

• Can also be used during reading and after reading!

Reading Aloud

Pick great text related to your topic or theme.

• Establish a clear purpose for listening

• Facilitate discussion of the text

• Follow up read aloud with student reading and writing or some other activity.

6^th grade Social Studies

• Gods & Heroes by Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda

ANCHOR CHART FOR TEXT STRUCTURE

http://fno.org/poetry/standing.html

Hands-On Related Activities

• What could your students touch or do that would get them thinking about your unit topic?

KWL

• KWL plus...The plus is that the students write up the results of the L column (what they learned).

• KWLH (The H stands for "How" will you find out?)

PreVoke

• PREdicting content of chapter by using words from VOCabulary list. Similar to “Creating Sentences”

1. Pick out key words

2. Invite students to read them and discuss meanings.

3. Ask students to use all of the words in a paragraph.

4. Come back to the paragraph after having read the passage and see how your concepts have changed.

PreVoke in 6^th Grade Math

1. Key words: prime, factor, composite, product, exponents, whole numbers.

2. Invite students to read them and discuss meanings.

3. Ask students to use all of the words in a paragraph.

4. Come back to the paragraph after having read the passage and see how your concepts have changed.

Clustering/Webs

Identify key “nucleus” word and write on board.
Individuals write key word, circle it, add words and ideas, circle them, draw connecting lines.
Partners share their webs.
Construct group cluster on board/chart paper/overhead.
Post group cluster on wall.
Later, refer to web as ideas emerge during reading. Great for reviewing, too.

Schematic Maps

1. Start in the CENTER of blank paper turned sideways.

2. Quickly sketch an IMAGE of your focus in the center.

3. Use at least 3 COLORS, for emphasis, structure, texture, creativity.

4. Draw curved lines, radiating from center (thick to thin) CONNECTING main branches to central image & at each level.

5. Use 1 key word or image per line for more power and flexibility in thinking.

6. Use images throughout as a picture paints a 1,000 words.

• Cluster/Web/Schematic Map

• 6^th grade Language Arts: Point of view in fiction. Who can tell the story? (When you teach this, you will have to provide more scaffolding than I need to do with college seniors.)

Interest Surveys, Questionnaires, Interviews

1. I enjoy learning science.