Just like the multifaceted journey towards literacy proficiency explored in Part 1, content area learning is also a nuanced process that leans heavily on informational text and background knowledge. For students, especially those struggling with reading, having a foundational knowledge base is crucial for reading comprehension. It aids in activating and connecting knowledge, thereby building a mental model of the text. To internalize information and create connections, students must have ample opportunities to read, write, and discuss content.
Informed by a recent presentation at the Big Sky Literacy Summit by AIM Academy educator Aviva Coyne-Green, this sequel post explores key principles and activities that aid in building background knowledge to support reading comprehension, such as Visuals, Vocabulary Connections, Jigsaw Activities, Simulated Experiences, and Multi-Themed Texts.
Strategies for Building Background Knowledge
1. Visuals
Visuals serve as potent tools for activating, building, and assessing background knowledge. By analyzing primary source photos, like those from the Women’s Suffrage Movement, students hone their observational skills and make predictions and inferences. An extension activity could involve creating short captions for photos, prompting critical thinking.
2. Vocabulary Connections
Introducing vocabulary and building connections between words throughout a unit is vital. Questions that foster these connections are essential, especially when units are crafted around enduring understandings and multiple themed texts, encouraging thematic vocabulary.
3. Jigsaw Activities
For comprehensive concepts, students can work in small groups, each delving into one part of the topic before sharing insights with the larger group. This approach broadens content access and enhances oral language skills.
4. Simulated Experiences
Simulated experiences immerse students in content, enabling the integration and application of background knowledge. Activities such as perspective-taking, role-play, and debate are embedded into AIM Academy’s Interactive Humanities classes for 1st-8th graders. Research conducted in our Interactive Humanities classroom at AIM indicates that such immersive learning supports reading comprehension by bolstering background knowledge (link to abstract).
5. Multi-Themed Texts
Using texts centered around enduring understandings or big ideas enables students to delve into subject matter deeply and meaningfully. This approach fosters connections and enriches students' comprehension of the material.
Crafting Rich Curriculums with Multi-Themed Texts and Essential Inquiry
To craft curriculums that are rich in knowledge and coherent, we rely on Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions. Enduring Understandings represent the core insights and understandings that have relevance outside the classroom. In contrast, Essential Questions are open-ended, thought-provoking queries that direct students' focus and lend significance to their learning journey.
By basing a curriculum unit on a selection of thematically diverse texts, students are not just learning facts; they are being immersed in concepts that allow them to make links with the language, content-specific vocabulary, and knowledge related to the domain. These texts serve as conduits for students to perceive the interrelatedness of themes, to grasp overarching ideas, and to relate their learning to personal experiences.
Evidence-Based Early Literacy Instruction with AIM Institute
Building background knowledge is a cornerstone in the path to literacy proficiency. By employing strategies such as visuals, vocabulary connections, jigsaw activities, simulated experiences, and multi-themed texts, educators can create knowledge-rich, cohesive curriculums that not only engage students but also significantly enhance their learning experience.
Interested? Let’s start a conversation.
About AIM: AIM is a non-profit center for educational excellence and professional development. AIM Academy, the organization’s 1-12th grade school for students with language-based learning differences, is a hub for literacy research with its curriculum and instructional work informing the training that the AIM Institute for Learning & Research® provides to educators around the globe including the latest research, technology, and best practices in the fields of literacy.