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.