Friday, July 17, 2009

The Importance of Background Knowledge


First: A picture of a hickory tree over at Oakside Park, just a mile from our house and easily walkable with a new fitness trail.

On the IRA page at Facebook, teachers are discussing how they can build background knowledge for students. Check out the conversation here:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/International-Reading-Association/81491751082?ref=nf


I've been intrigued by background knowledge for a long time. I've started being more explicit with my students as I teach them about using their schema, trying to help them see that they are in charge of organizing their thoughts. I'm also intrigued by the role that schema plays in making inferences. I created a Powerpoint to model this process for students. You can find the Powerpoint over at Slideshare:

http://www.slideshare.net/elkissn/using-schema-to-make-inferences

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