Reflection
Building background knowledge is one of the key features of the SIOP model. Building background knowledge is often thought of as being synonymous with activating prior knowledge, however, there is a key difference between the two. Activating background knowledge is when new material is linked to an experience that a student has had in the past, whereas, building background knowledge is making sure that links are provided that connect to students prior experiences. I look at the differences this way: activating prior knowledge can be stumbled upon haphazardly because as teachers we are not always aware of the prior knowledge that students have, but building background knowledge assumes that students have no prior knowledge and a bridge must be built that connects the new material to multiple experiences that students can relate to.
Building background knowledge affects both language and content development. Building background knowledge affects language because teaching general academic vocabulary is one of the key tenet of building background knowledge. English language learners are at a disadvantage in this area because they they have to learn the content in addition to the vocabulary. Building background knowledge affects content development because students need a foundation on which to build their understanding. It can not be assumed that when reading the same story, children from every subculture will have the same experiences with he setting, ascribe the same goals and motives to characters imagine the same sequence of actions, make predictions with the same emotional reactions, or expect the same outcomes (Echevarria, pg. 66). " Keeping these things in mind allows us to gain a broader understanding of what it means to build background knowledge and how building background knowledge will significantly affect content development.
Feature 7
Concepts Explicitly Linked to Students' Background Experiences- pg. 39
Linking new content to a students background experiences is a great way to activate essential motivation in a student. It allows students who may usually be timid about providing input to speak-up. Giving English language learners an opportunity to speak on something they know about has the potential to lower their affective filter and make the content more comprehensible. Abracadabra: Magically Transformed Words! is a great strategy to help teachers address the issue of connecting content to students' background experiences. This strategy helps teachers connect content to students' background knowledge by isolating key vocabulary words. This strategy also incorporate grammar by asking students to "magically transform" the word by changing the base word into another derivation of the word. Students are given a word and are asked to transform the word. The transformed word then goes in a top hat. Incorporating realia and providing students with the opportunity to interact with their classmates increases student engagement. This strategy can be easily differentiated by assigning students partners instead of letting them choose their own partners. To differentiate partners will be assigned based on ability and students will be given words that corresponds with their vocabulary knowledge and a partner that is close to their level of language proficiency.
Feature 8
Links Explicitly Made Between Past Learning and New Concepts- pg 45
Linking past learning to new concepts is one of the best ways to build background knowledge or activate prior knowledge. Linking Journals is a great strategy to do this. The linking journal strategy helps student apply concepts and language learned in previous lesson to new content. Linking journey helps teachers address this strategy because it provides them with a document that is always available to refer back to to. Teachers can refer back to the linking journals at the beginning a lesson to activate prior knowledge or during or after a lesson to allow students to make meaningful connections between the new content and what they have learned in the past. In their linking journals, students will be asked to write a journal entry or draw a picture that summarizes the content and academic language learned during the lesson. This lesson can be differentiated by providing students with sentence frames. Teachers can provide opportunities for meaningful collaboration by allowing students to share their journal entry with a partner, in a small group, or with the whole class.
Feature 9
Key Vocabulary Emphasized (e, g., Introduced, Written, Repeated, and Highlighted for Students to See)
Four- Corners Carousel is a great way to emphasize key vocabulary and build background knowledge. With this strategy students will be asked to define the key vocabulary word, draw a picture, and use it in a sentence. This is a great strategy for teachers to use to build background knowledge because it draws on a student's background knowledge to build connections among new concepts and creates a visual reference by which students learn to compare attributes and examples. This strategy can be differentiated. For students who need extra help conceptualizing the key vocabulary outside of its definition, they can work in a group of 4. The group can be given a large piece of chart paper and each member can contribute. Additional support can be provided by asking students to elaborate on their responses: a.We agree with your (picture, definition, sentence) because... b. Another idea for a ( picture, definition, sentence) would be...
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