Together, these tools form one of the nine classic research-based strategies from Classroom Instruction That Works.
Vocabulary Knowledge Rating , which we adapted from Camille Blachowicz, introduces students to critical vocabulary terms before instruction begins. Students rate their understanding of each term before and after the lesson, to see if their knowledge has grown. Anticipation Guide reverses the traditional model of learning enough about a subject to then be able to form an opinion about it.
First, students are asked their opinion of a subject. Then the lesson is delivered. Was their background knowledge adequate to support their original position, or do they need to re-evaluate? Power Previewing teaches students to skim a text strategically. The teacher guides the previewing process by pointing out useful things to look for, such as recurring themes. While none of us wants schools to be curiosity-free drill-and-kill zones ever again, we have to acknowledge the importance of background knowledge and develop skill in helping students acquire it.
Background knowledge plus curiosity is the most powerful formula of all. Elizabeth is an Ed. Academic learning success must be founded at the personal level of each learner and teacher. Its relevance brings meaningfulness and connectedness to each individual creating a learning atmosphere of interconnectedness that stimulates curiosity for the known and unknown.
That bridges to a deeper level of understanding to explore and discover the purpose for academic access and success. It was then my mother left my father and migrated illegally to Salinas, Callif. It was she who, after crossing the border, began telling me and my siblings to get an education to have more and better life opportunities because being uneducated, she was only able to work in the fields and then at a packing company.
So five years after her arrival to Salinas, I came to Salinas knowing her expectations. Those were to finish high school, learn English, get some educational degree, and find a better job than she had. Teaching promotes and advocates for social, cultural, linguistic, and economic consciousness for change in the human race. A lot of the students that I work with have similar stories to my own.
They come from low-income families whose hopes and dreams are uncertain or may not even exist because of their social, economic, linguistic, and legal status. As a language teacher and an English-language learner, I believe there is no language more powerful than the language of empathy, sensitivity, and kindness for one another.
Thus, learning from the funds of knowledge of my students is my motivation to strive and enhance meaningful relationships that empower a bigger community. Jenny Vo earned her B.
Our English-learners come to us from many countries and bring with them different backgrounds and experiences. In order to successfully support their learning in the content areas, we need to make sure we find out what they already know and what gaps need to be filled. What is prior knowledge and why do we need to activate it? Prior knowledge is what the students bring with them that they have gained from previous schooling and their life experiences.
It helps them to understand the reason why the students are struggling. Is the poor comprehension or struggle with assignments due to lack of language, lack of experience, or lack of skills?
Having a firm grasp on the reason or reasons will enable the teacher to know how to support the students. I like using anticipation guides at the beginning of a unit to see what students know. Anticipation guides have statements that students answer at the beginning of a unit and then at the end.
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Danyale Davis Sep 2, pm. The use of various forms of communicative function allows ELL students to develop their writing, listening auditory processing , and verbal skills as a method of teaching them how to use their new language and gain a better understanding of the English language. Pairing the students made the lesson more personal because the students had to describe their own experiences. This method makes the students more comfortable and engaged while eliminating distraction and facilitating the flow of the exercise.
The teacher activated the student's prior knowledge by asking them to tell about their own personal experiences. Carolyn Havard Aug 9, pm. Learning to ask questions, listening and writing answers, and then reporting to one another is helping them with their English. She's asking what a word meant when they already knew. She is quizzing them in a way. LaTonya Calvey Aug 8, pm. The three step interview process enable ELL to practice communicative function of asking, listening, and reporting.
It's extremely important for ELL to communicate fluently and learn the English language for academic success. Students were divided into four group and assigned specific instruction of what do, then explaining that they will have to verbally report.
I appreciated the idea that Ms. Park-Friend explained she will allow feedback and responses once everyone was done reporting; this supports listening and organization. Also, ELL students were actively engaged while learning about other students experiences, which also enhances communication skills. Park-Friend activated student's prior knowledge by asking students about a memorable argument and how they used persuasion. Students were able to share real life experiene which allows for learning the concept of persuasion.
Shaina Champagne Jul 21, am. It helps break down and structure the learning into 3 essential parts. This helps the students with reading, writing and speaking.
It helps then gain a better understanding. Everyone is given specific instruction. Using class discussion ie: persuasion it involves the class as a whole in the learning. She asked the class to remember and relate the argument into something specific that happened to them. By doing this she is connecting it to previous knowledge. Heather Sparks Jul 12, pm. This lesson asks students to utilize various forms of "communicative functions" through the three-step interview. Why is this important for ELL's?
How does the structure of this task ensure that all students are engaged in the work? It also requires students to work together and independently to complete their tasks. To go even further, this strategy lies at the heart of our teaching philosophy—our students already possess a wealth of knowledge and experiences they can build upon as they encounter new learning. Additional research by Deborah Short and Jana Echevarria with English language learners ELLs finds that activating and building prior knowledge plays a big role in improving their academic literacy.
Educators and researchers, along with the Common Core authors, recognize that activating prior knowledge is a necessary step in accessing complex texts, whether in the form of written words, images, charts, or other text types. However, you can have too much of a good thing. The activities which follow serve to activate and build background knowledge as a support, not as a bypass, for students in meeting the Common Core standards. Activities for tapping prior knowledge are typically designed for use before reading activities, but we have used the ones listed here to also help students access writing, speaking, and listening tasks.
What are the social, political, economic implications of the image? In other words, what do they already know about the context surrounding the image? This is what it means to activate prior knowledge and prepare the brain to connect to and add on to its existing understanding.
Before teaching new content, find a powerful and relevant image associated with the topic. Visit Artstor for images of art or search U-M image databases for historical photos and images.
Show the students the image and give them time to think about its meaning, either independently or in groups. Encourage students to avoid looking up information about the image; instead, they should consult their memories to activate the previously gained knowledge that is already there. Below are some general questions that can be used for prompts in visual analysis. Try one of these simple techniques the next time you introduce new content to students.
If you would like to discuss the best ways to include such activities in your course, please feel free to reach out to LSATSLearningTeachingConsultants umich. Schwartz, B. Four principles of memory improvement: A guide to improving learning efficiency. International Journal of Creativity and Problem-Solving, 21, Journal of chemical education, 96 11 , — Buehl, D.
Classroom activities for interactive learning. International Reading Association.
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