Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

1 / 22
About This Presentation
Title:

Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement

Description:

Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement Using Content Specific Vocabulary as a Way to Build Background Knowledge Kristen Akers Mary Beth Schultheis – PowerPoint PPT presentation

Number of Views:217
Avg rating:3.0/5.0
Slides: 23
Provided by: CCPS84
Category:

less

Transcript and Presenter's Notes

Title: Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement


1
Building Background Knowledge for Academic
Achievement
  • Using Content Specific Vocabulary as a Way to
    Build Background Knowledge
  • Kristen Akers
  • Mary Beth Schultheis
  • Lisa Young
  • LAE 6616 Fall 2009

2
Background Knowledge is Key
  • What students already know about the content is
    one of the strongest indicators of how well they
    will learn new information relative to the
    content (Marzano,2004)
  • Grade level vocabulary can be challenging for the
    strongest students. What can we do to help those
    who struggle?

3
Research behind the content area approach
  • Vocabulary visits has proved to be an exciting
    and effective research-based strategy for
    teachers to add attention to vocabulary in
    thematic units.
  • (Blachowicz Obrochta 2005)

4
Student Examples
5
Record of Word Growth
STUDENT Words before vocabulary visit cycle Words after vocabulary visit
1 8 20
2 7 23
3 4 6
4 6 23
5 7 27
6 4 32
7 4 13
8 7 8
9 5 10
10 7 26
11 3 10
12 4 18
13 5 11
14 5 11
15 0 6
16 0 6
17 0 14
6
Virtual Field Trip
7
Benefits to Virtual Field Trips
  • Content focus that is connected to curriculum
  • They engage the senses
  • Helps lay the ground work for what information
    there is to come
  • Involve adults to clarify or point out
    interesting things.
  • Involve exploration, talk, reading and writing.
  • Involve a follow up on new concepts and terms

8
  • Background Knowledge is stored in the brain by
    relating a series of experiences. Initially it
    is stored as linguistic descriptions of what we
    have experienced. Over time they transform to
    generalized knowledge about a subject.

9
Permanente Memory
  • Any program that seeks to enhance background
    knowledge should include activities where the
    information is processed multiple times, detail
    is added and associations are made. Three
    functions of the memory
  • Sensory, Working, Perminate

10
Multidimensional/ Contextual knowledge
  • Background knowledge is multidimensional, which
    means learners need to experience it in a
    different ways. Along with the experience it
    must be in the correct context.
  • They must build background knowledge to
    experience success to in specific academic
    subjects.

11
Surface Background Knowledge
  • Individuals organize information in a hierarchy.
  • It needs not be a an in-depth understanding
    initially. We are just laying the building
    blocks for later in life.
  • The goal should be to develop a surface level
    understanding of the target information.

12
Here is the Connection
  • Vocabulary is the label that represents the
    knowledge or the experience stored in the brain.
  • Vocabulary instruction is one and the same with
    teaching background knowledge.

13
Virtual Experiences
  • Although it is best to have direct experiences
    virtual experience can be as powerful in
    enhancing background knowledge.

14
Research Shows
  • That vocabulary knowledge is highly connected
    with family income or social-economic status.
  • They Estimate 4,700 word difference in vocabulary
    knowledge between high and low SES students.
  • (Nagy Herman 1984)

15
Building Background Knowledge through realia and
demonstrations
Providing students with actual objects that they
can see and touch, which promote conversation,
questions and speculation are a great source for
building specific vocabulary. In the absence of
actual objects detailed photographs or short
video clips provide can perform the same
function. Realia and demonstrations not only
engage the students interest and curiosity, but
they also provide a context in which to introduce
the vocabulary that is necessay to support
discussions and then reading about the units
topics (Gregg Sekeres, 2006).
16
Building Background Knowledge a 5 day approach
  • Day 1- Whole group lesson (using schema to make
    connections)
  • Activate prior knowledge-
  • Build Circle Map,
  • View content related video,
  • Add new information to Circle Map
  • Words Week 1- contribute, privilege, rural,
    urban, suburb
  • Graphic organizers help students see and question
    relationships among terms and allow teacher and
    students access to the groups pooled knowledge,
    including word knowledge (Spencer Guillaume,
    2006)

17
  • Day 2- Small Group (determining importance/focus
    calendar targets)
  • Read content related leveled text (non-fiction is
    preferred but fiction is acceptable if it is
    related to the content)
  • Identify and discuss text features in nonfiction
  • Map important information (using appropriate
    Thinking Map)
  • Research in word learning indicates that in order
    to enhance vocabulary, students need multiple
    exposures to words in different contexts and
    opportunities to build knowledge in the domains
    in which the vocabulary is likely to occur
    (Spencer Guillaume, 2006)

18
  • Day 3-Small Group (synthesizing)
  • Writing Connection (take information off of the
    map and put into writing)
  • Personal narrative may be used to discuss a time
    or situation that is relevant or that
    demonstrates how the students knowledge has
    expanded about the subject.

Many content terms may be better understood when
students manipulate words through group
activities requiring categorization, word
association, or semantic analysis (Flynt Brozo,
2008).
19
  • Day 4- Small Group- Building Fluency
  • Rereads
  • Related Poems/Readers Theater
  • Quick Reads
  • Can be used as a day for teaching syllabication
    or participating in other activities that promote
    fluency

To know a word means knowing what it means, how
it is related to other words, how to pronounce
it, and how to use it (Spencer Guillaume, 2006).
20
  • Day 5-Analogies- Use Bridge Map for content area
    words
  • ex skyscrapers are structures in urban areas as
    barns are structures in rural areas.
  • Other engaging activities-games for reviewing
    practicing words I have who has, matching,
    Jeopardy, Jenga, etc.

21
Building Background Knowledge for content area
Vocabulary
  • PROS
  • CONS
  • Helps struggling learners
  • Builds bigger vocabulary which aids in reading
    comprehension
  • Takes lots of preparation

22
References
  • Flynt, E.S. Brozo, W. G. (2008).
    Developing academic language Got words? The
    Reading Teacher, 61(6), 500-502.
  • Gregg, M. Sekeres, D.C. (2006).
    Supporting childrens reading of expository text
    in the geography classroom. The Reading Teacher,
    60 (2), 102-110.
  • Spencer, B.H., Guillaume, A.M. (2006).
    Integrating curriculum through the learning
    cycle Content-based reading and vocabulary
    development. The Reading Teacher, 60 (3),
    206-219.
  • Marzano, R.J. (2004). Building background
    knowledge for academic achievement. Alexandria,
    VA Association for Supervision and Curriculum
    Development.
Write a Comment
User Comments (0)
About PowerShow.com