Importance of Background Knowledge

for your ELD students

Why is background knowledge important?

Students must have opportunities to relate and make connections to the learning in order to be successful.

When the instruction is designed to go from “whole” to “part” and back to “whole” the students will grasp the learning.

Front Loading

It is important to frontload the lesson with information by first giving the students an over view of the entire concept being taught.

What do I use to front load?

Movies/video clips Field trips/life experiences Pictures/Charts Books/Read Aloud Vocabulary/word walls

Videos

Provide rich visual imagery through video, with the sound on or off, to help students understand concepts from a text before they read. Establish a focus for viewing so students look for key points. Pause often to clarify, or have students turn to a partner and discuss what they just saw.

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/kids/green-kids/plants-kids/

Field Trip

Why wait until the end of a unit or reading to take a field trip? You can frontload key

concepts and vocabulary by going on a field trip prior to embarking on your study. Take

photographs, then discuss and write about the experience when you return to the

classroom. The information in a related text will be much more meaningful when it can

be connected to shared real-life experiences.

Rentie Grove

3rd Grade 2010-2011

With wildlife conservationist

PicturesPhotos and illustrations give visual support to

language and concepts while encouraging observations and questions.

Read Aloud

Prior to having students read a selection independently, read aloud a book with related content and use a think aloud strategy to discuss the concepts and vocabulary that are common to both texts. This helps the learners pull background knowledge forward and

activate content vocabulary that is likely to appear in their own reading.

Vocabulary/Word Walls

Don’t overwhelm students with too many words or concepts. Pick what is absolutely essential in each chapter. Pronounce each word for students, and have them repeat after you. Introduce the vocabulary in a familiar and meaningful context and then again in a content-specific setting.

Plants – Important words to know

water soil space light air seed cotyledon embryo cross pollination

seed leaf true leaf stem roots flower stigma pistol photosynthesis plant life cycle

Ways to help give words meaning…Hands On

Planning ToolsStandard/Benchmark to be addressed in lesson: ________________________________________________________________________________________

_Learning Target for the lesson: (What do I want my students to know and be able to do?) ________________________________________________________________________________________

_Essential/Guiding Question for lesson:

__________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________

_Language and literacy goal:

___________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________

_Background knowledge necessary to make connections:

_________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________

Visual tools: _______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________ Learning materials and resources:

______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________

_Vocabulary emphasis:

_______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________

__

Modifications needed: _______________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ For the lesson in general: ____________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ For specific students:_________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ Grouping format to be used: __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ Lesson Activities: ___________________________________________________________________________ Instruction: ________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ Processing activities: ________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Application: ________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ Closure: __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________

Sources

“Seeing the Big Picture.”www.schoolimprovement.com. Copyright©2008Brechtel, M. 2001.Bringing It All Together:

Language and Literacy in the MultilingualClassroom. Dominie Press, Inc.Echevarria, J., Vogt. M., and Short. D., 2004.

Making Content Comprehensible ForEnglish Language Learners: The SIOP Model.

Pearson.